End of War 1945 and Postwar Experience

I was there.

In April 1945, Janina came back to Warsaw and got her degree in journalism. She met Zygmunt Bauman, her future husband, at Warsaw University. She joined PZPR (PUWP) and worked in documentary film studios. She had 3 daughters.

In 1968, during the antisemitic campaign, her husband was persecuted and fired from Warsaw University along with 6 other researchers. It was suggested to Janina that she leave her job, what she did. The family decided to emigrate: first to Israel, where Janina’s sister Zosia had been living, and, after three years, to Leeds in UK. There, Janina worked as a school librarian and her husband was a professor and dean of the Sociology faculty in Leeds University. Janina was a writer; she wrote short stories based on her war memories. She died the 29 December 2009 in Leeds, UK.

Janina Bauman (1926-2009), Poland

Janina Bauman (1926-2009), Poland

Consider here how Janina describes the Liberation

War is Over

Janina cannot wait to return to Warsaw.

1) Listen to Janina as she talks about the woman who hid her. Answer the questions.

  • 1a. Describe Mrs Pietrzykowa? Give 4-5 adjectives that you could use.

  • 1b. Why do you think Janina says that the "war ended in a trashy way"?

Home Coming

Janina returns to ruined Warsaw.

2) Listen to the bitter story of Janina’s come back to Warsaw. Answer the questions.

  • 2a. Describe the landscape of Warsaw in April 1945.

  • 2b. How do you understand Janina’s observation "everything was already alive"?

  • 2c. Why Janina describes her coming back to Warsaw as painful?

Warsaw

A presentation about the times Janina Bauman talks about.

3) Watch the presentation about the times Janina Bauman talks about. Then answer the questions.

  • 3a. Recall the situation when you came back to a place you knew from the past and it turned out that this place looks different than before? How did you feel then? Was it a pleasant feeling?

  • 3b. Why do you think most Polish Jews and Jewish survivors did not want to return to Poland after the war? Discuss with your friend and colleague and answer the question in a few sentences.

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In Hiding 1942-1945