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The paper edition of the Anthropology of History Yearbook is the definitive version

2015, No. (8), Anthropology and History

Anna Muller
Walls that Unite: Unlikely Friendships in Mokotów Prison, 1949-1956

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Keywords: Interrogation Prison, Mokotów, Communism, Home Army, Ukrainian Insurgent Army, Cell Informants, Women’s Friendship

Abstract:
The article takes a close look at one female cell in Mokotów Prison in Warsaw, where from September 1949 to early 1950, five women were held together: Sabina Stalińska, Halina Zakrzewska, Tonia Lechtman, Ewa Piwińska, and Vera Szot. Stalińska and Zakrzewska both belonged to the Home Army. Lechtman and Piwińska were both committed and active Communists. Szot was arrested for her participation in the Ukra¬inian Insurgent Army. They spent their early months of interrogation in fearful anticipa¬tion of the coming days. Their interpretation of the situation as well as their allegiance to postwar Poland differed. The varied composition of the cell appeared to be an addi¬tional burden, as if confinement in an extremely overcrowded space was not punishment enough. Yet, the existing sources show that, despite the women’s ideological differences, the cell that they shared became an emotionally and intellectually open space, where at least some of the women attempted to understand each other. Their ideological commit¬ments and Communism were the most neutral topics of their discussions. These talks became their framework of self-exploration, which led to the close relationships that some of them continued years after the release.

About Author:
MULLER ANNA - historian, Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan Dearborn. Email: andziamu[at]gmail.com

References
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