The items included a watch and earrings, a brooch, and a powder box, serving as precious mementos of Stanisława Mordes and Anna Tomczyk.
On Tuesday, Jacek Mordes, Stanisława Mordes' nephew, and Grażyna Malenka, Anna Tomczyk's granddaughter, received these items. Mordes was given his aunt's earrings and watch, while Malenka received her grandmother's brooch and powder box.
These artifacts, taken from the women when they were arrested in 1944 and sent to concentration camps, had been kept safe for eight decades.
The return of these mementos was facilitated by the Arolsen Archives' campaign "Warsaw Uprising. Unknown hiSTOries," which seeks to reconnect families with belongings of their relatives who suffered during the war. The campaign commemorates the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising and aims to uncover and share the unknown histories of those involved.
Jacek Mordes expressed his deep emotional connection to the items, stating, "Although the watch is not an expensive Swiss, and the earrings probably aren't expensive either, they are of great value to me; they belonged to Stasia." He recalled his surprise upon being contacted by the Arolsen Archives about his aunt's mementos and the emotional impact of their return, saying, "The last time I saw her, I was four years old."
Grażyna Malenka, upon receiving her grandmother's brooch and powder box, was overwhelmed with emotion, stating, "I can't say anything, emotion won't let me. It squeezes in my throat, tears are squeezing into my eyes."
Stanisława Mordes and Anna Tomczyk were captured by the Germans during the final days of the Warsaw Uprising and taken to the Ravensbrück concentration camp. They were later rescued and transported to Sweden through the efforts of Count Folke Bernadotte, before eventually returning to Poland.
The Arolsen Archives, an International Center for the Study of Nazi Persecution, houses around 2,000 deposits secured by the Allies after World War II, including approximately 100 items taken from individuals deported during the Warsaw Uprising. As part of their campaign, the Archives are working to locate the families of the victims and return these personal belongings.
(jh)
Source: PAP