Warsaw. The diary of actress Alina Janowska was transferred to the Warsaw Uprising Museum

The 20-page diary contains Alina Janowska's handwritten notes from the first month of insurgent fighting, from August 1 to 23, most likely written down on an ongoing basis. It contains descriptions of combat alerts, wake-up calls, night patrol, vigil at the post, the fight to capture the PAST building, and information about how the insurgents spent their free time in the soldiers' inn or at film screenings in the “Palladium” cinema.

It is also a love story – a story about the feelings that 21-year-old Janowska had for a soldier from another unit, as well as for her commander. – Mom never told us about the existence of this diary. I discovered it, to everyone's amazement – my dad was still alive at the time – while digging through the materials left behind. I was a bit confused: it was such an important thing that I was surprised that my mother never shared with us information about its existence – said Michał Zabłocki, son of Alina Janowska, during Tuesday's ceremony of transferring the manuscript to the collections of the Warsaw Uprising Museum.

– When I read the contents of the diary, I realized why this happened. The characteristics of the people included at the beginning are so piercingly true, and not always positive, that my mother was probably afraid to reveal them. All the more so because some of these people survived the war and lived for many more years. Secondly, the diary is also a record of love perturbations, he noted.

– My mother's loved one was in another ward and contact with him was difficult. Mom falls in love with her commander, who dies. The script for the film is ready, said Zabłocki. The diary, he explained, consists of two parts: “the first is the characteristics of the members of the unit, the second – descriptions of events day by day, written down – although of course it is difficult to say clearly – during the uprising. – The diary stops at a certain point, one can only guess why. From what I learned, all other diaries end after the third or fourth day. It was probably because there was too much and too intense a thing to write down anything, he said.

According to Zabłocki, Janowska was reluctant to return to the time of the uprising. – First of all, she was aware of her role. She was a liaison, she performed auxiliary functions, she was not a soldier on the front line. At times she even tried to do so, but her commanders successfully dissuaded her from doing so. Maybe that's why we had it later, he said.

Dariusz Gawin, deputy director of the museum, emphasized that “there are basically no similar documents from the time of its uprising.” For almost a year, this diary could be seen at the temporary exhibition about women in the uprising. Now we will have it permanently. There are no documents that would continuously describe the three weeks of August 1944. This is a unique document also because it is written by a very young girl. Alina Janowska was 21 years old then. This uprising is seen through the eyes of a liaison officer of the “Kiliński” battalion, one of the most important insurgent groups. It describes the fight, but also what happened outside it, he emphasized.

– It's about Alina Janowska – one of the greatest figures of the 20th century acting. A great artist and stage personality whom we all remember from films and TV series. Please forgive my personal tone, but she is also one of my favorite actresses. I grew up watching films with her participation – added the deputy director.

Janowska joined the Warsaw Uprising as a volunteer, previously imprisoned in Pawiak, suspected of conspiratorial activities. Accepted into the 2nd platoon, commanded by Lieutenant Henryk Jakubowski “Wojtek”, part of the 8th company of the “Kiliński” Battalion. She served as a liaison under the pseudonym “Alina”, “Setka”. After the war, she became famous as a film, theater and television actress, associated with, among others, with the Syrena Theater, Buffo, Komedia, Polish Army Theater. She appeared, among others, in such productions as “Civil War”, “Forty Year Old”, “Forbidden Songs”, “Lalka”, “Złotopolscy”, “Samson” and “Journey for One Smile”.