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Envelope used for Janina Iwańska's letter to her father Bolesław Iwański with a secret message written in urine
(Text, Manuscript)
Origin
1943-05-06
Physical description
Format:
Non digital + Digital, reformatted digital
Abstract
Double underlined word ”Generalgouvernement” on the envelope was a secret code for the recpient telling that the letter contained a message written in urine.
It is worth mentioning that Janina Iwańska was not among those concentration camp prisoners who were evacuated to Sweden in 1945. In Ravensbrück Iwańska was subjected for the medical experiments that were performed on 74 polish prisoners. As a former concentration camp prisoner who had been operated by the Nazi doctors in the camp, Iwańska was invited to the Ravensbrück-Hamburg-trials, where she obviously met Helena Dziedzicka a member of the Polish Research Institute. After having a private conversation with Iwańska, the prosecutor considered that he had enough evidence of the defendant's guilt. We believe that Iwańska decided to hand over her secret letter written in urine to Helena Dziedzicka, who was called as a witness in court.
Translation of the secret message:
"Bolu! 5 female Polish political inmates have escaped. We are preparing a new escape. Send in a parcel: a compass, an accurate map of Germany, two false identification documents with photographs that are not especially characteristic. As much Reichsmarks as possible and some jewelry (gold!). Send to: Krzysio Starszy in the Generalguvernementet, possibly through the organization. Comfortable shoes, 2 sponges. The mission is issued until June 20th, please hurry. Krysia knows nothing yet. Address the parcel to me. The map, identification documents and money, you should send in a strong, double-bottomed box. You have to do it very skillfully, carefully and invisible ... underneath a jar of jam, a secret message tucked in a tube of toothpaste. At the bottom a rusks box. Sender: Agnieszka Kopertowska, Krakowskie Przedmiescie 26.4. Destroy the letter, in case anything happens, you know nothing. N."
Janina´s sister Krysia [Krystyna Iwanska] was one of the 74 Polish prisoners who were subjected to medical experiments at Ravensbrück. For some time, Krystyna was hiding in a barrack where Joanna Muszkowska was accommodated. Krystyna took care of Joanna who at that time was seriously ill.
Interview with concentration camp survivor Joanna Muszkowska-Penson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KJZwZOLcK8&t=19s
Notes
About the collection: At the end of World War II approximately 20,000 Nazi concentration camp prisoners were evacuated to Sweden. Many of them were Polish citizens. In order to document their experiences, Zygmunt Łakociński founded the Polish Research Institute in Lund. The collection contains 512 in-depth interviews with survivors, materials that they brought with them to Sweden, and also other material that the institute collected, compiled, and created.
Related records in Alvin
Constituent:
Janina Iwańska's letter to her father Bolesław Iwański, 6 May 1943
See also:
Certificate regarding Janina Iwańska´s letters
External links
The Polish Research Institute collection
Interview with concentration camp survivor Joanna Muszkowska-Penson
Document type
Letter
Subject, topics
Escapes
Parcels
Contact
Contact us
Location
Lund University Library
Helgonabacken
Box 3
221 00 Lund
The Polish Research Institute in Lund (PIZ), vol. 37
Identifiers (general)
urn:nbn:se:alvin:portal:record-157004
(nbn)
Identifiers (local)
alvin-record:157004
(alvin)
Licensing of the work
Public Domain Mark (No Known Copyright)
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Link to record
Permanent link
http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:alvin:portal:record-157004
Direct link
https://www.alvin-portal.org/alvin/view.jsf?pid=alvin-record:157004
Appendix
Download document (PDF)
Download document (PDF), 5095 KB
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Alvin is a platform where digitized cultural heritage and digital collections are preserved and made available, as well as a catalogue of materials not yet digitized.
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