Synopsis – Oleńka
Synopsis of ‘Oleńka’ the autobiography by Aleksandra de Sas Kropiwnicka
The main impression the reader gets from this book is that of the unconquerable spirit of the Polish people; their will to fight back, however appalling their experiences. Here is a woman, Polish by birth and instinct, recounting her life from pre-war childhood in a professional family in Warsaw, Ostrowiec and Czestochowa (her father was a doctor, while her uncles were lawyers, soldiers and landowners) to her post-war liberation from German concentration camps and then the making of a new life on her own. It is a story full of heroism, naive humour, determination and common sense. Simply written, it gives a vivid picture of her formative years, her relations and their aspirations; of the German advance into Poland, the persecution of the Jews, the setting up of ghettos, the sudden disappearance (without trace) of people known and unknown, and of the terrible secret that drove Oleńka’s father to attempt suicide.
Aleksandra de Sas Kropiwnicka, known as Oleńka, or Ola for short; had a maiden name of Hall. Her great-grandfather left England for Poland in the early 19th century.
Warsaw under the German occupation is described, along with all the hardships, shortages, horrors and dangers. There is a sensitive pathos in the longings and hopes of a young girl leaving school with the blessings of a beloved Paulist monk; her spiritual mentor.
The desire to study was always very important in Oleńka’s mind. Many serious and often near-fatal illnesses dogged her childhood (including diphtheria), and this meant that she had to work extra hard at her school books, in order to catch up after long absences. Compared to her beautiful mother and equally beautiful sister, she thought that she looked like a peasant girl with her crooked nose and untidy blonde hair. The determination to improve her mind, led her to join an underground university during war-time in Warsaw. Ola studied in secret as the Germans had closed down all the places of advanced learning. She had to watch in silence when friends and cousins were taken away by the enemy. During this time, Jews (many of whom were friends), were confined and persecuted in the ghettos.
Then came the Warsaw Uprising of 1944; the shooting of innocent people, dangers from informers, arrests and German raids on private homes. We are taken inside the insurgents’ thoughts, their fears and frustrations and the blossoming of religious fervour. All of this culminated in the murder of wounded Polish civilians who were shot in their beds. At this time, Oleńka and her cousin, Ala, were arrested. Avoiding rape by cunningness, they were herded together with thousands of fellow Polish citizens, into cattle trucks and transported to Germany. A short stay in Bergen Belsen was then followed by the full brutality of concentration camp life in Ravensbrück. There were arguments amongst prisoners; spitefulness and misunderstandings, particularly in the early days of camp life. However, they soon adopted a common philosophy towards the atrocities committed by female SS warders; as well as their new situation and their one goal: self-preservation. Provided with one thin dress per person and no underclothes, the prisoners now had to ‘organise’ the acquisition of necessities, such as a warm jersey, an extra slice of bread, or a fragment of news from the outside world. This ‘organising’ was done by means of bribery and bartering, with an ever watchful eye kept on their meager possessions, to prevent theft by other prisoners.
‘Medical examinations’ (many of which were gynaecological) presented a particular horror to the young Oleńka and her cousin. The fate of those who were chosen to be ‘guinea pigs’ is also vividly described. Lice and stomach trouble, rats and a starvation diet, work parties, the indignity of inadequate or non-existent toilets, savage guard dogs, roll-call in the freezing pre-dawn of winter mornings, and above all the callous cruelty of the female SS warders, all moved in upon Oleńka. The story is written without a hint of self-pity or defeat.
Oleńka’s cousin was with her all the time. In November 1944, the prisoners were paraded naked (while soldiers laughed) and selected for work in a forced labour camp; a factory set deep in a forest and affiliated to Sachsenhausen concentration camp and Siemens. Conditions here were slightly better than at Ravensbrück and they were each given underclothes and two meals a day; bread and soup. We are told about life in the cellars (which were their sleeping quarters), about the perversions of the woman warders and the misery they caused to their victims. We hear about Christmas, and about the first and only parcels they received from home. Air-raids by Allied planes and the beginnings of the fear of defeat shown by the German overseers of the factory is also mentioned.
One day in March 1945, there was a mysterious journey by train which ended in Sachsenhausen. There they were confronted by the full horror of the plight of prisoners, Jews and Gentiles, males and females. There was the daily arrival of a cart to remove dead bodies; the bodies of those who had been shot or those who had died during the night. After some six weeks of living under the sentence of death, there came the selection of all non-Jewish prisoners to leave the camp. Paraded in groups of 500 (each group consisting of different nationalities: Poles, French, Germans, Hungarians, and Gypsies.) Oleńka and Ala and all the rest were filed out of the camp, given a loaf of bread, a piece of margarine as well as a slice of polony (an unexpected luxury). Their ‘death march’ began after that. After a short while, an explosion rocked the air and they realised that the Germans had blown up the camp with all the Jews remaining in it. The Germans had kept the Jews behind for this purpose.
Only by reading this remarkable story can any insight be gained into the incredible hardships that Oleńka and Ala and thousands of others endured. After all those months of starvation and cruelty and having to witness their fellow prisoners dying or being shot; they then had to march in an ever depleting, straggling and ragged mob for eleven days. During this time, their only food was raw turnips or potatoes which were grabbed from the fields; their only bed was the open ground.
Only a small number of Oleńka’s group survived – they were the first concentration camp victims to be liberated by the American forces… The Americans were shocked, typically generous, and supplied this week, filthy, starved rabble of women with meat; meat which they were not able to digest and which caused the death of so many on the doorstep to freedom.
‘Freedom’ meant months of living in camps for Displaced Persons. Oleńka tells of rivalries, physical weakness, comradeship, adventures and love affairs which grew during this period. There was a chance to return to Poland, which she rejected in the face of persuasion from Russian soldiers. Then came her chance (still with Ala by her side) to go to Italy.
It is a story of forgiveness; and how forgiveness sets your spirit free. The story is written without any hate or angst towards the German people.
Oleńka’s eventual parting with Ala, coincided with the discovery that another cousin (Nata) and her husband had also survived German imprisonment and were living in Italy. Ola was happy and started studying at the University of Rome. Her passion for learning was beginning to be fulfilled, at last. During the spring of 1946, Rome was a romantic place. Rome was exciting and beautiful; a memorable prelude to the journey to London and the beginning of Ola’s new life.
Courage and determination saw Oleńka and Ala through some grueling experiences. Oleńka’s story is a history of events that actually happened; events that were horrific. Everyone should read this story and learn from these experiences; perhaps future generations will never allow such atrocities to occur again…
By: Catherine Boyd-Brent