Led by: Dr. Katarzyna Suszkiewicz

In this powerful biographical account, Patrycja Dołowy explores the memory of Adam Czerniaków within public consciousness. The head of the Warsaw Judenrat, Czerniaków committed suicide on 23 July 1942 when the Germans decided to liquidate the ghetto. While some have lauded this move as an act of resistance, others instead have viewed it as an act of cowardice. In state-building narratives in the People’s Republic of Poland and Israel, Czerniaków was portrayed as a weak man, one lacking in will and undeserving of respect among subsequent generations.

Patrycja Dołowy reflects on Czerniaków and examines him from a deeply personal perspective—that of a descendant of the residents of the closed-off district. “Broken Mirror” tells the story of a man caught between his Polish and Jewish identities, rejected by both Poles and Jews. The book portrays him as an educated, principled individual motivated by good intentions, but due to his lack of awareness of the occupiers’ true goals, his actions do not yield the desired results. This is not an academic work, but rather an effort to comprehend a person in a tragic situation. Its significance today lies in the fact that Czerniaków has never truly been understood.

Born in 1978 in Boston, Patrycja Dołowy is a promoter of both science and art. Having earned a PhD in the natural sciences, she is also a writer, visual artist, and community activist. She leads JCC Warsaw and is a lecturer at the Artes Liberales Department of Warsaw University. For many years, she has focused on identity and memory, integrating minority perspectives, including feminist ones, into her research. Drawing from personal testimonies, she seeks to uncover what has remained unheard, invisible, or overlooked.

Broken Mirror is her third book. She has previously published “I’ll Come Back When You’re Sleeping: Conversations with Children of the Holocaust” (2019) and “Treasures: Seekers and Guardians of Jewish Memory” (2022). She has also contributed to publications such as “After All, I Won’t Leave Them Behind: On Jewish Caregivers During the War” (2018) and “A Question of Character: Female Fighters from the Warsaw Ghetto” (2023). She is also the author of the plays “Hindełe, Sister of the Magician”, “The Hideout / Kryjówka”, “Dziady. Twierdza Brześć”, “Mothers”, and “Wanda” (together with Sylwia Chutnik).

Partner: Filtry Publishing House

In Polish. Free admission.