Meeting with Dr. Joanna Ostrowska, author of the book “Oni. Homoseksualiści w czasie II wojny światowej” (“They. Homosexuals during the Second World War”)

Led by: Paulina Małochleb
Online event (more information coming soon)

It is our fault that “They” do not exist; they were erased by post-war phantasms which were fueled by Nazi propaganda and perverse wartime and camp gossip. The stories which are in this book are only an excerpt, a sample of hundreds of stories which were of no interest to anyone.

The history of non-heteronormative persons during the Second World War is still tabboo. Seventy five years after the end of the war, Poland has practically no publications dealing with this subject, and it is difficult to find even short excerpts in general historical studies.

It is our fault that “They” do not exist. Erased by post-war phantasms fueled by Nazi propaganda and perverse wartime and camp gossip, they have become equated with nameless seducers, criminals, and “antisocial elements”. It is time to oppose these images; it is time to break the silence about “Them”.

Ostrowska is brutal and full of empathy; her narrative is detailed and synthetic. In a sea of names, dates, and camp names, she finds her heroes ito preserve their memory and bring justice. She asks for the revision of historical facts, for recalling those who were treated as an unimportant, small percentage lost after a comma in the statistics of heroism. – Paulina Małochleb

Partner: Krytyka Polityczna Publishing House

In Polish.
Free admission.