Jadwiga was born on 11 September 1926 in Warsaw. She was the daughter of Stefan and Barbara Ankiewicz and had an older sister. She attended Marshal Józef Piłsudski Public School No. 105 at 128 Czerniakowska Street. She was fascinated by geography, interested in literature and sports, and was also artistically gifted. She was only 13 years old when World War II broke out.
After being imprisoned behind the barbed wires of the Majdanek concentration camp, she kept a secret diary. She described the moment of transport and her imprisonment on the following way:
We are in the camp in Lublin. I doubt I can even describe how terrible the journey was. Twenty-four hours of travel (normally it takes five hours to get to Lublin) in a cattle car. We spent the night sitting squatting on the wet floor, dreaming of even a blade of straw to plug the wide gaps in the floor. (...) At first, as soon as the doors opened, our eyes, accustomed to 24 hours of darkness, could not bear to look at the terrifying white snow. (...) When they had lined us all up, they gave a signal and we moved forward. Frozen to the bone, we moved like mannequins. (...) Grey dusk was falling, and a bright moon was appearing in the sky when we finally reached the barracks, surrounded by thick barbed wire, with camp lights flickering on them. We stopped, and for a moment we could still hear the crunch of footsteps on the snow in the last rows, and then everything fell silent. A search. It was carried out by hooded, energetic German women with healthy complexions. What on earth are they looking for in people brought from Pawiak? Finally, it's over, and they lead us into the barracks.
She recorded her daily experiences, living conditions, forced labour and observations concerning the extermination of the Jewish population in a lined notebook. After her release from the camp in May 1943, she returned to Warsaw, where she joined the underground activities of the Grey Ranks. In January 1944, she was shot by the Germans. Jadwiga's loved ones remembered her as a very protective, caring, courageous and exceptionally sensitive person.
The teenager's surviving diary is a unique testimony to a person whose experiences symbolically reflect the fate of the young generation of Poles during World War II. The publication is available in Polish, English and German and can be purchased at the bookshop of the State Museum at Majdanek.
The year 2026 marks the 100th anniversary of Jadwiga Ankiewicz's birth. To commemorate this occasion, special educational activities devoted to her personal history will be undertaken in the coming months. The programme includes: an educational project for young people, participatory workshops using a diary, themed guided tours of the former Majdanek camp, and an exhibition for use in schools. If you are interested in participating in the commemoration, please follow our social media channels.