Tree of Remembrance

In recent years, there has been a debate in Berlin about memorials and the possible location of a monument to Polish victims of National Socialism. The debate was long, it took place among politicians, in the Bundestag. Civil society did not take part in it. Unfortunately, these crucial debates happening behind closed doors. And not much is happening in public space.

Today I ask: Who has the right to commemorate in the public space?

In my actions I often talk about forgotten women*, anonymous heroines, because in a civilisation based on patriarchy, history is written by the victors - men. Recorded history is based on a succession of wars, conflicts, violence, in which heroes dominate - generals, leaders, soldiers, popes. Monuments are erected to them, they are written about.

On the 80th anniversary of Irena Bobowska's death, in 2022, we (Dziewuchy Berlin) organised an extensive project to commemorate this young, courageous, talented woman. She is a symbol of young brave women, who fight and sacrifice their life, but who are later forgotten. The project was financed by the Berlin Senate for Culture and Europe.

The logical next step was to try to permanently commemorate Irena Bobowska in the public space of Berlin. This was not an easy task, as official institutions and committees in Berlin were in no way interested in the Polish resistance activist. We received support only from the Aktives Museum.

That is why we decided to do it differently, in our own way. In Polish. We initiated a fundraising and collected 500 EURO, a sum that makes it possible to have a tree planted in Berlin and to adopt it as a patron / matrona as part of the Berlin City Tree Campaign of the Senate Department for Mobility, Transport, Climate Protection and the Environment. This is how the hornbeam on the prison wall in Moabit was named after a Polish resistance fighter.

Initiative by: Ewa Maria Slaska, Anna Krenz and Agnieszka Glapa

Irena Bobowska

Irena Bobowska, born on September 3, 1920 in Poznań, was a young Polish poet, publicist, illustrator and activist, a very active person, although she had been paralyzed since childhood and could only move around with splints, crutches or a wheelchair. Immediately after the start of World War II, she began her conspiratorial activity, working on the editorial board of the underground magazine "Pobudka" ("Wake-up Call"). She was arrested in June 1940 along with other members of the editorial board. She spent two and a half years in various prisons in Poznan, Wronki and Berlin. She was convicted of high treason by the People's Court and beheaded on September 26, 1942 in Berlin's Plötzensee prison.

Ceremonial naming of the tree after Irena Bobowska.

Wednesday, March 20, 2024 at 12:00
Rathenower Straße 79a, 10559 Berlin

During the ceremony, Prof. Johannes Tuchel, director of the German Resistance Memorial Center, Anita Dałkowska, president of the Association of Alumni and Friends of the Dąbrówka School in Poznań, and Klaus Leutner held speeches. Christine Ziegler read two poems by Irena Bobowska, translated into German as part of our project “The Missing Part of History” (2022).

We unveiled a memorial plaque with a photo of Irena Bobowska and nailed a small plaque with the name of the tree we received as part of the “City Trees” campaign.

At the same time in Poznań (Poland), Dąbrówka students honored Irena Bobowska on the square named after her.

Photo: Klaudyna Droske

Photo: Klaudyna Droske

Photo: Klaudyna Droske

Photo: Wojtek Drozdek

Photos: Anita Dałkowska

At the same time in Poznań

Bobowska's Tree of Remembrance at the exhibition

I have included Irena Bobowska's herstory and the Tree of Remembrance as one of the protagonists in the exhibition Liberty, Equality, Solidarność. Polish viewpoints in Berlin.

Exhibition in Stadtmuseum Berlin
2024

Stadtmuseum Exhibition Website >>>

Commemorating the heroic resistance activist Irena Bobowska in another edition: Polish-German.

12.11.2024 – It was with great pleasure that I accepted the invitation of the Association of Alumni and Friends of the Dąbrówka School in Poznań to the ceremonial celebration of the unveiling of the Irena Bobowska Tree in Poznań. This is a sisterly initiative, beyond borders – in March 2024, we unveiled the Irena Bobowska Memorial Tree in Berlin.

As part of the ceremony, I gave a lecture on our projects commemorating Irena Bobowska, and after the ceremonial roll call, Anita Dałkowska, president of the Association of Alumni and Friends of the Dąbrówka School, Dąbrówka in Poznań, attached a commemorative plaque to a tree in Bobowska Square. I also visited the Memorial Room in the Dąbrówka school, where a piece of history is kept – including artifacts and documents related to Bobowska.

My exhibition about Irena Bobowska has been displayed in the main hall of the Dąbrówka High School.

Fotos: Karolina Adamska Photography

Fotos: Wacława Małecka