Unknown diary of Janina Konarska. The beginnings of French emigration of the Słonimski family (from 22 September to 7 November 1939)

Abstract

The text presented here is the second part of an edition of a previously unpublished diary by Janina Konarska, Antoni Słonimski’s wife, published in “Sztuka Edycji” in 2021 (no. 2). In this part, which contains notes from September 22 to November 7, 1939, Konarska described the couple’s beginnings in the French capital, their attempts to find themselves in a new place, as well as their contacts with other Polish exiles, including writers, people of culture, and politicians. The first days in Paris were a time when the Słonimski family could rest from the turmoil of war (after leaving Poland, they had to cross the Romanian, Yugoslavian, and Italian borders), but also a period when they diligently followed news from Poland and other parts of Europe, interested in the situation at the front. Despite the seemingly calmer times, Konarska’s Parisian notes are no less concise, abbreviated and “rushed” than her earlier ones, written in the fervor of escaping the country. Nevertheless, they constitute a valuable, original document from the second half of 1939.