Editorial problems in "485 dni na Majdanku" by Jerzy Kwiatkowski

Abstract

Doctor Jerzy Kwiatkowski (1894–1980), cavalry captain, deputy head of a factory, was arrested for collaboration with the Home Army in 1943 and placed in the German concentration camp at Majdanek. He regained his freedom on 3 May 1945, and in December he finished writing down his memories from KL Lublin and started his attempts to get them printed.  

            The first edition of the account from Majdanek was published in 1966 by Wydawnictwo Lubelskie, thanks to the initiative by Majdanek Preservation Society and the State Museum of Majdanek. Memebers of the Society, former prisoners, had consulted its contents (peer censorship for personal reasons), represented the author in his contacts with the publishing office and pushed the matter through GUKPPiW. The author of 485 dni na Majdanku (485 days in Majdanek) had at that time been living in America for 17 years, but visited Poland and remotely participated in the publishing process. The text was subject to far-reaching edition and censorship. Both in Poland and in the USA, correspondence has survived along with evidence of the textualization process, which allow to recreate the history of this unique example of intimism.