Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Totalitarian and Authoritarian Regimes

On August 23, we observe the European Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Totalitarian and Authoritarian Regimes. In connection with this, the European Network for Remembrance and Solidarity is organizing the “Remember. August 23” campaign/ #RememberAugust23, in which the UKEN Center for the Documentation of Deportations, Expulsions, and Resettlements in Kraków is also participating.

The heroine of this year’s edition is Dr. Stefania Perzanowska (1896–1974)—a physician involved in the underground activities of the Home Army, who was arrested and imprisoned in the German Majdanek concentration camp. There, despite extremely difficult conditions, she organized a hospital for female prisoners. She not only saved lives but also gave the female prisoners a sense of security and restored their dignity. She refused to hand over patients to the Germans for selection. She said: “We are medical personnel; we swore to save every human being to the very end.”
Risking her own life, she had the courage to stand up to totalitarian evil.

“Remember. August 23” / #RememberAugust23