Słów kilka o "Raptularzu", czyli dzienniku profesora Stanisława Kościałkowskiego z syberyjskiego łagru

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Dienoraštis; Lageris; S. Koscialkovskis; Sibiras; Stanislovas Košcialkovskis; Vilnius; A diary; Diary; Labour camp; S. Koscialkovskis; Siberia; Siberian lagers; Stanislaw Koscialkowski; Vilnius.

ENProf. Stanisław Kościałkowski was arrested by the NKVD on 14 June 1941 in Vilnius, most probably as a result of a mistake, as he was accused of membership in the Polish Military Organisation, which he was never a part of He was probably confused with the former minister, premier, and an officer of the Polish Armed Forces, bearing a similar last name, i.e. Marian Zyndram-Kościałkowski, wanted by the Soviets. Prof. Kościałkowski was transported to the North Ural Correctional Labour Camp (Sievurallag) in the Sverdlovsk Oblast near the Sosva River. He was incarcerated therein from 8 July 1941, to 19 January 1942. A person of relatively advanced years, he was qualified as an invalid, who had a less strenuous workload. Also during that period, he held popular science lectures within the camp, and cared for dying fellow prisoners. It is unusual that Kościałkowski kept a detailed journal while in the camp, which he managed to preserve. After editing, it was published in small numbers by the Polish emigrants after the author’s death under the title Raptularz. It is a unique source, most likely the only diary in Polish literature penned in real-time by an inmate of a Soviet labour camp. The Raptularz is not only a gold mine of information on the history and functioning of Gulag type camps, but also on the experiences of the author and fellow prisoners, who included Poles, Lithuanians, Estonians, Romanies and Jews. The distinguished historian left these notes as testimony of the tragic history, which he himself has experienced. Stanislaw Kościałkowski’s Raptularz remains relatively unknown, even amongst Gulag researchers. It would be advisable to re-issue the journal, accompanied by editorial notes. [From the publication]