Eighty years ago, on April 18, 1942, the Germans murdered a group of 14 young women in the Ravensbrück concentration camp, who were sent there from Lublin. Among them were two sisters Grażyna and Apolonia Chrostowski.

Grażyna Chrostowska was born on September 20, 1921 in Lublin. She was the daughter of Michał and Wanda née Pomianowska. Her parents took care of the patriotic upbringing of both daughters. After the death of Wanda Chrostowska, the entire educational effort burdened their father. Before the outbreak of World War II, both sisters received secondary education, and Apolonia, who was one year older, even began studying journalism in Warsaw. Grażyna showed a passion for the humanities while studying in a girls’ gymnasium. She wrote poems, was involved in artistic activities in the school theater, and was interested in film. Her home patriotic education was strengthened and expanded as the scout.

After graduating from high school in 1939, Grażyna planned to start her studies. The invasion of the Third Reich on September 1, 1939, thwarted these plans. In her hometown Lublin, occupied by the Germans, underground organizations started to operate quite quickly. One of them was the Komenda Obrońców Polski (KOP), which conducted intelligence and subversive activities. The underground newspaper Polska Żyje was also published in Lublin. Michał Chrostowski and his two daughters conducted underground activities in the KOP, and their apartment was often a place for underground meetings.

Unfortunately, in January 1941, Apolonia and in May her sister and father were arrested. All of them suffered a brutal investigation by the German Gestapo. Michał Chrostowski was transported to KL Auschwitz, where he was murdered. In September 1941, both sisters were transported with other prisoners to KL Ravensbrück. During her stay in the camp, Grażyna Chrostowska wrote poems, the last of them titled “Anxiety” was created a few days before her death. Both sisters were murdered by the Germans along with twelve other young prisoners on April 18, 1942. Grażyna Chrostowska’s camp poems survived because their fellow prisoners learned them by heart.