back...Unknown film document of the trial of a female camp officer on Przemysłowa Street.
“Wizja lokalna” [Site visit] is the title of a documentary made in the autumn of 1972, when the trial of one of the camp’s officers on Przemysłowa Street, Eugenia Pol (1923-2003), was held in Łódź. The film features the defendant herself and several former camp inmates. One of the sets is the historic camp premises where the film-makers recorded the detailed memories of the survivors as if they were on a site visit – hence the documentary’s title. The second set is a cell in the detention quarters from where the same events are interpreted by the 49-year-old torturer. Both Pol’s and the survivors’ statements are unaccompanied by any commentary – the very form of the documentary builds a two-track parallel narrative, offering the audience space for subjective conclusions.
The director – Zbigniew Kamiński – taking up the subject of juxtaposing Eugenia Pol’s story with the victims’ version, was a student at the Direction Department of the Łódź Film School (PWSFTviT). The young film-maker’s documentary, produced by Polish Public Television (TVP), did not live to be presented to the general public, no premiere, broadcast on the small screen, not even the opening or end credits were prepared for it. The film was shelved in the TVP Archive.
At the beginning of the Museum of Polish Children – victims of totalitarianism, there were no key data about “Wizja lokalna”, no dates or names, except that such a film was made at all. Working on the set and staying in Łódź for several days is still remembered by Urszula Grenda, a survivor from Poznań, who led us to the first lead, thanks to which in autumn 2021 the Museum of Polish Children found a copy of the film and obtained a license for the first public presentation. We received a lot of help from Jadwiga Skawińska, who at the time served as the film’s production manager. The premiere took place on December 1, 2021, in the cinema hall of Łódzki Dom Kultury [the Łódź Centre of Culture], on the day of the 79th anniversary of the establishment of the German Nazi Concentration Camp on Przemysłowa Street.
We now have knowledge of the behind-the-scenes creation of “Wizja lokalna” and the opportunity to present this unique feature on our website. Referring to the content of the documentary, it is worth considering that its production coincided with the first stage of Eugenia Pol’s trial, when she was facing charges related to the murder of six little prisoners, and ultimately in 1976 the Supreme Court upheld her conviction for complicity in the murder of two girls. She spent 19 years in prison. The case of her trial, which lasted several years, the frequent changes in witness testimony, and the emotions surrounding each hearing, is still today a field of many divergent opinions and leaves researchers feeling powerless in the absence of irrefutable evidence.
Unfortunately, not all of the survivors appearing in “Wizja lokalna” have been recognized, so if you find the faces of your relatives or friends, we kindly ask you to let us know.
Title: “Wizja lokalna” [Site visit]
director: Zbigniew Kamiński
photography: Marek Jóźwiak
editing: Hanna Kłoskowska
production manager: Jadwiga Skawińska
production – Telewizja Polska [Polish Public Television], 1972.
The film featured former inmates of the camp on Przemysłowa Street:
Emilia Kamińska, Urszula Grenda, Apolonia Beda, Gertruda Nowak, Jan Woszczyk, Adam Dzięgielewski.