Spotkanie wokół książki „Modlińska 257” o kamienicy w której ukrywano Żydów

Mateusz Szczepaniak, 16 November 2016
An event took place last Saturday centred on a book concerning the extraordinary story of a heritage-listed tenement at ul. Modlińskiej 257 in Warsaw. During the War, Jews were hidden there by nuns and Leon Schiller staged staged plays. Today, the building houses the Centre for Local Activity.

The three-storey tenement, with two charming annexes and a garden, was built at the beginning of the 20th century. It belongs to the Womens Care Association and, in the 1930's, served as the Home for Wayward Girls.

During World War II, nuns hid Jews in this tenement, giving over the annexes and the garden to the underground for their activities and allowing the Home Army to store weapons there. From 1942, Leon Schiller himself ran an underground theatre there.Od 1942 roku działał tam konspiracyjny teatr, prowadzony przez samego Leona Schillera.

Christmas celebrations held there, at the end of 1942, atrracted Warsaw's entire then elite. Amongst the audience was  Czesław Miłosz himself. The impression was so stringly felt that, years later, that "Rok Myśliwy" noted here they had found the "essence of theatre". During the occupation, Schiller staged another two plays. After the War, the nuns however did not return to Henryków.

The publication was promoted by Anna Mieszkowska and Bartłomiej Włodkowski. The event organiser was the Białołęka District Office in Warsaw.