Memories of Jadwiga Makarska - Christmas

A hand-made shopping bag used by Jadwiga Makarska’s mom to carry sugar and grocery from the store. Difficulties in obtaining many commodities were an everyday occurrence for the deportees, as she recalls in her memoirs.

“Mother has already brought about ½ kg in a bag because there are no paper bags, the price I do not remember. Soon it will be Christmas, once so joyful. A few packages of food came in and letters from relatives and friends. It turns out that not all the packages are delivered [...]. Strife ensued over the parcels between us, the deportees. Some people received two or three each, while others didn’t get any. Some people had bed linen, clothes, underwear, jewellery, while others had almost nothing, only what they wore on themselves. So it was, is and will be in social groups. Of course, we often share with neighbours in our barracks, but we cannot give everything away. […] Christmas is approaching. We have already shared the last packages in our barracks. Christmas Eve. We share the wafers sent to us; we exchange wishes in the kitchen when the first star appeared in the sky; we go to our bedrooms a nd sit at a t able, set w ith a white c loth. We eat mushroom soup with pasta, then rice with sugar and compote from dried fruits from the package. The shopkeeper promised us a barrel of herring or frozen fish, but not a chance. On Christmas Eve we had soup with a piece of bacon, and compote with sweet biscuits. What a feast it was”.

Material: canvas
Technique: handmade product
Place and date of creation: Barnaul, before 1945
Dimensions: 41 × 29.5 cm
File number: MIIWS/RD/12229
Gift from Elwira Bartoszek