Sława Wołosiańska (real name Jarosława Wołosiańska) was associated with the Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy of the Polish Academy of Sciences for 25 years, working there since its inception. She began her work in 1954 at the Forensic Expertise Laboratory of the Blood Groups Department, which conducted research on blood groups initiated by Prof. Ludwik Hirszfeld and continued by his close colleague, Prof. Danuta Schlesinger.
In later years, this unit functioned as the Immunogenetics Laboratory, where Sława Wołosiańska worked as a laboratory technician until 1979. The laboratory specialized in forensic expertise in paternity cases based on serological tests.
Few people were aware of Sława Wołosiańska’s heroic past. At a time when helping Jews was punishable by death, both for the person helping and their family, she took a conscious risk. Acting in complete secrecy, during the German occupation in 1943-44, she and her husband Izydor provided shelter to 39 people. Thanks to her determination, all of them survived. Her quiet but extremely significant act of courage became a symbol of moral strength and solidarity in times of contempt.
This extraordinary story was described in a book by Sława Wołosiańska’s granddaughter, Katarzyna Skopiec, entitled “Ocaleni z Drohobycza” (“The Survivors of Drohobych”). The book was launched in February 2025. This Tuesday, September 30, at 6 p.m., there will be a meeting with the author at the Tadeusz Mikulski Lower Silesian Public Library in Wrocław (Rynek 58). Admission to the event is free. We cordially invite you to attend.