“Traces” is the latest result of the tireless work of Dr Joanna Ostrowska. Her patience and determination have for years led her to places where others turned back, where they did not want–or were not able–to look. This applies to subjects such as, for example, the history of queer people. This book is not only a story about what she managed to uncover, but also about the very nature of searching–about failures, oversights, what slips away; about the people who helped and those who obstructed the path; and about the circumstances that either facilitated or hindered discoveries.
It is also a story about the author herself–about what sensitive, responsible, and courageous travel through the lives and memories of others can look like today. Once again, Ostrowska asks why that which was most important in the lives of her protagonists still remains hidden.
“Traces” is much more than a historical study. It is a book that draws from multiple approaches, inspires readers to pursue their own investigations, and at times even to argue with it. It can be read as a kind of love letter–with a new layer of meanings and signs inscribed onto an old map, signs that not only point the way but also urge wanderers to turn their weaknesses into the strength needed to continue their journey.
Joanna Ostrowska is a doctor of humanities in the field of history, she also studied at the Institute of Audiovisual Arts at the Jagiellonian University, the Jagiellonian University’s Department of Jewish Studies, the Gender Studies programme at the University of Warsaw, the Department of Hebrew Studies at the University of Warsaw, and at the Łódź Film School. She is a university lecturer and dramaturge, as well as a member of the Programme Council of the QueerMuzeum in Warsaw. She is the author of the books Przemilczane. Seksualna praca przymusowa w czasie II wojny światowej (Silenced: Sexual Forced Labour During the Second World War, 2018), “Mój Führerze!”. Ofiary przymusowej sterylizacji na Dolnym Śląsku w latach 1934–44 (“My Führer!”: Victims of Forced Sterilisation in Lower Silesia, 1934–44, 2019), and Oni. Homoseksualiści w czasie II wojny światowej (They: Homosexual Men During the Second World War, 2021), which received the 2022 Nike Readers’ Award.
