Zula, Janka, Stefa, Róża…

This work is the second in a series dedicated to Zula Pacanowska (1904-1942), described as “a woman disconnected from history.” Pacanowska was a staunch advocate for workers' rights, a leader of the resistance movement in the Litzmannstadt Ghetto, a scout for Ha'Shomer Ha'Tsair, and an artist.

For almost fifty years, a street in the former Litzmannstadt Ghetto was named after her. As an activist in the illegal Polish Communist Party, she was imprisoned for her activities prior to World War II, and during the German occupation, she was confined to a ghetto where she resisted the policies of Chaim Rumkowski. Zula Pacanowska was murdered by the German Nazis at the Chełmno nad Nerem concentration camp.


The female names in the work's title refer to the pseudonyms used by Rachela (Zula) Pacanowska, while also symbolising the many women who were involved in the struggles and revolutions of their time, as well as those who faced daily challenges and fought for their rights and those of others.

The work features a bas-relief modelled after an element of the installation "Strike Rumbles Down the Street" at 56 Zgierska Street in Łódź. The design of the bas-relief invokes the Order of the Banner of Labour, which was posthumously awarded to Zula Pacanowska by the communist authorities of Poland. In my work, the male figure originally depicted on the order has been replaced by a female figure.

This work honours the legacy of Zula Pacanowska as a committed communist, artist, nurse, member of the resistance in the Łódź Ghetto, and victim of the Nazis. Today, she is also a casualty of the thoughtlessly applied Decommunization Act, which led to the renaming of the street in Łódź that was dedicated to her memory.