Warsaw at the turn of the 20th c. in the memoirs of two women from the circle of the affluent intelligentsia class - Jadwiga Waydel-Dmochowska and Stefania Podhorska-Okołów

Abstract

Gathering materials for her monograph Życie codzienne w Warszawie na przełomie XIX i XX wieku [Everyday life in Warsaw at the turn of the 20th c.] the author studied a number of memoirs related to her topic. This article tackles two particularly interesting cases: the memoirs of Jadwiga Waydel-Dmochowska (Dawna Warszawa [The old Warsaw], Warszawa 1958; Jeszcze o dawnej Warszawie [More on the old Warsaw], Warszawa 1960) and Stefania Podhorska-Okołów (Warszawa mojego dzieciństwa [The Warsaw of my childhood], Warszawa 1955).
Those memoirs described Warsaw from the perspective of teenagers from the affluent intelligentsia class, focusing on details overlooked by adults. Describing their walks, the two girls noted the shop windows they passed, patisseries, restaurants, workshops and book shops. Both mentioned places where young people met for sports, Stefania Podhorska-Okołów devoting much attention to this issue. Both often mentioned going to museums and art exhibitions with their parents.