Erwina Brzychowska lived with her parents in the Polish Post Office in Gdańsk, then located at Heveliusplatz. She is called the youngest victim of the battle for the Polish post office. Erwinka died from severe burns that she suffered during the German attack.

The fight for the Polish post office began on 1 September 1939, simultaneously with the German attack on Polish ammunition storage in Westerplatte, only a couple kilometers from the city centre.

The Polish Post Office workers defended the building for 14 hours and stopped the fight only when the Germans started to try burning them alive. 14 Poles died during the defence and 38 were later shot after a fake court trial.

The youngest victim of the German attack was a 10-year-old Erwina Barzychowska, an orphan raised by the Pipek family that lived in the Polish Post Office. The severely burned girl died in hospital after seven weeks of suffering.

Today Erwina Barzychowska is commemorated with a statue in the centre of Gdańsk as one of thousands of Polish children killed during the World War II.

Source: IPN, Polskie Radio

Tomasz Modrzejewski