“In the Grip of Death. The Story of Courier WERA” is the latest book published by the Remembrance Museum of the Land of Oświęcim Residents. A promotional event featuring the author, Jolanta Kupiec, will take place at the museum’s headquarters on May 27th, 2025 (Tuesday) at 17:30. It will be an opportunity to hear Jolanta’s personal recollections about her mother, Zofia Gabryś (later Domasik). Admission is free.
Zofia Gabryś was born on August 26, 1921, in Bielany near Kęty. During German occupation, she became involved in the underground resistance of the ZWZ/AK as a courier for the partisan unit “Sosienki,” codenamed “Wera.” Among her many activities was aiding prisoners of KL Auschwitz by secretly providing clothing, food, medicine and participating in organizing prisoner escapes from the camp. She took over the fugitives, cared for them, and guided them to safe hiding places.
-A tragedy occurred on November 10, 1944, when “Wera,” along with other individuals involved in underground resistance was captured by the Gestapo and sent directly to Block 11 of the Auschwitz concentration camp — the so-called “Death Block.” She was subjected to inhuman torture, beatings, and brutal abuse — a harrowing ordeal intended to forcibly extort the testimony. Over the night of January 17–18, 1945, in a state of near-death exhaustion, “Wera” was forced to join other prisoners on the evacuation march from Auschwitz, known as the “Death March” from which she managed to escape along the way, regaining her freedom — writes Dorota Mleczko, Director of the Remembrance Museum of the Land of Oświęcim Residents, in the book’s introduction.
After the end of World War II, Zofia Gabryś’s involvement in the Home Army attracted the attention of the communist Security Office (Urząd Bezpieczeństwa). In 1947, she married Stanisław Domasik. The couple had two children. For her underground resistance activities during the German occupation, she was repeatedly honored — including with the Gold Cross of Merit, the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, and the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta. She passed away on April 3, 2009, and was buried in the municipal cemetery in Oświęcim.
Jolanta Kupiec, daughter of Zofia Domasik, often wondered where her mother found such courage. After all, she participated in extremely risky operations — helping prisoners escape from the camp, delivering secret messages, or transporting weapons and ammunition from Allied air drops. She faced the constant, life-threatening danger from the occupying forces. Jolanta also wondered where her mother drew the strength to endure the horrific beatings during Gestapo interrogations without betraying anyone involved in the resistance.
In her youth, she was calm, hardworking, well-behaved person who loved learning and had a knack for mathematics. She dreamed of getting an education. The war drastically ruined those dreams, just as it did for thousands of others, and the traumas of the occupation shattered her psyche. They led to persistent fears and, over time, many illnesses. From my childhood, I remember her as a cheerful person who cared deeply for our home and for us — her two children – recalls Jolanta Kupiec.
In the book, the author chose to the first person narrative. This style allows us to witness the brutal reality of the occupation through Wera’s own eyes.
We cordially invite you to participate in the event.
