Place of Birth: Dzierzoniow tells the story of young Helena’s upbringing in Poland in the years after the Second World War. It offers a glimpse into a chaotic world unknown to many, as seen through the eyes of a young girl, while chronicling as well the broad range of fates suffered (or experienced) by the adults around her. The transformation this world has undergone is starkly embodied in its two key locations: Dzierzoniow, a town that completely changed almost overnight, from having been German to being populated by survivors of the wartime horrors, and Warsaw, a city rising from its ruins like a phoenix. This world is full of both tragic experiences and the troubles one has in finding one’s place in new surroundings and under new conditions, while offering inspiring glimpses of human richness and ingenuity.Introduction by dr. Kamil Kijek