Historical accounts of women in sexual labor in Poland

Historical records and new literary works highlight the experiences of women engaged in sexual labor in Poland during the interwar period and World War II.

In the Second Polish Republic, women in sex work were subject to strict sanitary and police supervision, requiring mandatory health control booklets. Historical accounts describe instances where women faced legal consequences and police scrutiny in public spaces, such as cinemas, for failing to comply with immediate document inspections.

Following World War II, women forced into sexual labor in concentration camps or on the streets of cities like Kraków and Warsaw faced social stigmatization. Many were accused of collaboration and marginalized in official historical narratives. An expanded edition of Joanna Ostrowska’s book, ‘Przemilczane’ (The Silenced), provides new testimonies from camp survivors, specifically focusing on Majdanek, to address these overlooked biographies.