Bełżeccy Family Archive

Part 1

The film was probably recorded in 1969. Genre scenes from a trip to Cracow, in which Zbigniew and Jadwiga Bełżecki, their daughter (Marzena), and her then boyfriend (Stanisław Bartkowski, called by the family Bartek) participated. They spent a few days in a rented wooden house. We can see only Marzena and Bartek walking in the forest, standing on stones in a mountain stream, talking and playing. The trip took place in the spring, so on the one hand, we have snow-covered slopes of hills, and, on the other hand, the young, partially undressed and bathing in the warm spring sun. Marzena is 17 years old at the time. She still attends high school.

Part 2

The film was probably recorded in 1969. Genre scenes from a Sunday trip to Cracow, in which Zbigniew and Jadwiga Bełżecki took part with their daughter, Marzena. The family came here in a Syrena – a car that they didn’t like and which they got rid of after a year. Women in swimsuits cook water on the fire and roast sausages. The fire smoke is terrible – this is one of the motifs characteristic of Bełżecki’s films, who, to increase the drama, threw wet leaves into the fire, thanks to which everything was to look more spectacular. As we can see, the family humbly endures this procedure. After preparing the meal, Zbigniew Bełżecki cleans and polishes the car body. The others play badminton.

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