Painful Memories… ,by Countess Zofia Grocholska (1866–1957), is a description of dramatic experiences from the years 1917–1919 that were closely linked to the historical events occurring at that time, including the Bolshevik Revolution and attempts to create an independent Ukrainian state. As a consequence of those events, the author’s home in Strzyżawka, near Winnica, was looted and burned down and members of the Grocholski family were persecuted, arrested and repeatedly threatened with death. For two years, the entire family lived in continual tension, amid endless inspections and terror. Ultimately, in 1919, the Grocholskis left Ukraine forever, after being present in those lands for over two hundred years.

The author spent thirty years in Podolia. In 1886, she married Count Tadeusz Grocholski (1839–1913), a social activist and talented artist. She lived with her husband in the Strzyżawka residence, beautifully situated on the banks of the Bug. It was there that their children entered the world: Tadeusz (1887–1920), Remigiusz (1888–1965), Zofia (1889–1969), Michał (1891–1924), Anna (1892–1977), Henryk (1896–1939) and Ksawery (1903–1947). The revolutionary turmoil of 1917 brought an end to the safe family haven. The house was completely ruined, and its residents became dispersed. Those experiences moved Zofia Grocholska to write down these painful memories, which on the centenary of the described events have been published in print by her great-grandson Henryk Grocholski.

Description: 287 pages; 128 illustrations, 24 x 16 cm
ISBN 978-83-947282-0-5
Published: Henryk Grocholski, Warsaw 2017