A Polish Girl in Siberia

Surviving and Transcending Exile (Disruption Curios)

De: Ida Kinalska-Pietruska, Isabella Skrypczak - editor translator

Narrado por: Isabella Skrypczak

A memoir of a child's forced relocation to Siberia under Stalin's Gulag system reveals the potential for true human kindness in the face of extraordinary hardship

In April of 1940, six-year-old Ida woke to the sound of pounding on her door. Soviet soldiers forcibly packed her and her mother onto a train with thousands of their neighbors and deported them to remote Siberia, leaving them stranded to survive the brutal winter in subhuman conditions. Looking back, Ida shares their struggles: foraging for food, trying to reunite with her imprisoned father, spending weeks in a desolate hospital with typhoid fever, and adapting to shifts in the political climate to make the long journey home to Poland.

Ida published this acclaimed memoir in her native Polish in 2011. Here, Ida's granddaughter, Isabella Skrypczak, translates her babcia's words and provides additional context—including describing the remarkable life Ida has gone on to live as a pioneering doctor.

In the vein of Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl, A Polish Girl in Siberia chronicles Ida's experiences on a lesser-known front of the Second World War. Together, Ida and Isabella reflect on how every small act of kindness contributed to Ida's liberation from exile and ability to build a life and a family. Her story celebrates the capacity of the human spirit to not only survive trauma but thrive beyond it.

©2026 Ida Kinalska-Pietruska (P)2026 Disruption Books

A Polish girl in Siberia

This is a deeply touching and powerful story told through the eyes of a six-year-old girl, which makes the experience even more raw and real. Seeing the Gulag system from a child’s perspective strips away politics and leaves you with something much more human—confusion, fear, resilience, and small moments of hope.
What makes this book stand out is how it helps you understand the real impact of the USSR system on ordinary people in Eastern Europe. It’s not just history—it’s personal, emotional, and often heartbreaking.
At the same time, the story reminds you that even in the harshest conditions, kindness still exists. There are moments of humanity, generosity, and connection that feel almost unbelievable given the circumstances.
If you want to understand this part of history on a deeper, human level, I highly recommend it.