Trzebieszowice, a house built by her father. It is here that Paulina Bagińska lives with her family and runs the Society of Friends of the Land of Lądek-Zdrój. This is where the flood came. ‘In our house, it reached half a meter, but in my parents’ house it reached one meter and sixty centimeters. They had to throw almost everything away,’ she recalls.
28.08.2025
article, human stories
All our hope lies in returning to small communities
Paulina's Story
For her, it’s not the first time: ‘I was a child, but I remember 1997. Then 2010. This is already the third major flood in my life. This time the wave came violently, after the dike broke. The physics worked, the wave was completely different. Normally floods are fast, but not this fast.’
Paulina was in Bolesławów when the water came. ‘I remember that morning well, because I thoroughly cleaned my house. At 15.00 I went to run an animation activity for the children’ she recalls. ‘By 17.00 I already knew I wouldn’t be coming back, the roads were cut off. I felt like I was on the Titanic – in the place where I was, the music played and the fun was going on, and a bit further people were being evacuated.’
Contact with relatives broke down for two days. ‘I didn’t know what was going on with my parents, with my partner. All I remember is the sound of a wave, as if someone had suddenly turned on a waterfall above my ear.’
Despite the drama, she has no thoughts of moving out. ‘Cataclysms happen. You can move the house higher, improve the drainage, but don’t run away from here. These are beautiful areas, our Polish Tuscany. I do feel the local genius loci (the protective spirit of a place – ed.). We’re connected not only to our own lineage, but also to those who came before us, even if they were not our ancestors by blood, they were our ancestors by land.’
Paulina is a cultural animator, director and puppet actress. Although the puppets and props she used for her work were flooded, she managed to dry and clean them all. A room with a stage is being built in the building next to her house, where the Society will carry out its theatre activities. ‘All the hope for humanity lies in returning to communes, to small communities,’ she stresses.
Paulina’s story is part of the exhibition “Water Mark. One Year After the Flood”, which will be on display at Plac Centralny in Warsaw from September 5 to October 4, 2025. The exhibition features photographs by Aleksander Małachowski (@hashtagalek) as well as photos from PAH’s archives, taken by Alicja Ryś. They show the places affected by the September 2024 flood, as well as the people who received support from PAH. The exhibition is also available HERE.
Do you like the photos from the exhibition? Donate any amount to photographer Aleksander Małachowski’s fundraiser and receive 6 photos selected by him! After making a donation, you will automatically receive an email with the photos ready to download.
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Download the Polish Humanitarian Action’s report on post-flood activities.
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