Agata Tumiłowicz-Mazur
@agatumilowicz.bsky.social
Scholar & Writer ✍🏻
Ph.D. NYU Comparative Literature
I write on archive, nature, memory, and layers of Polish, Jewish and German heritage in my native Lower Silesia.
Words in The Brooklyn Rail, Triangle House Review, CEU Review of Books, Apofenie, etc
Ph.D. NYU Comparative Literature
I write on archive, nature, memory, and layers of Polish, Jewish and German heritage in my native Lower Silesia.
Words in The Brooklyn Rail, Triangle House Review, CEU Review of Books, Apofenie, etc
Polish flag’s waved not to confuse passersby 😉
or
„We’re still here” thought a Pole and a German, simultaneously, looking at this house.
or
„We’re still here” thought a Pole and a German, simultaneously, looking at this house.
November 5, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Polish flag’s waved not to confuse passersby 😉
or
„We’re still here” thought a Pole and a German, simultaneously, looking at this house.
or
„We’re still here” thought a Pole and a German, simultaneously, looking at this house.
Two types of Lower Silesian owls, at your service. The second one was clearly pointing to something, now it’s holding an empty plaque, a common form of absence around here, inscribed into the fabric of the town.
November 5, 2025 at 11:03 AM
Two types of Lower Silesian owls, at your service. The second one was clearly pointing to something, now it’s holding an empty plaque, a common form of absence around here, inscribed into the fabric of the town.
When it’s sunny but in November 🤷🏼♀️
November 4, 2025 at 2:19 PM
When it’s sunny but in November 🤷🏼♀️
In the world of doubles, here’s my latest obsession - two different house numbers 🥲 might create a separate series of it, I’m not sure, but they are certainly not the easiest to spot. It’s as if the two addresses, the one from the past and the present, manage to somehow coexist.
November 4, 2025 at 11:19 AM
In the world of doubles, here’s my latest obsession - two different house numbers 🥲 might create a separate series of it, I’m not sure, but they are certainly not the easiest to spot. It’s as if the two addresses, the one from the past and the present, manage to somehow coexist.
Blind windows, not very functional, or maybe functional, after all, and able to see…? Both.
November 3, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Blind windows, not very functional, or maybe functional, after all, and able to see…? Both.
I mean it, sometimes you *really* have to look hard.
November 1, 2025 at 10:31 AM
I mean it, sometimes you *really* have to look hard.
The lettering on the stones is harder and harder to read while the graves, in the absence of their caretakers, get gradually overgrown. Sometimes the only hint of a German grave are the Art Nouveau fences surrounding the plots.
November 1, 2025 at 10:20 AM
The lettering on the stones is harder and harder to read while the graves, in the absence of their caretakers, get gradually overgrown. Sometimes the only hint of a German grave are the Art Nouveau fences surrounding the plots.
As for the other German graves, it's still possible to find some but you need to look for them. They're usually hiding behind the Polish ones as if lurking. But in fact, they're just there like the shadows of a bygone reality, reminding you about the layers the region is built on.
November 1, 2025 at 10:08 AM
As for the other German graves, it's still possible to find some but you need to look for them. They're usually hiding behind the Polish ones as if lurking. But in fact, they're just there like the shadows of a bygone reality, reminding you about the layers the region is built on.
Another example, at a different local cemetery.
Eugen Füllner was the head of the paper machine factory and a great social activist who cared greatly about his employees. Entangling the past and present, current employees of the paper company still take care of his grave today.
Eugen Füllner was the head of the paper machine factory and a great social activist who cared greatly about his employees. Entangling the past and present, current employees of the paper company still take care of his grave today.
November 1, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Another example, at a different local cemetery.
Eugen Füllner was the head of the paper machine factory and a great social activist who cared greatly about his employees. Entangling the past and present, current employees of the paper company still take care of his grave today.
Eugen Füllner was the head of the paper machine factory and a great social activist who cared greatly about his employees. Entangling the past and present, current employees of the paper company still take care of his grave today.
Uh-oh, his grave was also facing the other way, but! Props for the local decision-makers to mark this place as a regional landmark.
As you can see, it's very tight in there.
As you can see, it's very tight in there.
November 1, 2025 at 10:01 AM
Uh-oh, his grave was also facing the other way, but! Props for the local decision-makers to mark this place as a regional landmark.
As you can see, it's very tight in there.
As you can see, it's very tight in there.
One sure way for the grave to survive was its...prominence. If the deceased happened to be an important person for the region – there's a chance his memory is still tangible.
Hugo Seydel, for instance, was the founder of a local museum and an activist of the Karkonosze Society.
Hugo Seydel, for instance, was the founder of a local museum and an activist of the Karkonosze Society.
November 1, 2025 at 10:01 AM
One sure way for the grave to survive was its...prominence. If the deceased happened to be an important person for the region – there's a chance his memory is still tangible.
Hugo Seydel, for instance, was the founder of a local museum and an activist of the Karkonosze Society.
Hugo Seydel, for instance, was the founder of a local museum and an activist of the Karkonosze Society.
In my town, the oldest surviving cemetery (established in 1874) is an example of such "adaptation." The Polish newcomers started to bury their dead in the formerly German cemeteries but gradually they needed more and more space, so more and more German graves were being removed.
November 1, 2025 at 10:01 AM
In my town, the oldest surviving cemetery (established in 1874) is an example of such "adaptation." The Polish newcomers started to bury their dead in the formerly German cemeteries but gradually they needed more and more space, so more and more German graves were being removed.
If cemeteries create a community of both the living and the dead, what happens when the living get displaced?
Case in point: German cemeteries in the PL "Recovered Lands."
All Saints' Day is a good day to reflect on what happens to memory in the absence of those who remember.
🧵(not an easy read)
Case in point: German cemeteries in the PL "Recovered Lands."
All Saints' Day is a good day to reflect on what happens to memory in the absence of those who remember.
🧵(not an easy read)
November 1, 2025 at 10:01 AM
If cemeteries create a community of both the living and the dead, what happens when the living get displaced?
Case in point: German cemeteries in the PL "Recovered Lands."
All Saints' Day is a good day to reflect on what happens to memory in the absence of those who remember.
🧵(not an easy read)
Case in point: German cemeteries in the PL "Recovered Lands."
All Saints' Day is a good day to reflect on what happens to memory in the absence of those who remember.
🧵(not an easy read)
I feel like I’ve shared letter boxes already but because I came across two more today, here they are. A bit redundant these days but kept almost intact nevertheless.
October 28, 2025 at 1:17 PM
I feel like I’ve shared letter boxes already but because I came across two more today, here they are. A bit redundant these days but kept almost intact nevertheless.
Just the other day, my mom takes this table runner out from our wardrobe and says „oh, and this one is from the Germans, too!”
80 years later I STILL find things from the previous inhabitants, randomly scattered around. And it’s got a face.
I guess this story never ends.
80 years later I STILL find things from the previous inhabitants, randomly scattered around. And it’s got a face.
I guess this story never ends.
October 26, 2025 at 10:25 AM
Just the other day, my mom takes this table runner out from our wardrobe and says „oh, and this one is from the Germans, too!”
80 years later I STILL find things from the previous inhabitants, randomly scattered around. And it’s got a face.
I guess this story never ends.
80 years later I STILL find things from the previous inhabitants, randomly scattered around. And it’s got a face.
I guess this story never ends.
Today, Lower Silesia celebrates 15 years as a voivodeship and, as they put it, 80 years of ‘postwar Lower Silesia.’ Whatever the occasion, just wanted to relaunch my posting with this photo from around 8 years ago. That’s exactly when my research started — and so did my layered love for the region.
October 18, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Today, Lower Silesia celebrates 15 years as a voivodeship and, as they put it, 80 years of ‘postwar Lower Silesia.’ Whatever the occasion, just wanted to relaunch my posting with this photo from around 8 years ago. That’s exactly when my research started — and so did my layered love for the region.
Hiii there! It’s been a while. Just wanted to say I’ve been busy writing and putting my research out to public differently. Yesterday I had a pleasure to present a paper in my hometown, and next week I will take part in a debate in Warsaw. But if you miss some Lower Silesian posts, let me know!💛🖤
October 1, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Hiii there! It’s been a while. Just wanted to say I’ve been busy writing and putting my research out to public differently. Yesterday I had a pleasure to present a paper in my hometown, and next week I will take part in a debate in Warsaw. But if you miss some Lower Silesian posts, let me know!💛🖤
So many emotions in one face 🤣
September 4, 2025 at 11:23 AM
So many emotions in one face 🤣
It’s always weirdly moving for me to depart or arrive at this train station. It’s where my grandparents and great-grandma got off exactly 80 years ago, to restart their lives in the shapeshifting postwar Poland. Seeing this sign, the first thing they must have seen, was especially eerie.
August 31, 2025 at 11:52 AM
It’s always weirdly moving for me to depart or arrive at this train station. It’s where my grandparents and great-grandma got off exactly 80 years ago, to restart their lives in the shapeshifting postwar Poland. Seeing this sign, the first thing they must have seen, was especially eerie.
How many dust particles are you away from Copernicus? Well.
In this episode of “crazy traces in the attics”, let me present a hanger. It taught me about Moritz Leiser’s late 19th century department store in Toruń. Apparently, it was located in a building owned in the past by…Copernicus’ parents.
In this episode of “crazy traces in the attics”, let me present a hanger. It taught me about Moritz Leiser’s late 19th century department store in Toruń. Apparently, it was located in a building owned in the past by…Copernicus’ parents.
August 29, 2025 at 11:20 AM
How many dust particles are you away from Copernicus? Well.
In this episode of “crazy traces in the attics”, let me present a hanger. It taught me about Moritz Leiser’s late 19th century department store in Toruń. Apparently, it was located in a building owned in the past by…Copernicus’ parents.
In this episode of “crazy traces in the attics”, let me present a hanger. It taught me about Moritz Leiser’s late 19th century department store in Toruń. Apparently, it was located in a building owned in the past by…Copernicus’ parents.
Filing this under “attic idiosyncrasies of Lubuskie”
August 29, 2025 at 8:50 AM
Filing this under “attic idiosyncrasies of Lubuskie”
Prewar tiles, layers and years of paint peeling off - of course I got excited.
August 29, 2025 at 7:45 AM
Prewar tiles, layers and years of paint peeling off - of course I got excited.
He did it!
My awesome grandpa turned 100 today!
He got congratulatory letters from the Polish Prime minister, Lower Silesian Voivode, a visit from the city Mayor, and he’s happy as a clam!
My awesome grandpa turned 100 today!
He got congratulatory letters from the Polish Prime minister, Lower Silesian Voivode, a visit from the city Mayor, and he’s happy as a clam!
August 26, 2025 at 12:26 PM
He did it!
My awesome grandpa turned 100 today!
He got congratulatory letters from the Polish Prime minister, Lower Silesian Voivode, a visit from the city Mayor, and he’s happy as a clam!
My awesome grandpa turned 100 today!
He got congratulatory letters from the Polish Prime minister, Lower Silesian Voivode, a visit from the city Mayor, and he’s happy as a clam!
There was more, of course.
August 25, 2025 at 1:59 PM
There was more, of course.
Good morning from an early 20th century hike, I suppose. Yet another glitch in the space-time continuum.
August 25, 2025 at 6:49 AM
Good morning from an early 20th century hike, I suppose. Yet another glitch in the space-time continuum.