The author considers the diaries of Maria Dąbrowska covering the period 1914 to 1966 which have recently been made available in electronic form and recognises her as the most important Polish storyteller of the first half of the 20th century. He considers the importance of this work to research into the history of Poland during the 20th century. He emphasises Maria Dąbrowska’s specific view of political and social reality, which is not surprising given that she was a leading intellectual and artist. However, the diaries are not just a reflection of the author’s personality but they also illustrate the attitudes that part of the Polish intelligentsia which during the years prior to independence in 1989 was called the “independence intelligentsia”. This was a community which was largely liberal and left-wing whose views were shaped by concepts adopted at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. A broad spectrum of Polish society did not fully accept the views of that community. Nevertheless, at critical times (e.g. the invasion of Poland in 1939, resistance against the Germans in 1939–1944 or the communist crisis in 1956) Maria Dąbrowska’s diaries reflect the attitudes of most Poles. The diaries shed light on the situation and attitudes of the intelligentsia and intellectuals during the communist era and their attitudes to the authorities and the communist or socialist social and political programme.
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