Chair

The chair was part of the furnishings of a private apartment of Janina Szczerska (born on 22 October 1897 in Stryj, died on 10 July 1981 in Szczecin), which was donated to the collection of the National Museum in Szczecin in a will drafted on 1 September 1976. Janina Szczerska, who was a teacher and an educator, established the first general school in Szczecin and served as its headmistress until 1951, when she was probably dismissed from her post because of various events from her biography, as well as her involvement in helping repressed schoolgirls. She left the city and took a job at a middle school in Pyskowice, later transferring to the Primary School and High School in Bielsko-Biała. Szczerska's links with Szczecin were rebuilt in on the initiative of her former students, who invited her to a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of their matriculation. While visiting Szczecin, she was asked to resume the position of a headmistress of thee High School from September 1959, and she accepted the offer. At that time, it was already a co-educational institution, which was met with her great dissatisfaction. She found it difficult to come to terms with the presence of boys in the school, as it was visibly impacting the girls' behaviour. In October 1965 she took a two-week leave of absence, and on 22 November she held the last teacher conference.

Anna Lew-Machniak