Rulers, thinkers, politicians, warriors — the traditional historical narrative presented in textbooks, lectures, or museum exhibitions is, for the most part, a story about men. But journalist and activist Anna Kowalczyk asks an important question: What happens if we change our perspective?
Kowalczyk (journalist, social activist, and author of the blog) decided to take on a difficult but necessary task: to write the history of women in the lands that make up today’s Poland. Drawing on a vast range of sources — many shared with her by enthusiasts of the project — she offers a retelling of the past from a different point of view. This is not a dry chronicle. It’s a narrative that brings to light the experiences and figures that have long been pushed into the shadows, yet are crucial to understanding who we are.
What Do We See When We Look Differently?
Rulers, thinkers, politicians, warriors — the standard historical narrative remains overwhelmingly male. But Kowalczyk wonders what happens when we shift the lens. What if we treat as central those areas that have traditionally been considered peripheral — child-rearing, neighborhood networks, caregiving, household work?
The answers are surprising. Kowalczyk shows that women had far more agency than stereotypes allow, not only in the Slavic period. Each successive era — from Christianization to the People’s Republic of Poland — involved constant negotiation of women’s place in the world of laws, norms, and social expectations.
Nine Chapters – Nine Perspectives
One of the book’s strengths is its clear, accessible structure. Each chapter focuses on a different historical period but also forms part of a larger mosaic.
In prehistory and the early Middle Ages, women co-created communities and played key economic and ritual roles. Christianization brought marriage laws and monastic education. The Renaissance and Baroque reveal the immense influence of queens, noblewomen, and landowners, while witch trials expose society’s fears and mechanisms of control.
In the 19th century, the political archetype of the “Polish Mother” emerged, but real women worked in factories, founded associations, and educated children. In the interwar period, women won voting rights, but professional barriers remained, and equality did not extend into the family. During World War II, women served as couriers, nurses, and even combatants, though their contributions were later erased from memory.
The communist era (PRL) brought formal gender equality and mass workforce participation, but also the phenomenon of the “double shift” — one job at work, another at home. Post-1989 Poland saw a return of reproductive restrictions but also a surge of dynamic women’s protests, showing that history is still being written.
Everyday Life as Historical Philosophy
Many reviewers describe Kowalczyk’s book as popular science — accessible and engaging. This is true: she avoids academic jargon, opting instead for vivid storytelling enriched with anecdotes, quotes, and visual sources. Yet the book is also profoundly philosophical.
It reminds us that history is not only about political decisions and battles — it is also about the daily lives of ordinary people. What traditional narratives label “secondary” — childcare, cooking, weaving, networks of mutual support — becomes key to understanding the whole. Kowalczyk argues that we cannot speak of a complete history without including all of its social actors. The Missing Half of History is not only a story about women — it is a story about the essence of history itself. It shows that power and war do not have a monopoly on what is considered “historical.” History is, above all, the story of human experience in all its dimensions.
Women Are Not an Add-On
Reading Kowalczyk leads to one clear conclusion: women are the foundation of history, not an appendix to it. They raised generations, introduced innovations in agriculture and household management, often ran estates, and led social initiatives. During wars, they kept communities functioning. Kowalczyk does not idealize their role — she also exposes limitations, violence, control, and double standards. This only makes her argument more powerful: women have always been present, even if historical narratives consistently pushed them to the margins.
Why This Matters Today
Kowalczyk’s book was published in 2018 — at a time when debates over reproductive rights in Poland were intensifying and women were taking to the streets in mass protests. Today, after further restrictions and continued mobilizations, its message feels even more urgent. We cannot understand the present without a historical context — without knowing how women’s rights, responsibilities, and opportunities have evolved over the centuries.
For readers, the book is also a lesson in critical thinking: every historical source represents a particular perspective. And because the male voice has dominated for centuries, it is all the more important to listen to the voices that were left out.
Written by Sylwia Dzieminska
The article was originally published at https://liberte.pl/brakujaca-polowa-dziejow-kobiety-wracaja-do-historii/
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