Provided below is an outline of the nineteeen hardbound volumes titled Silva Rerum (SR), handwritten by Bohdan Pawłowicz. Some of these volumes were brought to Brazil from Poland in 2013, while others were given to me by my cousin in the US in 2015. They encompass Bohdan’s personal diaries spanning from 1928 to 1953. Some diaries are missing – SR 20, 21, 22 (covering the Warsaw Uprising in 1944 and the end of the war in 1945) and SR 24 (which covers the years 1946-1947).
While the missing diaries were authored by Bohdan Pawłowicz in Rio de Janeiro and they are part of a sequence, they were taken by my uncle’s second wife, who held on to them when I fetched the aforementioned diaries in Warsaw. However, I managed to photograph the initial page of SR 20 and 21. Others were either not shown to me or missing as they are not present among those I recovered.
On its initial page, each diary typically includes : its number, dates and locations and in most, the pages coming next are numbered. Certain volumes, particularly those written during wartime, offer a sentence or two with a short contextualization for pivotal moments during WWII. Some hardcovers comprise two or three diaries, and most feature illustrations such as newspaper clippings, photographs, and postcards.
After relocating to the US in September 1953, Bohdan continued to document his life, albeit in a different format than previously described. From 1953 to March 1954, he recorded daily entries in an unruled softcover spiral notebook.
Additionally, there are two or three separate notebooks dedicated to significant events, such as a trip to Brazil in 1956 and another detailing his entrepreneurial endeavors in 1947.
He also wrote in 13 smaller red hardbound “daily reminders,” each spanning a year from 1955 to 1967. In these, within the very limited space of each daily page, he briefly chronicled his activities, state of mind, and encounters with others. They have not been added in this outline.
- Vol. I (1928–1940), 3 diaries
- SR 1 (not numbered) starts in 1928 with very sketchy and hurried comments on places visited, people Bohdan met while he acted as Chief Ship Inspector of the Polish Emigration Office (subordinate to the Ministry of Labour and Welfare). Then it documents his voyage on the MS Chrobry, which started on 29th July 1939. The pages of this particular diary are not numbered but they detail his journey aboard as the liner sailed southbound to Brazil and Argentina and then northbound from Argentina up to Recife in August and early September 1939. This diary also describes his voyage on the Fort of Troyon from Recife to France, and includes comments on his arrival in France in October 1939. [View scan of first page]
- SR 2 (136 pages) goes from November 1939 to January 1940, recording his trip from Marseilles to Paris passing through Cassis and Compiègne. [View scan of first page]
- SR 3 (138 pages) spans from February to April 15th, 1940, chronicling his experiences in Paris, France. [View scan of first page]
- Vol. II (April-July 1940), 3 diaries
- SR 4 (154 pages) spans from April 15th, 1940, to May 18th, 1940 and is set in Paris. [View scan of first page]
- SR 5 (183 pages) covers the period from May 19th, 1940 to June 18th, 1940. [View scan of first page]
- SR 6 SR 6 (155 pages) is a two month addendum to SR 5, detailing the events in June and July, which include the relocation from Bordeaux to Scotland following the occupation of France [View scan of first page]
- Vol. III (July-August 1940), 2 diaries
- SR 7 (160 pages) covers the period from July 18th to August 28th, 1940 and takes place in Scotland (Milbank, Douglas, Edinburgh, London, Broughton/Peebles, Lanark, Glasgow). It contains many photographs and postcards.[View scan of first page]
- SR 8 (157 pages) spans from August 29th to October 10th, 1940. [View scan of first page]
- Vol. IV (October-December 1940), 2 diaries
- SR 9 (284 pages) goes from October 11th to November 26th 1940. [View scan of first page]
- SR 10 (160 pages) from November 27th to December 27th 1940.[View scan of first page]
- Vol. V (December 1940 to January 1941), 1 diary
- SR 11 (188 pages) goes from December 28th 1940 to January 31st 1941 and it takes place in Scotland and England (Ayton House, Perth, Dundee, Rothesay, Glasgow, London). [View scan of first page]
- Vol. VI (February-March 1941), 1 diary
- SR 12 (289 pages) goes from February 1st to March 19th 1941 detailing his stay in London. [View scan of first page]
- Vol. VII (March-May 1941), 1 diary
- SR 13 (289 pages) goes from March 19th to May 26th 1941 and takes place in London, Dundee, Glasgow, Rothesay and back in London. [View scan of first page]
- Vol. VIII ( May-August 1941), 1 diary
- SR 14 (289 pages) goes from May 27th to August 2nd 1941 [from the sinking of the Bismarck to the signing of the Polish-Soviet Agreement]. It takes place in London. [View scan of first page]
- Vol. IX(August-November 1941), 1 diary
- SR 15 (287 pages) goes from August 3rd to November 11th 1941. It takes place in Pinner and Plymouth. [View scan of first page]
- Vol.X (November 1941-September 1942), 1 diary
- SR 16 (287 pages) goes from November 12th 1941 to September 27th 1942 [From the British offensive in Lybia to the Battle of Stalingrad]. It commences in the UK (Northwood, London, Plymouth) before transitioning to Scotland (Edinburgh and Glasgow). Subsequently, it recounts events aboard the ORP Garland while escorting Convoy PQ 16 from Iceland to Murmansk and Arkhangelsk in the Soviet Union. [View scan of first page]
- Vol. XI (October 1942-August 1943), 1 diary
- SR 17 (283 pages) goes from October 2nd 1942 to August 27th 1943 [From battle near El Amein, Egypt to the conquest of Sicily; from O.R.P. Dzik to meeting the family in Rio de Janeiro after 4 years]. Places mentioned: London, Barrow on Furness, Manchester, Cambridge, s/s Zagloba, Halifax, New York, Jacksonville, Miami, Port of Spain, Belem, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Curitiba, Rio de Janeiro. [View scan of first page]
- Vol.XII (September 1943-March 1944), 1 diary
- SR 18 (389 pages) goes from September 17th 1943 to March 17th 1944. It takes place mostly in Rio de Janeiro with visits to Curitiba, Paranaguá, Santos, São Paulo. [View scan of first page]
- Vol. XIII(March-August 1944), 1 diary
- SR 19 (598 pages) goes from March 18th 1944 to 11th August 1944. It takes place mostly in Rio de Janeiro with visits to Curitiba, Paranaguá, Santos, São Paulo. [View scan of first page]
- Vol. XIV (August-October 1944), 1 diary
- SR 20(? pages) goes from 12th August 1944 to 25th October 1944. While this diary was authored by Bohdan Pawłowicz in Rio de Janeiro and is part of a sequence, it was taken by my uncle’s second wife, who held on to it when I fetched the aforementioned diaries in Warsaw. I managed to photograph its initial page though. [
- Vol. XV, (October 1944 – February 1945), 1 diary
- SR 21(? pages) goes from October 26th 1944 to 5th February 1945. While this diary was authored by Bohdan Pawłowicz in Rio de Janeiro and is part of a sequence, it was taken by my uncle’s second wife, who held on to it when I fetched the aforementioned diaries in Warsaw. I managed to photograph its initial page though.
- Vol. XVI, (February – October 1945), 1 diary
- SR 22 (? pages)from February 6th to October 15th 1945. While this diary was authored by Bohdan Pawłowicz in Rio de Janeiro and is part of a sequence, it was taken by my uncle’s second wife, who held on to it when I fetched the aforementioned diaries in Warsaw.
- Vol. XVII, (October 1945- January 1946), 1 diary
- SR 23 (58 pages) goes from October 16th 1945 to January 13th 1946. It takes place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. [View scan of first page]
- Vol. XVIII, (January 1946 – November 1947) 1 diary
- SR 24 (? pages). While this diary was authored by Bohdan Pawłowicz in Rio de Janeiro and is part of a sequence, it was taken by my uncle’s second wife, who held on to it when I fetched the aforementioned diaries in Warsaw.
- Vol. XIX, (November 1947 – October 1950) 1 diary
- SR without number (313 pages) goes from November 28th 1947 to October 15th 1950. [View scan of first page]
- Vol. XIX, (October 1952 – December 1953), 1 diary
- SR without number (191 pages) goes from 15th October 1952 to 25th December 1953. [View scan of first page]