Cross with figure of Jesus

Zofia Pociłowska, before May 1945

Cross with figure of Jesus, plastic, 2.8 x 1.5 x 0.5 cm

Ravensbrück Memorial, V6388 D2

Photographer: Dr Cordia Schlegelmilch

Small crosses and Madonna figurines expressed religious convictions and symbolized the hope of deliverance from suffering. There are many accounts of Catholic Polish women in Ravensbrück coming together for ‘devotional hours in memory of Christ’s suffering’. By recalling figures from salvation history who had also experienced suffering, loss and death, the women could take comfort in the thought that they were not alone in such martyrdom, and the promise of resurrection gave them hope that death was not the end.