MATERIALS ON THE CLANDESTINE TEACHING OF CHEMISTRY IN THE YEARS 1939-1945

In the years 1978-1990, the Polish Chemical Society's Division for the History of Chemistry made attempts to collect materials on the organization and practice of the clandestine teaching of chemistry at university level during the Nazi occupation of Poland in the years 1939-1945, when all tertiary education for Poles was banned. In order to collect the materials, two questionnaires were devised, one for the instructors and the other for the students in the process, which were published in the journal 'Wiadomosci Chemiczne' (Chemical News) in the form of an appeal, and also sent out by post to some of those involved. There were no responses to the appeal, but the questionnaires formed a basis for interviews conducted with the instructors, Prof. Osman Achmatowicz and Prof. Witold Tomassi, as well as a student of the clandestine classes, Ms. Halina Wolska. The paper contains the two questionnaires, the interviews, and the reply by dr. Danuta Kozłowska to the questionnaire she received by mail.