A 67-year-old German woman named Maria has been living in a forest near Kłobuck in Silesian Voivodeship for over a decade now. In the summer she used to sleep under a tree, using her backpack as a pillow. In the winter people kept on calling the police to save her from freezing, but she always comes back to the forest. She claims she is a doctor. The woman likes to talk and communicate through sign language. She knows German, English, and French. When she was hungry, the woman used to come to a local village for food. Reportedly, her family once took her back to Germany, but she returned to Poland. Last week, Maria was taken to a hospital for observation. We have asked local residents, social worker and the police about her.
Last week, on Dec. 21, in the assist of the police and social services, the 67-year-old German woman has been taken from Ostrowy village forest to the neuropsychiatric hospital in Lubliniec. Local community policeman Bartłomiej Macherzyński went to check on her as the temperature fell beneath zero degrees. He has been visiting her regularly for four year now. The woman has been living in this forest for over a decade. "Each winter we used to take her to a shelter, dozens of times," says Mirosława Solecka, social worker from the Municipal Social Welfare Centre (GOPS) in Miedźno.
This time the woman has been placed under observation. Macierzyński said she initially opposed the idea, but in the end agreed. "I didn't force her, we just talked. She trusts me," he said.
According to Solecka, although the woman does not need to have health insurance to stay at the facility, GOPS was still trying to find out at the German consulate if she is entitled to any benefits. They sent over questions and await any potential information regarding the woman.
Only brown bread, sometimes from waste bin
"My house is the first one by the forest, Maria used to visit us often," says Anna, a resident of Ostrowy village. She knows the woman's name is Maria because, as Anna claims to have seen her documents. "She used to come and ask for water. She brought her own bottles, frozen in winter. She drank only water. Only natural yoghurts, only brown bread. When we offered her soup, she asked if we had cooked it ourselves. Once she wanted some cake, but asked if we had baked it, making sure it wasn't from a shop," Anna says.
The locals would give her clothes, but she wouldn't just take anything and checked the labels. She is said to have dreamt of woolen mittens. But people also say they saw her scavenging for food in waste containers.
"Two or three years ago my grandma prepared some potatoes outside for hens, but she came round and ate them. Or when my cousin baked a cake and put it oustide to cool it down, she also got tempted," says Marek. We asked if these situations raised any animosity against the woman. "I wouldn't call it that. Generally, everyone is aware that there is a person like this around who can eat some of your food, but no one makes a big fuss out of it. Personally, I haven't seen her being harassed or chased away in any way," Marek assures.
"The residents are friendly to the woman. She isn't a troublesome person. She's peaceful and bothers no one. She likes solitude," Macherzyński says.
She says she's a paediatrician and her father was a doctor too
Anna underscores that the German woman likes talking to people. She recalls the 67-year-old used to ask her about the time or temperature. "Each time she used to smile, she seemed happy. I don't speak English, she doesn't know Polish, so we communicated in sign language," our interviewee says.
Some of the locals talked with Maria in her native language. Local community policeman - in English. He also confirms he heard her speaking French. Social worker spoke to her in Polish and claims the German understands the language.
Anna: "She said she's a paediatrician, and that her father was a doctor too, a head physician".
Mirosława Solecka from GOPS has also heard about it, but she waits for the consulate to confirm it.
"Her beauty was tarnished by harsh conditions"
Bartłomiej Macherzyński has found out that the 67-year-old came to Poland on foot. Before she settled in Kłobuck forests, she had lived in Gdańsk, in Czech Republic, and - according to some Ostrowy residents - in Greece. "She told me her trip from Germany on foot had taken her around nine days. She always travelled with a backpack and bindles," says Martyna from Ostrowy village.
Anna remembers this backpack, as her husband used to mend it on mnay occasions. Maria used to lay her head on it when she slept under a tree. But it was finally torn beyond repair, so they gave her a bag.
"I felt sorry for her. I admired her for living in this forest all by herself, but who would want to move to a forest in winter?" Anna says. "She was a beautiful woman, but her beauty got tarnished by these conditions, rain and frost. She has really lost weight in the last five years. She had stomach pains and toothaches. She had trouble with ticks, so we gave her tweezers. Everyone helped as they could," she added.
Someone gave her some money, someone invited her for a coffee, others gave her duvets and pillows, but she trusted one resident so much that she allowed him to take her to a dentist.
"She was even afraid of the dentist. One time she came and said her heart was aching, but she didn't want me to call an ambulance. She kept repeating she didn't want to go Lubliniec. I offered her coffee, which she drank in one go. She had told me earlier she had a sister and two sons. Another time I asked her: 'Maria, winter is coming, don't you wanna return to your family?'. Boy, did she burst in tears! She cried so woefully and said she couldn't return. She had a phone number to her family, but asked us not to call," Anna told us.
Attempts to contact the family
The 67-year-old woman told the local police and residents she had traumatic experiences in the past. The Municipal Social Welfare Centre has been trying to contact her family through the consulate.
"Her family has already been to Poland and took her to Germany, but after some time she returned to that same place," says our another interviewee, Dorian.
Other residents of Ostrowy and the police in Kłobuck share similar information. We read in a police statement that the German woman's family came to Poland a number of times to take her home. "Unfortunately, the woman rejected help each time and returned to Kłobuck county to lead a nomadic lifestyle".
"Maria, there's a pandemic and everyone's afraid"
"This the life she she chose. She says she doesn't need anything, and asks to leave her be," Macherzyński said.
In the summer she slept under a tree, later in makeshift shelters. This year she stays in a hut put together with old windows and plastic wrapping. "When there's frost, we call the police to pick her up, so she doesn't freeze," Anna says. "Police officers take her to a shelter, but she walks out right after them. The same day she's back in the forest," says social worker Mirosława Solecka.
Anna adds: "Last time she was crying that people no longer want to help her and don't let her in. I tried to explain it to her: 'Maria, there's a pandemic and everyone's afraid'".
"She doesn't want any help in terms of shelter. She wants to be in the forest. The forest is always her destination," Solecka said.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, TVN24 Katowice
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: śląska policja