My wife, Helena, was in ’57 and working in Saclay, this was, the Atomic Energy institute in France, created by de Gaulle. And, she became very friendly with some of the principal forward.
((Atomic Energy institute in France 2))

Because I think he was the head of the biological department of the, of the Institute. And we continued to be ver y friendly with him, and meeting him all the time whenever, we came to France. 
((Scientists France 1958 ))
For some reason, he didn’t decide to come, to Poland, but, we continued our friendship for as long as he lived. because he died, quite young, in the ’80s, of pancreatic cancer and it was a very, big loss for us too. 
((Scientists France 1958 2))
So, I imagine this because in many ways, he tried to help us whenever there was a need for that and he’ll and I will say that it wasn’t financial, but in a way which he could, and which we needed maybe.

((Eiffel Tower 1958))
So when Helena came back from France, she before that started, organizing, I mean, a lab at, on plant metabolism. But, when she came back, she continued to work at the plant, at the level of metabolism but, she, also, 
((Eiffel Tower 1958 2))
started organizing the Central Isotope Lab in the Institute, where she was working in, as a professor and a research, and a research person in Plant Physiology 

((greenhouses Paris 1958))
Department. It took a long time to organize this lab, especially in building the glasshouses, with which we controlled the environment, which I think I talked about this before. someone…
((greenhouses Paris 1958 2))
 Later in ’63, she got a prize for that from the, from the, State Atomic Agency for Peaceful Use of Atomic Energy, for her work in organizing the, in the use of isotopes in Poland.

((atomic energy))
Before that, she also tried before that to get some information from the institutes in Soviet Union. But when ever she came there, the institutes didn’t especially like to show anything related to 
((atomic energy 2))
atomic energy and peaceful use, and it happened many times when she went especially to the Petersburg Institute, I think it was the Institute of Plant Physiology there, – and they tried to tell her many times that, whenever she came, that the director’s not in, and then she to come next day, on repeat. And, instead of showing her the work on the, on both atomic use for of isotope use and so on, and, they took her to the to the art galleries in, and she was spending quite a lot of time as they dodged her inquiries about atomic energy.
((Societ art museum 1960 2))

Then, and then finally she decided to come home. She also got acquainted with, a lot of art which had also accumulated in the Soviet Union which was not, actually shown. 
((Societ art museum 1960 2))
And, but it was kept hidden in special, in special rooms behind the, those, which were available for visiting by the people. so, and there was a lot of western art there, especially Picasso, Matisse and other ones, which were not at the time shown. largely were not open to the public. 
((Societ art museum 1960 3))
so, her visit to France and to the Institute was very helpful for work which she did and to some degree also for my work which I did.
((field research lab))