[2] Jakubowska graduated from high school in 1928 and received a degree in Art History from the University of Warsaw in 1931.

[2]: 14  Through the cinema appreciation group, Jakubowska found opportunities to work on early Polish films and direct her own.

The outbreak of World War II led to the loss or destruction of Nad Niemnem, prior to its distribution.

[2]: 15 After the Invasion of Poland in 1939, Jakubowska joined the Polish Socialist Party, an underground resistance group.

Jakubowska was held in Pawiak prison where the German authorities later learned of her underground involvement.

[2]: 20-23 In October 1944 the German authorities detected Jakubowska's continued contact with the underground and transferred her from Rajsko to Birkenau.

Jakubowska was eventually transported to Ravensbrück 10 days before the Red Army would arrive at Auschwitz.

The Nazis also attempted to evacuate Ravensbrück, but Soviet forces were able to liberate the convoy of prisoners including Jakubowska on 28 April 1945.

[2]: 23-25 After the war, Jakubowska moved to Łódź where her old friend Aleksander Ford was now in charge of Film Polski.