POLISH WOMEN IN SERVICE OF THE HOMELAND Contents

POLISH WOMEN IN SERVICE OF THE HOMELAND

Contents : • History of the military service of women in Poland • Maria Wittek • Women in Home Army • Messengers. Women without whom there would be no Home Army • ‘Disk' – the only women's unit of the Home Army • Girls from the Uprising • Paramedics • Banished

On the cards of history we can find big names of those who courageously and competently defended Poland from the foreign incursion. Poland was defended not only by men but also by women.

HISTORY OF THE MILITARY SERVICE OF WOMEN IN POLAND The military Service of Women was established at the end of February 1942. The road to recognition of women as proper soldiers was not easy. The efforts remained ineffective throughout the whole period of the 2 nd Republic. Only in April 1938 an all Polish Organisation for the basic training of Women was formed. Maria Wittek became its leader.

Maria Wittek • Maria Stanisława Wittek, pseudonym"Mira", „Mrs. Maria” • She was the first Polish woman in the history of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland who was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. • She was awarded the Order of Virtuti Militari of the 5 th class, twice she was awarded the Cross of Independence with Swords and the Cross of Valour. • in 1939 she was the Chief leader of the Women's Battalions of the Support Military Service.

Women in Home Army Women constituted over 10 percent of the soldiers in all structures of the State Army.

Anna Smoleńska ps. „Hania” A participant of the action of Small Sabotage "Wawer". She looked after the families of the arrested and delivered secret messages from prison. In 1942 she won the competition organised by the Office of Information and Propaganda of the Main Command of Home Army for the sign of Underground Poland. Her project was an "Anchor” - a sign of fighting Poland.

Messengers. Women without whom there would be no Home Army. If suddenly all the messengers disappeared, the Home Army wouldn't have survived for even a week. They performed the most dangerous work of the Polish underground activities. But sadly, hardly anyone remembers them today.

'Disk' – the only women's unit of the Home Army "Disk" is a women’s department of diversion and sabotage of the Home Army. Wanda Gertz was the head of the department, she had the pseudonym "Lena”. In the cinemas ran by the invaders they planted caustic materials and smelly substances and poured chemicals into the fuel tanks of the Nazi cars. Women from "Disk" also participated in the surveillance and liquidation of Nazi criminals. Together with the battalion „Umbrella” they attempted to assassinate the "executioner of Warsaw", i. e. general Franz Kutscher, the commander of the SS and the police in the District of Warsaw.

GIRLS FROM THE Uprising

On 1 st August 1944 in Warsaw there were about half a million women. The Warsaw Uprising was a terrifying experience for them. During 63 days of a heroic battle they fought, they were afraid, they cried over the death of their families. Many were injured, many died, most of them lost all their belongings. The women of Warsaw went through hell.

Irena Błasińska „Rena” During the Warsaw Uprising she ran a sanitary in Good Street. She served in Grey Ranks.

Janina Różecka "Dora"

paramedics They attended the wounded on the battlefield.

BANISHED „Banished’’ - these were women who served Poland by fighting directly with the Bolshevik invaders, and by taking care of the "boys from the forest”.

„Because they lived by the law of the wolf, the history remains deadly silent about them. ’’ - Zbigniew Herbert

Danuta Siedzikówna "Inka" The most well-known of the banished women is Inka. A paramedic and messenger of the 5 th Vilnius Brigade of Home Army.

Thank you for attention Sabina Koterbicka

Bibliography A. Herbich -‘’Dziewczyny z powstania” Internet www. sprawiedliwi. org. pl