General Elizabeth is the only 1 of the silent.
Gen. Elżbieta Zawacka should be mentioned in the pantheon of Polish heroes of planet War II. Her biography is an example of integrity, dedication and large courage, which became a symbol of the fight for free Poland. She went through life like a storm, though it lasted for a 100 years. She left behind countless memories and anecdotes, primarily the unique communicative of a silent woman.
The only 1 in your kind
As with Tadeusz Chciuk-Celt, the communicative of Elżbieta Zawacka is truly unique. And in this case you can talk about a résumé worthy of a movie. Although the training of the silent included respective women, it was Elizabeth Zawacka who was the only 1 who passed highly hard fitness exams and moved to occupied Poland. Among the 316 ,,split’, she so occupied a peculiar place. And it is not the only manifestation of its uniqueness! As the second Pole in history, she was promoted to general. She was somewhat overtaken by a colleague from the Maria Wittek conspiracy. Zawacka besides obtained the title of prof. and lectured at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, which has a peculiar dimension in the context of her tremendous talent, fortitude and opposition to postwar persecution and harassment, which she experienced from communist security. Humiliation she endured bravely, never renounced her belonging to the Polish Underground, actively representing the National Army. It's all 1 woman. Yet it is simply a fragment of her awesome résumé, which covers almost a 100 years!
TRUTH PROCESS AND FIRST WOOD
Elżbieta Zawacka was born on 19 March 1909. During the interwar period, she was a promising mathematician, studied at Poznań University, and later taught mathematics at school. At the same time, she was active in the activities of the volunteer Women's Adoption Organization. Its creator was later General Maria Wittek. After the war broke out, Zawack and her fellow servants were evacuated eastward. any of the way went on foot. In the end, Zawacka reached Lviv to receive an assignment to the Women's Auxiliary Military Service Battalion there. After russian aggression, she again had to flee, this time towards the west. She passed a hard way – through Toruń, Poznań, Warsaw reached Silesia, now completely subordinated to the German occupier. On the way, she was sworn in to a late formed conspiracy organization called the Polish triumph Service. Thus she began to operate in the Polish Underground.
The experience of the first weeks of the war, but besides the cognition that Zawacka gained in the 1930s, was successfully utilized in the conspiracy activity. As a teacher of mathematics in border areas, she frequently encountered German citizens. Besides, she spoke large German, which frequently facilitated her courses in 3rd Reich territory. After the SZP was renamed the Zawacka Armed Combat Union, she was given the mission to make regular courier routes from the General Government to the West. The occupation wasn't easy. It required an excellent cognition of the terrain, the fortitude of the spirit, the cold blood, and its execution put the active on frequent journeys through the 3rd Reich and crossing the strictly guarded borders. The continuous surveillance from German police services was the regular bread of Zawacka and Poles cooperating with it. Well, if she wasn't strong enough. As she mentioned years later, only by 1942 she had already over a 100 border crossings!
This was a remarkable feat, considering the large difficulties and the threat of deprivation. Initially, she created a communication way with Berlin, later the command of the Polish opposition ordered her to make routes to Switzerland and France. She traveled on ,,borrowed” from Silesian kenkart friends – then imitations of identity cards that did not have photographs. During 1 of the regular checks, she was stopped by the Gestapo and in a bravado way escaped through the station window. It besides happened to smuggle money across the border that was sent from London to operate the OGM and later the Home Army. Zawack's success was the consequence of excellent self-organization, cognition of the German language and – sometimes even impudent – bravado. What's there to hide, Zawacka besides favored extraordinary happiness. Just mention 1 of the many anecdotes describing her rich life. Despite the "burning" of the contact location, which she could not have known in advance, she avoided arrests. In the mediate of Germany waiting for visitors to this place, the opposition members went out for dinner. A complete case that saved her life.
In fact, she avoided major accidents, although she regularly traveled by German trains and trams on false German native papers. Until... In early 1943 she had to be evacuated from occupied Poland. The Germans managed to track her down due to the evidence they extracted from 1 of the conspirators. She spent Zawack in dense torture. As a result, investigators were allowed behind Poland. erstwhile she was watched, she tried unsuccessfully to lose her tail. But she did not lose cold blood. She got on the train she jumped out of while driving. She then reached Warsaw from the Zyrardów area, but was already exposed. This was the end of a certain phase of her underground activity. She had to run.
The Only Silent One
In February 1943, she was sent to London with a fresh mission. She could not stay in Warsaw, but her experience was invaluable in building safe communication routes with the Emigration Government. The mission was commissioned by the Home Army Commander General Stefan Rowecki, "Grot". She reached the UK via a combined way – first through Germany and France, then through Andorra and Spain to Gibraltar. She changed her identity again. Her name was Elizabeth Watson now. In Britain, she checked in with the Chief Chief of Staff. She reported straight to General Władysław Sikorski, but this 1 was not curious in her lonely mission, although the assumptions were crucial for maintaining and developing contacts on the London-Warsaw line. Zawacka complained that London simply did not realize the conditions under which it operated in the country. Political and military migrants did not feel a conspiracy, did not know how costly it was to pay for errors in communication. possibly that's why her appeal was ignored by Sikorski. At that time, the Prime Minister of the Polish Government on Emigration and the Chief Leader was already preparing to go to the mediate East. Unfortunately, he no longer returned to London, died in a plane crash on July 4, 1943.
However, this did not mean the end of Zawack's mission. "Zo", as it was popularly called, was qualified for a tedious, exhausting parachute course, during which it was prepared to spread by air alleged silent. , , ” ” ” , , , , , ,. For Zawack, it was not the first time, yet she spent her last years in active service in the resistance. A female with specified a character could besides not have had difficulty passing tests. Zawacka was the only female to have a quiet position and was 1 of 316 people who jumped to Poland. It is an extraordinary achievement, even for her – highly inflated – standards of unusualness. Besides, Zawack's best evaluation was given by emissary Jan Nowak-Jezioranski, who commented on her attitude and individual gathering with the words: ,,Even in a conspiracy where there is anonymity, ,,Zo” became a legendary figure [... She was a man who was sharp and demanding, but most than herself. Her dedication to the ministry was bordering on fanaticism [... It was raw, serious, a small rough and very factual. [...]I just got a warm, strong handshake to say goodbye, and I heard a slight sigh: Give God to get you there” (,Kurier from Warsaw). Legendary courier mentioned that during the conversation, Zawack didn't even smile, she didn't care about individual matters. She was focused on the task entrusted to them, full dedicated to the ministry, always involved. After the war, she besides did not lose her feisty and circumstantial character. Her statements were clear, factual, sometimes even sharp, erstwhile she did not leave a dry thread on the London emigration completely unaware of the tragic conditions prevailing in Poland, where all mistake, deficiency of synchronisation per minute could have resulted in the death of conspirators (e.g. in the records of statements for the Archive of spoken History).
On the night of September 9, 1943 Zawacka was dropped from a plane piloted by Stanisław Król over occupied Poland. She landed somewhere in the Józefów area. After her stay at Krystyna Ksiewicz she moved to Warsaw. Back to working in the conspiracy. And this time, she enjoyed extraordinary happiness. The courier service, “Zagroda”, in which she served, was exposed and broken by the Germans. Zawacka avoided arrests, but from April to July 1944 she hid in the monastery of the sisters of the immaculate in Szymanów. It is worth emphasizing that during the Warsaw Uprising she served as a associate of the Military Women's Service, assisted in nursing work. She managed to exit the devastated capital along with the civilian population. She was forced to hide until the end of the war. She traveled between Krakow and Warsaw, tried to get to Silesia to decision to London again. No success. She played , «The homestead» in Kraków. planet War II, however, was coming to an end. Conspirators were leaving the underground. Those who came out were frequently persecuted by the Soviets and fresh communist authorities. The repressions didn't miss Zawacka either.
FOR REMEMBER OF NATIONAL ARMY, FOR POLISH FREEDOM
After the war ended, she briefly served in the anti-communist organization Freedom and Independence. She besides began organizing her life again. She completed her studies started on secret sets during the occupation. She worked as a teacher for a fewer years, yet opened up her doctorate. On a wave of repression against erstwhile members of the National Army in September 1951, she was arrested by the safety Office. She served 4 years. Prison didn't break her. After her freedom was regained, she continued her academic career and work with her own fervor. In 1965, she received her doctorate and 7 years later obtained habilitation. For years, she maintained contact with colleagues and colleagues from the conspiracy. She created archives, cared for the members of the Home Army. All this in the face of the threat of Communist repression. Even so, the authorities would never let her academic career to full develop. In the 1980s, she acted in "Solidarity".
Only after the fall of communism could the homeland appreciate her commitment. She was promoted to Colonel in the 1990s and to Brigadier General in 2006. As the second female in the past of the Polish army! She was honoured with many awards, including the Officer's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta and the Order of the White Eagle. For the remainder of her life, she remained highly active, she participated in the forum of the Kombatant organizations, acted for the co-created AK-ows Foundation. present she is named General Elizabeth Zawacka. “Zo” has lived almost a 100 years. She died 2 months before her birthday, January 10, 2009. Her body was buried in the household of Toruń.
Source:
http://www.sww.w.szu.pl/index.php?id=articles_elzbieta_zawacka_onlyyna_women_instrument_silent
