SERVICE OF THE MEMBERS

of the Women’s Military Training

IN WARSAW UPRISING

por. Maria Bauer (z d. Ostyk-Narbutt) ps. “Renata”

9 XII 1902 - 05 I 1988

Liaison Officer for special duty assignments of the Home Army

In 1921, she graduated from high school in Vilnius and got married. In 1922, she gave birth to her daughter Janina and settled in Warsaw. She worked voluntarily in the Social Emergency of Women’s Military Training, the Society of Friends of the J. Słowacki Secondary School as a member of the Board and secretary of the Presidium (1932-1938), and the Circle of Friends of Scouting (1933-1939).

In September 1939, she served in auxiliary service in the Emergency Military of the Girl Scouts of the Warsaw Region. In October 1939, after taking the oath, she served as a liaison officer for special assignments of the Home Army. She participated in the uprising as a liaison officer under the pseudonym “Mama”. Wounded and blinded, she ended up in a transit camp in Pruszków. She remained active in the underground until 1945. In 1951, she was arrested and sentenced to 15 years in prison for contacts with emissaries of the Supreme Commander’s Headquarters in Exile. She was released from serving her sentence in 1956 and was granted amnesty. A year later, she was fully rehabilitated by a court judgment.

Decorated with: Gold Cross of Merit with Swords, Cross of Valour, Knight’s Cross of the Polonia Restituta, the Warsaw Uprising Cross, the Grunwald Badge.

Janina Gellert (z d. Bauer) ps. “Zosia”

23 IV 1922 - 15 VII 2021

Liaison Officer of Unit V-K (Conspiracy Communication) of the Home Army

She was active in the Scout Emergency during the war and from 1939 in the underground. In 1940, she passed her high school final exams in secret, and in 1941, she began her secret medical studies. During the Warsaw Uprising, she participated as a liaison officer for General Antoni “Monter” Chruściel.

After the uprising, she ended up in a transit camp in Pruszków, to later escape from the transport together with her mother. She was active in the Home Army conspiracy until 1945. After the war, she returned to Warsaw.

Decorated with the Officer’s Cross of the Polonia Restituta, the Silver Cross of the Order Virtuti Militari, the Cross of Valour, the Warsaw Uprising Cross, the Polish Army Medal (four times), the Silver Cross of Merit with Swords, and the Cross of the Home Army.

Families in the PWK

In organizations such as Women’s Military Training, it was often the case that a mother and daughter, or sisters, attended meetings together and went to training camps together. A notable example is the Piłsudski sisters, Wanda and Jadwiga, the daughters of Marshal Józef Piłsudski. According to Krystyna Mazurek’s account, during a camp near Grodno in 1934, when there was an outbreak of mumps, the Marshal sent his aide to take the daughters home. Both women refused to obey the order, explaining that they were soldiers and, like others, would stay until the end of the camp.

Another example is Maria Bauer, who, while serving as an instructor, took her teenage daughter Janina to training camps. There were even cases where a girl taken on a trip was only a few years old and yet could absorb the spirit of PWK in the camp atmosphere. A great example was the camps in Skolem and Garczyn in 1935, where some instructors were allowed to come even with very young children. The happy faces in the photos unanimously testify that such joint camping was a great idea. As part of the practical training in childcare and improving the quality of life for the local population during the camps, PWK members ran children’s corners, where they took care of instructor and local children, organizing their time in a healthy, safe, and developing manner.

Families in the Uprising

The Warsaw Uprising drew broad sections of society into the fight, including entire families. Maria Bauer found herself among the ranks of the liaison women of the Home Army with her daughter Janina. Medic Ewa “Mewa” Matuszewska, unable to reach her home unit on August 2, joined Company 02 of the “Olza” Battalion of the “Baszta” Regiment, where her mother Stanisława Kuszelewska-Rayska was the head of the kitchen. Ewa was murdered on September 26 in an insurgent hospital. When her body was found, she still had an undeployed bandage in her hand. Stanisława left the city with the civilian population.

Jadwiga Krzyżanowska, a nurse from the hospital at 7 Wilcza Street, had three brothers during the uprising. All four survived the fighting. Such insurgent siblings could be listed for a long time, however, all of them would often die. Irena Kowalska-Wuttke walked through the uprising with her husband Jan by her side (they got married on September 5, 1944, in a basement on Hoża Street). Irka’s sister, Maria “Maryna,” died from wounds on August 31, and Jan’s brother, “Black Jasio,” was killed on August 8 during fighting at the Evangelical Cemetery. Irka and Jan fought together on Czerniaków. He fell on September 19 on Wilanowska Street, she was taken prisoner. She was executed in a group of six nurses and liaisons of the “Radosław” Group on September 24 near the church of St. Wojciech. Both are symbolically commemorated at the graves of their sister and brother.

Love and marriage in the Uprising were an incredible phenomenon. During the 63 days, 256 weddings were registered! A particularly moving ceremony took place on August 17 at the Garrison Church on Długa Street. Jerzy “Jeremi” Zborowski and Janina “Nina” Trojanowska, his liaison from the “Parasol” battalion, got married. Their relationship began in the underground, and during the Uprising, it faced severe trials. On August 6, “Nina” was wounded in the face, causing her psychological breakdown. On September 14, “Jeremi” was wounded, so severely that he had to be carried on stretchers until the end of the fighting. His wife stood by him tirelessly, even when the Germans conducted selections of prisoners. She was supposed to be taken prisoner and survive, but she did not leave “Jeremi” for a moment. They were murdered on September 23 on Aleja Szucha. Their bodies were never found.

Archival photographs

  1. Maria Bauer/ public domain
  2. Janina Gellert /General Zawacka Foundation
  3. Meal at the workers’ camp in Skole near Stryj in 1929. Visible members of the Women’s Military Training with children /General Zawacka Foundation
  4. Insurgent bride and groom at the Elżbietanki Hospital at 1 Goszczyńskiego Street in Mokotów. Photo by Wacław Zdżarski /public domain
  5. South Śródmieście, Krucza Street corner of Piękna. Krzyżanowscy family: from left: Maksymilian “Dębno”, Jadwiga “Inka”, Bohdan “Pantera”, Zdzisław “Żbik”. Photo by Stanisław Kopf / Warsaw Uprising Museum