Wartime Portraits: Women

Aired 2023-01-31

Halina Szymanska (1906 - 1989) wife of the last Polish military attaché in Berlin. After the outbreak of WWII, she meets admiral Wilhelm Canaris, the head of the Abwehr. As a result of this meeting, Halina becomes a Polish-British MI6 spy.

Aired 2023-02-14

Sixteen-year-old Halina Szwarc volunteered for the conspiracy. In the Third Reich, she conducted sabotage and espionage activities, gaining invaluable information about the activities of the German army.

Aired 2023-02-28

Wladyslawa Macieszyna (1888 - 1967) served in the Pilsudski Legions, was a senator of the 4th term of the interwar parliament. During World War II, she maintained contact with the Polish intelligence network in Germany.

Aired 2023-03-20

Helena Marusarzówna, champion in alpine skiing. From September 1939, she participated in the Polish resistance movement, acting as a secret courier, whose duties included carrying mail, money along mountain trails, and leading people.

Aired 2023-03-29

Wanda Gertz disguised as a man took part in World War I, and then continued her military career fighting in the Polish-Soviet War and becoming Józef Pilsudski's trusted secretary.