Irena Kosmowska (20 December 1879 – 21 August 1945) was a Polish educator and politician. She was one of the first group of women elected to the
Legislative Sejm in 1919, serving in parliament until 1930.
Biography
Kosmowska was born into an intellectual family in Warsaw in 1879, the daughter of
Irena (née Kozłowska) and Wiktoryn. After being home educated, she attended a boarding school in the city and then a school for landowners' daughters in
Kuźnice in 1898. After returning to Warsaw, in 1903 she began she lecturing at courses for village security guards which were led by
Jadwiga Dziubińska and Maria Wehyro. From 1905 to 1908 she studied Polish history and literature at the
University of Lviv
The University of Lviv ( uk, Львівський університет, Lvivskyi universytet; pl, Uniwersytet Lwowski; german: Universität Lemberg, briefly known as the ''Theresianum'' in the early 19th century), presently the Ivan Franko Na ...
, where she met activists of the Galician People's Movement, including
Maria
Maria may refer to:
People
* Mary, mother of Jesus
* Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages
Place names Extraterrestrial
*170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877
*Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, da ...
and
Bolesław Wysłouch, under whose influence she began her political activity.
In 1908 she started contributing to the weekly ' under the pseudonym ''Jasiek z Lipnicy'', subsequently co-editing the publication from 1905 to 1915. From 1911, she also edited the "Świt - Młodzi idą" supplement, in which she published works by young folk poets. She was a co-organiser and secretary general of the Agricultural Society of S. Staszica and helped found a school for girls in
Krasienin in 1913. Before
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, she was involved in setting up agricultural schools in Kruszynek, Gołotczyzna, Sokołówek and Bratno. Together with Dziubińska, she developed the curriculum of the first
folk schools, modelled on Danish folk schools and Czech agricultural schools.
[''Słownik biograficzny działaczy ruchu ludowego'', 1989, pp194–195]
Prior to the war, Kosmowska was associated with the pro-independence left and represented ''Ruch Zaraniarski'' in the
Temporary Commission of Confederated Independence Parties The Temporary Coordinating Commission of Confederated Independence Parties ( pl, Komisja Tymczasowa Skonfederowanych Stronnictw Niepodległościowych, KTSSN) formed on 10 November 1912 in the Austrian Partition on the eve of World War I. It was an ...
. During 1914 she co-edited a supplement to Zarania, which supported the anti-Russian irredentist movement ''Na naszej ziemi''. After the outbreak of the war, she participated in the work of the , the and the
Polish Military Organisation
The Polish Military Organisation, PMO ( pl, Polska Organizacja Wojskowa, POW) was a secret military organization which formed during World War I (1914-1918). Józef Piłsudski founded the group in August 1914; it adopted the name ''POW'' in Novem ...
. However, she was arrested in May 1915 and was deported to Russia in July. After spending time in
Taganka Prison Taganka Prison (Russian: Таганская тюрьма) was built in Moscow in 1804 by Alexander I, emperor of Russia.Katrina Marie"Taganka: The Haunts of Intelligentsia and Blue-Collar Grit"''Passport Moscow''. Retrieved December 5, 2011 It gaine ...
, she was released on bail and lived in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, where she became involved with the , organising educational courses for refugees.
After returning to Poland in 1918, she joined the
Polish People's Party "Wyzwolenie"
Polish Peasant Party "Wyzwolenie" or Polish People's Party "Wyzwolenie"''Wyzwolenie'' is Polish for ''Liberation'', and many sources translate the party's name fully as Polish Peasant Party "Liberation" or Polish People's Party "Liberation" (Poli ...
(PSL Wyzwolenie), and in November was appointed Deputy Minister of Social Welfare in the
Provisional People's Government led by
Ignacy Daszyński
Ignacy Ewaryst Daszyński (; 26 October 1866 – 31 October 1936) was a Polish socialist politician, journalist, and very briefly Prime Minister of the Second Polish Republic's first government, formed in Lublin in 1918.
In October 1892 he cofo ...
.
[ The following year she became a member of the central committee of the party and was one of eight women elected to the Legislative Sejm. She was re-elected in ]1922
Events
January
* January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes.
* January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...
and 1928
Events January
* January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA.
* January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...
, remaining in parliament and on the central committee of her party until 1930. During her time in parliament she was also a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Union
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU; french: Union Interparlementaire, UIP) is an inter-parliamentary institution, international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and coop ...
. In 1930 she was sentenced to six months in prison for anti- Piłsudski activities. She became a member of the People's Party in 1931 after PSL "Wyzwolenie merged into the new party and was a member of its supreme council from 1931 to 1939. She also edited the party's newspaper '. In 1938 she was awarded the Cross of Independence
Cross of Independence ( pl, Krzyż Niepodległości) was second highest Polish military decorations between World Wars I and II. It was awarded to individuals who had fought actively for the independence of Poland, and was released in three cl ...
.
During World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
Kosmowska was a member of the People's Party "Roch" underground movement. In July 1942 she was arrested by Gestapo
The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.
The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...
; initially imprisoned in Pawiak
Pawiak () was a prison built in 1835 in Warsaw, Congress Poland.
During the January 1863 Uprising, it served as a transfer camp for Poles sentenced by Imperial Russia to deportation to Siberia.
During the World War II German occupation of ...
, she was moved another jail in Berlin, where she died in August 1945 due to wounds suffered during a bombing raid several months before. In 1961 she was buried in the Powązki Military Cemetery
Powązki Military Cemetery (; pl, Cmentarz Wojskowy na Powązkach) is an old military cemetery located in the Żoliborz district, western part of Warsaw, Poland. The cemetery is often confused with the older Powązki Cemetery, known colloquiall ...
.Wyszukiwarka cmentarna – Warszawskie cmentarze
Cmentarze Komunalne She was posthumously awarded with the
Order of the Cross of Grunwald
The Order of the Cross of Grunwald (') was a military decoration created in Poland in November 1943 by the High Command of Gwardia Ludowa, a Polish resistance movement in World War II, World War II Polish resistance movement organised by the Polis ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kosmowska, Irena
1879 births
Politicians from Warsaw
People from Warsaw Governorate
Polish women educators
University of Lviv alumni
Polish women journalists
Polish newspaper editors
Polish People's Party "Wyzwolenie" politicians
Members of the Legislative Sejm of the Second Polish Republic
Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1922–1927)
Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1928–1930)
People's Party (Poland) politicians
Recipients of the Cross of Independence
1945 deaths
Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Grunwald, 1st class
20th-century Polish women politicians
Polish civilians killed in World War II
Deaths by airstrike during World War II