Maria Wittek ('' noms de guerre'' "Mira", "Pani Maria";

Trębki Trębki is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Szczawin Kościelny, within Gostynin County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It lies approximately south-west of Szczawin Kościelny, south-east of Gostynin, and west o ...

, near

Gostynin Gostynin is a town in central Poland with 19,414 inhabitants (2004). It is situated in the Masovian Voivodship since 1999 and was previously in the Płock Voivodship from 1975 to 1998. It is the capital of Gostynin County. History Gostynin h ...

, 16 August 1899 – 19 April 1997, Warsaw, Poland) served in the Polish Army and associated organizations from age 18 and, following retirement, in 1991 became the first Polish woman to be promoted to

brigadier-general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Early service

Maria Wittek was born and grew up in the Russian partition of Poland. Her father, Stanisław Wittek, a carpenter, was a member of the Polish Socialist Party (PPS) and moved with his family to Ukraine in 1915 to avoid being arrested by the Russian authorities. Maria while in high school joined the Polish

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

troop in

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

. She then became the first female student in the mathematics department of Kiev University. At the same time she joined the clandestine Polska Organizacja Wojskowa (Polish Military Organization) - and completed the NCO training course. In 1919 she joined the Polish army group that was fighting the Bolsheviks in Ukraine. Then in 1920 as a member of the Women's Volunteers she fought in the battle for Lwów (now Lviv) and was awarded the highest Polish medal Virtuti Militari for the first time. Newsletter of the Polish Ministry of Defence
(in Polish)

Between the wars

From 1928 to 1934 she was the commander of the

Przysposobienie Wojskowe Kobiet Przysposobienie Wojskowe Kobiet (Female Military Training) was a Polish organization for women, which existed in the interbellum period as well as during World War II. This was not a paramilitary organisation. Background In the autumn of 1918 Po ...

- an organization training women for military service. In 1935 she was appointed the head of the women's division at the Institute of Physical Education and Military Training in

Bielany Bielany () is a district in Warsaw located in the north-western part of the city. Initially a part of Żoliborz, Bielany has been an independent district since 1994. Bielany borders Żoliborz to the south-east, and Bemowo to the south-west. Its ...

, near Warsaw.

In World War II

During the Invasion of Poland (1939) she was the commanding officer of the Women's Military Assistance Battalions. In October 1939 she joined the underground

ZWZ Związek Walki Zbrojnej ( abbreviation: ''ZWZ''; Union of Armed Struggle;Thus rendered in Norman Davies, ''God's Playground: A History of Poland'', vol. II, p. 464. also translated as ''Union for Armed Struggle'', ''Association of Armed Strug ...

which later became the Home Army. She was head of Women's Army Services on the staff of gen. Grot-Rowecki and later gen. Bor-Komorowski. She fought in the Warsaw Uprising and was promoted

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. After the capitulation she avoided being taken prisoner by the Germans and left the ruins of Warsaw among the civilians. She continued in her staff position of the Home Army until its dissolution in January 1945. Maria Wittek pomnik

After the war

When the communist government of Poland reopened the Institute of Physical Education and Military Training, she initially returned to her previous position as head of the women's division. However, in 1949 she was arrested by the communist authorities and spent several months in prison. After her release she worked in a newspaper kiosk. She initiated the establishment of the "Commission for the History of Women". After the collapse of communist rule in Poland, President Lech Wałęsa appointed her brigadier general on May 2, 1991. Thus she became the first Polish woman to attain the rank of general. She never married. On 19 April 2007, the 10th anniversary of her death, a life-size bronze monument of her was unveiled at the

Polish Army Museum Museum of the Polish Army ( pl, Muzeum Wojska Polskiego) is a museum in Warsaw documenting the military history of Poland. Established in 1920 under the Second Polish Republic, it occupies a wing of the building of the Polish National Museum as w ...

in Warsaw.

Awards

* Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari, - twice * Cross of Independence with Swords, (''Krzyż Niepodległości'') * Cross of Valour (''Krzyż Walecznych'') * Warsaw Cross of the Uprising

Sources

External links

Article in Polish newspaper "Rzeczpospolita, May 2, 1997

Ministry of Defence newsletter April 19 2007 - in Polish

Monument to General Wittek at Military Museum, Warsaw
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wittek, Maria 1899 births 1997 deaths Polish women in World War I Polish Army officers Polish female soldiers Polish Military Organisation members Polish legionnaires (World War I) Polish people of the Polish–Ukrainian War Polish people of the Polish–Soviet War Female resistance members of World War II Polish generals Polish resistance members of World War II Recipients of the Virtuti Militari Recipients of the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari Recipients of the Cross of Independence with Swords Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Warsaw Uprising insurgents Women in World War II Women in European warfare Polish women in war Polish women in World War II resistance