HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Aleksandra Piłsudska ( Szczerbińska; 12 December 1882 – 31 March 1963) was a Polish socialist and independence activist, member of Polish Socialist Party and Polish Military Organisation, the second wife of
Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Chief of State (Poland), Chief of State (1918–1922) and first Marshal of Poland (from 1920). In the aftermath of World War I, he beca ...
.


Life and career

Aleksandra was born in
Suwałki Suwałki (; ; or סוּוואַלק) is a city in northeastern Poland with a population of 69,206 (2021). It is the capital of Suwałki County and one of the most important centers of commerce in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. A relatively young ci ...
, in the Suwałki Governorate,
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
(now in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
), and was the seventh child of Piotr Paweł and Julia Jadwiga (née Zahorska). Her father was a townsman, and her mother came from the
nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...
, but both their families were relatively poor. Aleksandra's parents died when she was ten years old, and the orphan was raised by her grandmother, Karolina Zahorska (née Truskolaska), and her aunt, Wiktoria Maria Zahorska. She attended '' gymnasium'', the equivalent of high school, in
Suwałki Suwałki (; ; or סוּוואַלק) is a city in northeastern Poland with a population of 69,206 (2021). It is the capital of Suwałki County and one of the most important centers of commerce in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. A relatively young ci ...
, graduating in 1901, and soon began her studies at the Flying University. In 1903, she began working in the office of the Homa leather factory, located in the
Wola Wola () is a district in western Warsaw, Poland. An industrial area with traditions reaching back to the early 19th century, it underwent a transformation into a major financial district, featuring various landmarks and some of the tallest offi ...
district of
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
. In 1904, she joined the Polish Socialist Party (''PPS''), one of the two main revolutionary and political movements in partitioned Poland, the other being
National Democracy National Democracy may refer to: * National democratic state, a state formation conceived by the Soviet concept of national democracy * National Democracy (Czech Republic) * National Democracy (Italy) * National Democracy (Philippines) * National De ...
. She was soon acting as a PPS agitator in the Warsaw suburb of
Praga Praga is a district of Warsaw, Poland. It is on the east bank of the river Vistula. First mentioned in 1432, until 1791 it formed a separate town with its own city charter. History The historical Praga was a small settlement located at the e ...
, taking part in a demonstration held on '' Plac Grzybowski'' on 13 November 1904. She also joined the military arm of the PPS, ''Organizacja Bojowa'', where she became a courier and stockpiler of weapons. It became necessary for her to resign from her job at the factory, and she
tutor Tutoring is private academic help, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects. A tutor, formally also called an academic tutor, is a person who provides assis ...
ed students to supplement her income. In May 1906, she met
Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Chief of State (Poland), Chief of State (1918–1922) and first Marshal of Poland (from 1920). In the aftermath of World War I, he beca ...
. That year, the PPS split into two factions, supporters and opponents of Piłsudski. She remained with the Piłsudski faction. Aleksandra was arrested in 1907 and imprisoned for three weeks in Daniłłowicze prison, then transferred to the Pawiak prison, where she was eventually released due to insufficient evidence. She moved to
Radzymin Radzymin is a town in Poland and is one of the distant suburbs of the city of Warsaw. It is located in the powiat of Wołomin of the Masovian Voivodeship. The town has 8,818 inhabitants (as of 2008, but the surrounding commune is heavily populate ...
and later to
Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
, and at that time fell in love with Piłsudski. (He was then unhappily married to Maria Juszkiewiczowa z Koplewskich). In 1908, she took part in the Bezdany raid, where Piłsudski and several fellow revolutionaries robbed a Russian mail train. She was crucial in helping to organize the raid, acting as a lookout, and preparing maps and plans for weeks before the robbery. Afterwards, she moved to
Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...
, and once again became an office worker in a factory. Soon, she became involved with the new organization formed by Piłsudski, ''The Union of Riflemen'', '' Związek Strzelecki'', and from 1912, she was an important activist in the women's section of the ZS. She was a librarian in yet another one of Piłsudski's organizations, the ''Union of Active Fighters'', '' Związek Walki Czynnej'', and a cofounder of the Society for the Welfare of Political Prisoners (''Towarzystwo Opieki nad Więzniami Politycznymi''). During the First World War, she worked in the intelligence and communication section of the First Brigade of the Polish Legions, and soon she became involved with the Polish Military Organisation (Polska Organizacja Wojskowa). As a result of these activities, she was arrested in 1915 by the Germans in Warsaw, and again imprisoned in Pawiak in November of that year. Found guilty, she was imprisoned in Szczypiorno and Lauban in
Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...
. She was released after the Act of 5 November 1916, which proclaimed the creation of the
Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...
, a
puppet state A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government is a State (polity), state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside Power (international relations), power and subject to its ord ...
, allied and expected to work with, and controlled by, the
Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...
. She then returned to Warsaw, and resumed her work in the organization called the Women's League (''Liga Kobiet''). She identified as a feminist and wrote:
Piłsudski already promised that if he started to organize the army he would not forget about women's unit. The feminist movement was very popular in Europe in this time. In England suffragists chained themselves to bars on the streets and torched castles while fighting for women's rights. Feminists were also popular in France and other countries. Only socialists claimed that women should have equal rights with men.
In February 1918, Aleksandra had a daughter, Wanda, and in February 1920, a second daughter, Jadwiga. Their father was
Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Chief of State (Poland), Chief of State (1918–1922) and first Marshal of Poland (from 1920). In the aftermath of World War I, he beca ...
. Piłsudski and Aleksandra could not get married as Piłsudski's wife Maria refused to divorce him. It was only after Maria's death in 1921 that they were married, on 25 October of the same year. After Piłsudski's May Coup in 1926, Aleksandra became a patron and a leader of the Women's League. She was also a chairwoman of the Military Family's Association (''Rodzina Wojskowa''), the "Osiedle" Association, and the Union of Polish Defenders of the Fatherland (''Unia Polskich Związków Obrończyń Ojczyzny''). She was also active in the affairs of the Association for the Care of Homeless Children (''Towarzystwo Opieki nad Bezdomnymi Dziećmi''). Her marriage to Piłsudski became stormy in later years, with Piłsudski living apart from her for long periods of time, in various governmental residences. Josef Piłsudski died in May 1935. After the
German invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...
on 1 September 1939, she fled with her daughters via
Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
, Latvia and
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
to the United Kingdom. There, she wrote her memoirs, and lived in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
until her death. She is buried at the North Sheen Cemetery. One of her daughters, Jadwiga, a pilot, served with distinction in the Air Transport Auxiliary during the Second World War.


References


Bibliography

*


Further reading

* Aleksandra Piłsudska, ''Memoires of Madame Pilsudski'', London, Hurst and Blackett, 1940; * Aleksandra Piłsudska, ''Pilsudski: a Biography by His Wife'', Dodd, Mead and Co., New York, 1941. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pilsudska, Aleksandra 1882 births 1963 deaths People from Suwałki People from Suwałki Governorate 20th-century Polish nobility Józef Piłsudski First ladies of Poland Polish Socialist Party politicians Polish female soldiers Polish soldiers Polish socialist feminists Burials at North Sheen Cemetery 20th-century memoirists Piłsudska, Aleksandra