Anna Smoleńska (; February 28, 1920 in

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 ...

– March 19, 1943 in

Auschwitz-Birkenau Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...

), pseudonym Hania, was a Polish

student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution, or more generally, a person who takes a special interest in a subject. In the United Kingdom and most The Commonwealth, commonwealth countries, a "student" attends ...

art history Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...

at the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public university, public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well ...

, author of the symbol of Fighting Poland during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and girl

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, sect ...

of the

Gray Ranks Grey Ranks () was a codename for the underground paramilitary Polish Scouting Association () during World War II. The wartime organisation was created on 27 September 1939, actively resisted and fought German occupation in Warsaw until 18 ...

Life

She was the daughter of , a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of chemistry at the

Warsaw University of Technology The Warsaw University of Technology () is one of the leading institutes of technology in Poland and one of the largest in Central Europe. It employs 2,453 teaching faculty, with 357 professors (including 145 titular professors). The student body ...

. The Smoleński family lived in the so-called House of Professors, which is part of the University of Technology's building complex at Koszykowa street 75. In 1938 she graduated from the

Juliusz Słowacki Juliusz Słowacki (; ; ; 4 September 1809 – 3 April 1849) was a Polish Romantic poet. He is considered one of the " Three Bards" of Polish literature — a major figure in the Polish Romantic period, and the father of modern Polish drama. Hi ...

Junior High School in Warsaw. She began studying art history at the Faculty of Humanities at the

. During the German occupation, she studied at the Municipal Horticultural and Agricultural School at Opaczewska Street in

, where secret education was conducted in Polish. She completed a conspiracy communications course, and was a participant in the

Wawer Wawer () is one of the dzielnica, districts of Warsaw, located in the south-eastern part of the city. The Vistula river runs along its western border. Wawer became a district of Warsaw on 27 October 2002 (previously it was a part of Praga Południ ...

unit participating in

Minor sabotage A minor sabotage (''aka'' little sabotage or small sabotage; ) during World War II in Nazi-occupied Poland (1939–45) was any underground resistance operation that involved a disruptive but relatively minor and non-violent form of defianc ...

. She looked after the families of the arrested and provided them with secret messages from the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

Pawiak prison 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 belonged to "Kuźnica Harcerska". In 1942 she was a liaison at the Propaganda Department of the Bureau of Information and Propaganda (BIP) of the General Headquarters of the

Union of Armed Struggle The Union of Armed StruggleThus rendered in Norman Davies, ''God's Playground: A History of Poland'', vol. II, p. 464. (; ZWZ), also translated as the Union for Armed Struggle, Association of Armed Struggle, and Association for Armed Struggle ...

- the

Home Army The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the ...

(ZWZ-AK). In 1942 she won the competition of the Bureau of Information and Propaganda for the sign of the

Polish Underground State The Polish Underground State (, also known as the Polish Secret State) was a single political and military entity formed by the union of resistance organizations in occupied Poland that were loyal to the Government of the Republic of Poland ...

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ', which itself comes from the Greek (). Anch ...

project - the symbol of Fighting Poland.

Arrest

She was the liaison of Maria Straszewska, the editorial secretary of the ''

Biuletyn Informacyjny ''Biuletyn Informacyjny'' ("Information Bulletin") was a Polish underground weekly published covertly in General Government territory of occupied Poland during World War II. The magazine was edited by Aleksander Kamiński and distributed as the ...

''. The Germans tried to arrest the editor-in-chief of the ''Biuletyn Informacyjny''

Aleksander Kamiński Aleksander Kamiński, assumed name: ''Aleksander Kędzierski''. Also known under Pseudonym, aliases such as ''Dąbrowski'', ''J. Dąbrowski, Fabrykant, Faktor, Juliusz Górecki, Hubert, Kamyk, Kaźmierczak, Bambaju'' (28 January 1903 - 15 March ...

and the editorial secretary Maria Straszewska, but failed. However, on November 3, 1942, the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, 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 F ...

arrested Anna Smoleńska, her parents, sister and brother with his wife.

Death at Auschwitz

After being imprisoned in Pawiak, she did not give anyone away, despite the heavy investigation. Smoleńska was later taken from Pawiak on November 26, 1942, to

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...

, where she was given camp number 26008. She died of typhus, and three of her family members were killed in Auschwitz. Her father, after a hard investigation, was shot by the Gestapo in the ruins of the ghetto on May 7, 1943.

Commemoration

In 1998, a commemorative plaque was unveiled, dedicated to the scouts: Anna Smoleńska and Tadeusz Zawadzki. The plaque was placed on the side wall of the House of Professors of the

at Koszykowa 75 street in

References

Bibliography

* , pp. 257–258. * *

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smoleńska, Anna Auschwitz concentration camp prisoners Polish people who died in Auschwitz concentration camp Polish women in World War II resistance 1920 births 1943 deaths Home Army members Polish civilians killed in World War II Polish Scouts and Guides People from Warsaw Women in World War II