Anna Szelągowska, née Paradowska (20 July 1880 – May 1962), was a Polish

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

union organizer A union organizer (or union organiser in Commonwealth spelling) is a specific type of trade union member (often elected) or an appointed union official. In some unions, the organizer's role is to recruit groups of workers under the organizing ...

and

accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certif ...

Life

Anna Szelągowska was born on 20 July 1880 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 ...

, capital of the

Vistula Land Vistula Land, also known as Vistula Country (; ), was the name applied to the lands of Congress Poland from 1867, following the defeats of the November Uprising (1830–1831) and January Uprising (1863–1864) as it was increasingly stripped of ...

(now Poland). She enrolled in the first private

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

to accept women, the Commercial High School, and graduated in 1898. Forced to get a job after her father's death, she worked as an office clerk while studying at the

Flying University The Flying University (, less often translated as "Floating University") was an underground educational Betty Jean Lifton, ''The King of Children: The Life and Death of Janusz Korczak''p. 35 St. Martin's Press, 1997, enterprise Peter Brock, Joh ...

(). Very little is known of her private life, but she married twice, her first husband being the

bank clerk A bank teller (often abbreviated to simply teller) is an employee of a bank whose responsibilities include the handling of customer cash and negotiable instruments. In some places, this employee is known as a cashier or customer representative. T ...

Aleksander Hertz Aleksander Hertz (1879–1928) was a Polish film producer and film director, director. Hertz was an influential figure in early Polish cinema, directing films such as the historical ''Countess Walewska (1914 film), Countess Walewska'' in 1914. He ...

, later a film producer and

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

. Szelągowska spent World War I in Warsaw and worked for the Bank of the United Polish Territories from 1920 to 1926. She received the

Golden Cross of Merit Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershir ...

on 10 November 1931. In 1934, Szelągowska was appointed to the Auditing Commission of Warsaw's municipal government and then it appointed her to the Auditing Commission of the Municipal Savings Bank in 1936. She was elected to the Senate of Poland in 1938. After

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 ...

, Szelągowska moved to

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

and worked as a bookkeeper until 1950. In 1955, she was invited to

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, by the

International Federation of Business and Professional Women International Federation of Business and Professional Women (or BPW International) is a worldwide organization committed to networking among and empowering women worldwide. BPW International serves as a forum for professional business women with bra ...

. She lived there from 1959 to her death in May 1962.

Activities

Szelągowska became

secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

of the Polish Women's Rights Association () during the first decade of the 20th century and also worked for the

Polish Socialist Party The Polish Socialist Party (, PPS) is a democratic socialist political party in Poland. It was one of the most significant parties in Poland from its founding in 1892 until its forced merger with the communist Polish Workers' Party to form ...

() although she never formally joined. In 1905, she and her husband founded the Labor Union for Employees of Private Banking Institutions of the Kingdom of Poland (), the first such union in Poland.Dufrat, p. 558

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Szelagowska, Anna 1880 births 1962 deaths Polish feminists Politicians from Warsaw People from Warsaw Governorate Flying University alumni Recipients of the Cross of Merit (Poland) Polish women's rights activists Polish socialist feminists Polish women activists Polish accountants