Maria Piłsudska (née Koplewska; 1865 – 17 August 1921), was a Polish socialist and independence activist, the first wife of

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 ...

's Chief of State

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 ...

and ostensibly the first lady of Poland during most of his service as Poland's Chief of State.

Life

She was born in 1865 in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

, at that time part of the

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 ...

, to Konstanty Koplewski, a prominent physician. After graduating from high school, she moved to St. Petersburg,

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. There she studied in the

Bestuzhev Courses The Bestuzhev Courses () in Saint Petersburg were the largest and most prominent women's higher education institution in Imperial Russia. The institute opened its doors in 1878. It was named after Konstantin Bestuzhev-Ryumin, the first director ...

, a university for women, while cultivating friendships within certain revolutionary circles. It was there she met Marian Juszkiewicz, a young

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

engineer whom she married in 1883. Their marriage was not a happy one, however, and fell apart soon after the birth of their daughter, Wanda, in 1887. In 1892, the beautiful, intelligent and socially poised Maria met

. After seven years, they married on 15 July 1899 at the village of

Paproć Duża Paproć Duża is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Szumowo, within Zambrów County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland. It lies approximately south-west of Zambrów and west of the regional capital Białystok Bia� ...

near

Łomża Łomża () is a city in north-eastern Poland, approximately to the north-east of Warsaw and west of Białystok. It is situated alongside the Narew river as part of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the capital of Łomża County and has been the se ...

. Since Maria was a divorcee and the Catholic Church did not recognize divorce, she and Piłsudski had converted to

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

. Soon afterward they settled in

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

, where Józef continued his revolutionary activities. In February 1900, they were arrested when a clandestine printing press was discovered in their apartment. After eleven months Maria was released, while Piłsudski remained imprisoned in the infamous Tenth Pavilion at the

Warsaw Citadel Warsaw Citadel (Polish language, Polish: Cytadela Warszawska) is a 19th-century fortress in Warsaw, Poland. It was built by order of Tsar Nikolay I of Russia, Nicholas I after the suppression of the 1830 November Uprising in order to bolster im ...

in the Russian-occupied part of Poland. Upon his subsequent escape from a mental hospital in St. Petersburg to which he had been transferred, the couple 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 ...

, in eastern Galicia in

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

. In mid-November 1901, they relocated to

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 ...

, the seat of the Polish Socialist Party's leadership. In April 1902, however, pursuant to the needs of the PPS, they returned to Lwów, and in 1904 moved to

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. In May 1906 Piłsudski met Aleksandra Szczerbińska, who was working with the PPS paramilitary organization. After a time, Piłsudski and Aleksandra began an affair. In 1908 Maria Piłsudska's daughter by her first marriage, Wanda, died. By 1909, Maria was aware of Józef's affair but refused to divorce him, and they continued to share a home until the outbreak of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Maria remained popular among the PPS and its paramilitary faction, and had helped Józef gain adherents amongst them. Their marriage continued to deteriorate, however, and after his release from

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

Prison in November 1918, Piłsudski abandoned her. Aleksandra Szczerbińska became his de facto wife, although for propriety's sake they had to maintain separate homes. Maria Piłsudska withdrew from public life and continued to reside in Kraków. Maria Piłsudska died in Kraków on 17 August 1921. She was buried at the Rasos Cemetery in

. Piłsudski did not attend the funeral; two months later he married Aleksandra, by whom he had had a daughter, Wanda, in 1918, and a second daughter, Jadwiga, in 1920.

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pilsudska, Maria 1865 births 1921 deaths People from Švenčionys District Municipality People from Sventsyansky Uyezd Converts to Lutheranism from Roman Catholicism First ladies of Poland Polish Lutherans Polish socialists Burials at Rasos Cemetery