Maria Fedecka
Encyclopedia
Maria Aniela Fedecka - (1904, Moscow
- 21 December 1977, Warsaw
) - was a Polish
social worker, member of Workers' Defence CommitteeR. During World War II
she was an activist in the Polish Underground and Polish anti-Holocaust resistance in Wilno (now Vilnius, Lithuania). During German occupation she helped save many Jewish children as well as the poverty-stricken peasants of Lebioda, her husband's hometown situated near Lida
(now in Belarus
). In 1987, Maria Fedecka was honoured by Yad Vashem as Righteous among the Nations
for the help she had brought to Jewish children and their families.
After the war, in 1945, Fedecka took part in the "repatriation action
" (the return to Poland
of Poles who did not want to remain in the territories annexed by the Soviet Union
). She also came to the aid of those young people who were threatened with prison and deportations to "gulags" in the USSR.
In PRL
she lived mainly in Sopot
(near Gdańsk
in Poland). In 1947 she took the initiative of creating, with Zdzisław Grabski and Michał Pankiewicz, the League for the Struggle Against Racism quickly dismantled by authorities for political reasons. The League was composed of a small number of Polish intellectuals, aware of the moral threat for the country's renewal in the aftermath of Kielce and other anti-semitic incidents. In the 1970s Fedecka was active in the anti-communist opposition
in People's Republic of Poland
.
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
- 21 December 1977, Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
) - was a Polish
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
social worker, member of Workers' Defence CommitteeR. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
she was an activist in the Polish Underground and Polish anti-Holocaust resistance in Wilno (now Vilnius, Lithuania). During German occupation she helped save many Jewish children as well as the poverty-stricken peasants of Lebioda, her husband's hometown situated near Lida
Lida
Lida is a city in western Belarus in Hrodna Voblast, situated 160 km west of Minsk. It is the fourteenth largest city in Belarus.- Etymology :...
(now in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
). In 1987, Maria Fedecka was honoured by Yad Vashem as Righteous among the Nations
Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous among the Nations of the world's nations"), also translated as Righteous Gentiles is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis....
for the help she had brought to Jewish children and their families.
After the war, in 1945, Fedecka took part in the "repatriation action
Repatriation of Poles (1944–1946)
The Polish population transfers from the former eastern territories of Poland also known as the flight and expulsion of Poles towards the end – and in the aftermath – of World War II refer to the forced migration of Poles between 1944–1946...
" (the return to Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
of Poles who did not want to remain in the territories annexed by the Soviet Union
Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union
Immediately after the German invasion of Poland in 1939, which marked the beginning of World War II, the Soviet Union invaded the eastern regions of the Second Polish Republic, which Poles referred to as the "Kresy," and annexed territories totaling 201,015 km² with a population of 13,299,000...
). She also came to the aid of those young people who were threatened with prison and deportations to "gulags" in the USSR.
In PRL
People's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
she lived mainly in Sopot
Sopot
Sopot is a seaside town in Eastern Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000....
(near Gdańsk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
in Poland). In 1947 she took the initiative of creating, with Zdzisław Grabski and Michał Pankiewicz, the League for the Struggle Against Racism quickly dismantled by authorities for political reasons. The League was composed of a small number of Polish intellectuals, aware of the moral threat for the country's renewal in the aftermath of Kielce and other anti-semitic incidents. In the 1970s Fedecka was active in the anti-communist opposition
Committee for Social Self-defence KOR
Committee for Social Self-defence KOR was a Polish civil society group that emerged under communist rule. It was created in 1977 from the Workers' Defence Committee . It was one of the movements whose activities led to the creation of Solidarity...
in People's Republic of Poland
People's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
.