Emilia Malessa
Encyclopedia
Emilia Malessa, neé Izdebska (noms de guerre: Marcysia, Miłasza, Maniuta) (born February 26, 1909 in Rostov
, died June 5, 1949), was a Polish soldier, member of the Home Army with the rank of Captain, participant in the Warsaw Uprising
, member of the underground anti-communist organization Freedom and Independence (WiN), and a "cavalier" of the Order of Virtuti Militari.
and afterward moved to Gdynia
. In 1935 she married Wojciech Malessa, but divorced him two years later.
, she volunteered for the Women's Volunteer Services and took part in the September campaign. She was a driver and organizer of logistical supplies and field hospitals for the Polish 19th Infantry Division.
In mid-October, she joined the underground organizations Service for Poland's Victory (SZP) and Union of Armed Struggle (ZWZ), and later of the Polish Home Army (AK). Until the end of the German occupation, she was the chief of the communication cell "Zagroda" attached to the Main Headquarters of the AK. Sometime in 1943, she was married again to Jan Piwnik
("Ponury"), one of the Cichociemni
and a famous anti-Nazi partisan commander.
Malessa took part in the Warsaw Uprising and afterward escaped from a transport that was taking the defeated insurrectionists to labor camps in Germany. She made her way to Kraków
where she took part in the operation that brought the courier Jan Nowak-Jeziorański
from Great Britain
to Poland.
. After NIE ceased in May 1945, she was a member of the leadership committee of another anti-communist movement, Freedom and Independence (WiN). In late 1945, she expressed the desire to leave the organization. While she was in the process of being officially discharged, she was arrested by the Communist secret police
(UB) who had managed to penetrate the organization's ranks.
During the interrogations that followed her arrest, she trusted the "officer's word of honor
" given by the UB chief Józef Różański
that if she revealed the command and structure of Freedom and Independence, none of the persons she mentioned would be arrested, and further persecution directed at former AK soldiers stopped. With the permission of her commanders, Col. Jan Rzepecki and Col. Antoni Sanojcy who also took Różański's promise in good faith, she gave the UB a list of names of members and commanders of the organization. They were quickly arrested and Malessa, who was still in prison, began a hunger strike
as a protest against the breaking of the promises. On February 14, 1947, she was sentenced to two years incarcerations. A few days later, she was "pardoned" by the President of communist Poland, Bolesław Bierut and released. She continued her hunger strike in front of the walls of the Mokotów Prison
where those she had named were imprisoned.
She immediately began making efforts to have the authorities fulfill the promises they had made and to have the soldiers of the underground released from prison. She wrote letters to Bierut, to the Minister of Security, Stanisław Radkiewicz
, and to Różański. Her efforts were unsuccessful; more and more WiN soldiers were arrested and sentenced to long prison terms or death.
Shunned by the remains of the anti-communist underground and full of guilt, Emilia Malessa committed suicide on June 5, 1949. She was initially buried at Brodnowski Cemetery in Warsaw
.
On September 19, 2005, her body was exhumed and after a mass, the urn with her remains was re-buried at the Powązki Military Cemetery
.
Rostov
Rostov is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population:...
, died June 5, 1949), was a Polish soldier, member of the Home Army with the rank of Captain, participant in the Warsaw Uprising
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army , to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces...
, member of the underground anti-communist organization Freedom and Independence (WiN), and a "cavalier" of the Order of Virtuti Militari.
Early life
Malessa was born in Tsarist Russia to Władysław Izdebski and Marii née Krukowska. After moving back to Poland, she finished a trade school in Łuck in 1924. She worked in the Main Statistical Office in WarsawWarsaw
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...
and afterward moved to Gdynia
Gdynia
Gdynia is a city in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland and an important seaport of Gdańsk Bay on the south coast of the Baltic Sea.Located in Kashubia in Eastern Pomerania, Gdynia is part of a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdańsk and suburban communities, which together...
. In 1935 she married Wojciech Malessa, but divorced him two years later.
World War II
After the German invasion of PolandInvasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
, she volunteered for the Women's Volunteer Services and took part in the September campaign. She was a driver and organizer of logistical supplies and field hospitals for the Polish 19th Infantry Division.
In mid-October, she joined the underground organizations Service for Poland's Victory (SZP) and Union of Armed Struggle (ZWZ), and later of the Polish Home Army (AK). Until the end of the German occupation, she was the chief of the communication cell "Zagroda" attached to the Main Headquarters of the AK. Sometime in 1943, she was married again to Jan Piwnik
Jan Piwnik
Jan Piwnik was a Polish World War II soldier, a cichociemny and a notable leader of the Home Army in the Świętokrzyskie Mountains. He used the noms de guerre Ponury and Donat.-Biography:...
("Ponury"), one of the Cichociemni
Cichociemni
Cichociemni were elite special-operations paratroops of the Polish Home Army of the Polish Army in exile, created in Great Britain during World War II to operate in occupied Poland.-The name:...
and a famous anti-Nazi partisan commander.
Malessa took part in the Warsaw Uprising and afterward escaped from a transport that was taking the defeated insurrectionists to labor camps in Germany. She made her way to Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
where she took part in the operation that brought the courier Jan Nowak-Jeziorański
Jan Nowak-Jezioranski
Jan Nowak-Jeziorański was a Polish journalist, writer, politician, social worker and patriot. He served during the Second World War as one of the most notable resistance fighters of the Home Army...
from Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
to Poland.
Anti-Communist activities
After the Home Army was disbanded in January 1945, Malessa joined the anti-communist resistance organization NIENIE (resistance)
NIE, short for Niepodległość , "NIE" means also "NO" in Polish - was a Polish anticommunist resistance organisation formed in 1943 in a case of a Soviet occupation of Poland. Its main goal was the struggle against the Soviet Union after 1944. NIE was one of the most well hidden structures of Armia...
. After NIE ceased in May 1945, she was a member of the leadership committee of another anti-communist movement, Freedom and Independence (WiN). In late 1945, she expressed the desire to leave the organization. While she was in the process of being officially discharged, she was arrested by the Communist secret police
Ministry of Public Security of Poland
The Ministry of Public Security of Poland was a Polish communist secret police, intelligence and counter-espionage service operating from 1945 to 1954 under Jakub Berman of the Politburo...
(UB) who had managed to penetrate the organization's ranks.
During the interrogations that followed her arrest, she trusted the "officer's word of honor
Promise
A promise is a commitment by someone to do or not do something.In the law of contract, an exchange of promises is usually held to be legally enforceable, according to the Latin maxim pacta sunt servanda.- Types :...
" given by the UB chief Józef Różański
Józef Rózanski
Józef Różański was a communist in prewar Second Polish Republic, member of the Soviet NKVD and later, colonel of the Stalinist Ministry of Public Security of Poland. Born into a Jewish family in Warsaw, Różański became active in the Communist Party of Poland before World War II...
that if she revealed the command and structure of Freedom and Independence, none of the persons she mentioned would be arrested, and further persecution directed at former AK soldiers stopped. With the permission of her commanders, Col. Jan Rzepecki and Col. Antoni Sanojcy who also took Różański's promise in good faith, she gave the UB a list of names of members and commanders of the organization. They were quickly arrested and Malessa, who was still in prison, began a hunger strike
Hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most hunger strikers will take liquids but not...
as a protest against the breaking of the promises. On February 14, 1947, she was sentenced to two years incarcerations. A few days later, she was "pardoned" by the President of communist Poland, Bolesław Bierut and released. She continued her hunger strike in front of the walls of the Mokotów Prison
Mokotów Prison
Mokotów Prison is a prison in Warsaw's borough of Mokotów, Poland, located at Rakowiecka 37 street. It was built by the Russians in the final years of the foreign Partitions of Poland...
where those she had named were imprisoned.
She immediately began making efforts to have the authorities fulfill the promises they had made and to have the soldiers of the underground released from prison. She wrote letters to Bierut, to the Minister of Security, Stanisław Radkiewicz
Stanisław Radkiewicz
Stanisław Radkiewicz was a Polish communist activist with Soviet citizenship, member of the pre-war Communist Party of Poland and of the post-war Polish United Workers' Party...
, and to Różański. Her efforts were unsuccessful; more and more WiN soldiers were arrested and sentenced to long prison terms or death.
Shunned by the remains of the anti-communist underground and full of guilt, Emilia Malessa committed suicide on June 5, 1949. She was initially buried at Brodnowski Cemetery in 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...
.
On September 19, 2005, her body was exhumed and after a mass, the urn with her remains was re-buried at the Powązki Military Cemetery
Powązki Military Cemetery
Powązki Military Cemetery is an old military cemetery located in the Wola district, western part of Warsaw, Poland. The cemetery is often confused with the older Powązki Cemetery, known colloquially as "Old Powązki"...
.