This is the true-life story of a Polish girl soldier who fought for
her country and lost her homeland; told through numerous vivid
personal experiences. Aged 14 'Wira' became a freedom fighter and
later played her part in the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. Liberated
from a POW camp she began a new life in exile as a political
refugee in England. - Danuta's story begins with her childhood
years in German-occupied Warsaw. She was ten in 1939 when her
family home in central Warsaw was destroyed. Her mother turned to
smuggling to feed the family as they struggled to survive. The
Germans closed down Danuta's school in an effort to destroy
Poland's identity. Aged 14 she watched smoke rising from the
burning Jewish Ghetto. The terror continued as Poles were
rounded-up for forced labour. Flickering candles covered the
streets where public executions had taken place. Warsaw's spirit
was almost broken, but Danuta refused to be a victim and dreamed of
fighting back. The opportunity arrived when she was recruited into
the Grey Ranks, part of Poland's underground resistance army,
within an all-female unit. She assumed the pseudonym 'Wira'
(pronounced Vera) and began her assigned sabotage activities,
duties which had to be kept secret even from her own family. - One
year later the Warsaw Uprising erupted and the city became an
inferno. Abandoned by the outside world, the Polish Home Army
resisted the brutal German onslaught for 63 days. Wira, then aged
15, played her part in the field Post Office, in the underground
cellars filled with terrified civilians, and on the front line.
Wira's survival was remarkable, but at what cost? - Wira became a
POW in Germany joining over 1,700 Polish female soldiers of the
Uprising at Stalag VI-C, Oberlangen. Following their emotional
liberation, Wira met a Polish officer serving with the 2nd Polish
Corps within the British 8th Army. Faced with a hostile,
Soviet-backed communist government in Poland, they took the
difficult decision to remain in political exile in Britain. - The
early years in a foreign land were difficult and the Poles formed
close communities, gradually finding a place for themselves. Wira
could never forget the past. In post-war years, Wira revisited her
homeland and continued to work for her country's freedom. - In
later years Wira was reunited with co-conspirators from the
resistance. Finally, after 50 years of oppression, Poland became
free again, the Warsaw Uprising was commemorated and Wira was
honoured by her country. Now aged 86 she reflects on her life,
still resolute that the Warsaw Uprising was inevitable. - About the
Author: George Szlachetko is Wira's son. He was born in Ealing,
West London where he still lives with his family. Having received a
Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Birmingham, he
pursued a career in finance. Over the course of three years George
interviewed his mother, who also lives in Ealing, about her
extraordinary life. He conducted additional research, visited
archives and made a number of trips to Poland to illuminate the
background to her life story.
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