Maria Wittek

Maria Wittek codename: Mira, Pani Maria (August 16, 1899 in Trębki, village near Gostynin in Mazowsze, 120 km west of Warsaw – April 19, 1997 in Warsaw, Poland) was the first Polish woman to be promoted to Brigadier-General, in 1991 after she had retired. She served in the Polish Army and associated organizations since she was 18 years old. She never married.

Early service
Her father, Stanisław Wittek, a carpenter, was a member of the Polish Socialist Party, and moved with his family to Ukraine in 1915 to avoid being arrested. Maria while in high school joined the Polish scout troop in Kiev. Then she became the first woman to become a student in the mathematics department of Kiev University. At the same time she joined P.O.W. - Polish Army Organization- and completed the NCO training course. In 1919 she joined the Polish army group that was fighting the Bolsheviks in Ukraine. Then in 1920 as a member of the Women's Volunteers she fought in the battle for Lviv and was awarded the highest Polish medal Virtuti Militari for the first time.

Between wars
From 1928 to 1934 she was the commander of the Przysposobienie Wojskowe Kobiet - organization training women for military service. In 1935 she was appointed the head of the women's division at the Institute of Physical Education and Military Training in Bielany, near Warsaw.

In World War II
During the Invasion of Poland (1939) she was the commanding officer of the Women's Military Assistance Battalions. In October 1939 she joined the underground ZWZ which later became the Home Army. She was head of Women's Army Services on the staff of gen Grot-Rowecki and later gen. Bor-Komorowski. She fought in the Warsaw Uprising and was promoted to Lt.Colonel. After the capitulation to the she avoided being taken prisoner and left the ruins among the civilians. She continued in her staff position of the Home Army until its dissolution in January 1945.

After the war
When the communist government of Poland reopened the Institute of Physical Education and Military Training, she returned to her previous position of head of the women's division. In 1949 she was arrested and spent several months in prison. After release she worked in a newspaper kiosk. She initiated the establishment of the "Commission for the History of Women". After Lech Wałęsa became president, he appointed her Brigadier General May 2, 1991. Thus she became the first Polish woman to attain the rank of general.

April 19, 2007, on the 10th anniversary of her death, a life-size bronze monument of her was unveiled at the Army Museum in Warsaw.

Awards

 * Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari, - twice
 * Cross of Independence with Swords, (Krzyż Niepodległości)
 * Cross of Valour (Krzyż Walecznych)
 * Warsaw Cross of the Uprising