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ukr, Ванда Львівна Василевська
rus, Ванда Львовна Василевская , native_name_lang = , birth_date = , birth_place =
Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula, Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland un ...
,
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
, death_date = , death_place =
Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Ky ...
,
Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
,
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
, resting_place =
Baikove Cemetery Baikove Cemetery ( uk, Байкове кладовище) is a historic cemetery memorial in Holosiiv Raion of Kyiv, Ukraine. It is a National Historic Landmark of Ukraine and is known as a necropolis of distinguished people. It was established i ...
, occupation = Prose writer, poet, playwright, screenwriter, editor, political activist , language =
Polish language Polish (Polish: ''język polski'', , ''polszczyzna'' or simply ''polski'', ) is a West Slavic language of the Lechitic group written in the Latin script. It is spoken primarily in Poland and serves as the native language of the Poles. In ad ...
, nationality = , citizenship = Poland
Soviet Union , education = , alma_mater =
Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University ( Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...
, genre = Novel, story , subject = , movement =
Socialist realism Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is ch ...
, notableworks = , spouse = Roman Szymański (1925–31),
Marian Bogatko (1936–40),
Oleksandr Korniychuk (1940–64) , children = Ewa Wasilewska , awards = , signature = , signature_alt = Wanda Wasilewska (), also known by Russian name Vanda Lvovna Vasilevskaya (russian: Ва́нда Льво́вна Василе́вская) (21 January 1905 – 29 July 1964), was a Polish and
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
novelist and journalist and a
left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
political activist. She was a
socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
who became also a devoted
communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...
. She fled the German attack on Warsaw in September 1939 and took up residence in Soviet-occupied
Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...
and eventually in the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
. She was the founder of the Union of Polish Patriots there and played an important role in the creation of the 1st Tadeusz Kościuszko Infantry Division. The division developed into the
Polish People's Army The Polish People's Army ( pl, Ludowe Wojsko Polskie , LWP) constituted the second formation of the Polish Armed Forces in the East in 1943–1945, and in 1945–1989 the armed forces of the Polish communist state ( from 1952, the Polish Pe ...
and fought on the Eastern Front during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. Wasilewska was a trusted consultant to
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet Union, Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as Ge ...
and her influence was essential to the establishment of the
Polish Committee of National Liberation The Polish Committee of National Liberation (Polish: ''Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego'', ''PKWN''), also known as the Lublin Committee, was an executive governing authority established by the Soviet-backed communists in Poland at the la ...
in July 1944 and to the formation of the Polish People's Republic.


Biography


Before World War II

Wasilewska was born, the second of three daughters, on 25 January 1905 in
Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula, Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland un ...
,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
. Her father was Leon Wasilewski, a
Polish Socialist Party The Polish Socialist Party ( pl, Polska Partia Socjalistyczna, PPS) is a socialist political party in Poland. It was one of the most important parties in Poland from its inception in 1892 until its merger with the communist Polish Workers' ...
(PPS) politician and first foreign minister of the newly re-emerging independent Poland. Her mother, Wanda Zieleniewska, was also a PPS member and the young Wasilewska had gotten to know the party leaders at home. From 1923 she studied
Polish language Polish (Polish: ''język polski'', , ''polszczyzna'' or simply ''polski'', ) is a West Slavic language of the Lechitic group written in the Latin script. It is spoken primarily in Poland and serves as the native language of the Poles. In ad ...
and
Polish literature Polish literature is the literary tradition of Poland. Most Polish literature has been written in the Polish language, though other languages used in Poland over the centuries have also contributed to Polish literary traditions, including Lati ...
at the
Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University ( Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...
in Kraków, where several years later she acquired her
doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...
. While studying, she became involved with the Union of Independent Socialist Youth (ZNMS, allied with the PPS) and the Society of Workers' Universities. From the early 1930s, Wasilewska was strongly involved in women's issues and
gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...
. Her attitude was exemplified by her own personal conduct as well as her work in the Women's Section of the PPS. However, she eventually chose to emphasize in her activism the broader class issues, remarked that it was easier to deal with men and criticized
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...
feminists for coloring their movement with "feminism of half a century ago". Wasilewska joined the PPS as a student. She was a member of the main party council in 1934–37. She served there with her father, whose connections turned out helpful at the various stages and vicissitudes of her career in Poland. Wasilewska later wrote of her student PPS years: "We had a lot of trouble with the
communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
because they were adamant about carrying out actions that could lead to bloodshed and we thought that was something that should not be done. Rather, we were into innocent skirmishes with the police ... ". Her radicalism grew gradually from the early 1930s and she began viewing the socialists as former revolutionaries turned conformists, compromised by collaboration with state authorities. Writing to her mother in November 1931, Wasilewska characterized herself as "turning increasingly
Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
", and in the spring of 1932 she joined a radical youth faction that pushed for confrontation with the Sanation regime and advocated joint action with the communists within the newly-established
Popular Front A popular front is "any coalition of working-class and middle-class parties", including liberal and social democratic ones, "united for the defense of democratic forms" against "a presumed Fascist assault". More generally, it is "a coalition ...
alliance. At that time she wrote to her mother of the "desperation of the people" and concluded: "the communists will do something or we will, or we together with the communists". As Wasilewska drew closer to the communists, her relations with the PPS deteriorated and she lost her seat in the party council, but never left the organization. Having finished her studies, Wasilewska started working as a secondary school teacher in Kraków, but lost her job when the school authorities refused to extend her contract because of her leftist views. With her husband Marian Bogatko, also dismissed from work as a strike organizer, in autumn 1934 they moved to Warsaw, where Wasilewska became involved with the Polish section of the
International Red Aid International Red Aid (also commonly known by its Russian acronym MOPR ( ru , МОПР, for: ''Междунаро́дная организа́ция по́мощи борца́м револю́ции'' - Mezhdunarodnaya organizatsiya pomoshchi bor ...
, an organization concerned with helping
political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although nu ...
s and their families, and the Polish League for the Defense of Human and Citizens' Rights. Wasilewska found employment in the Editorial Division of the
Polish Teachers' Union Polish Teachers' Union ( pl, Związek Nauczycielstwa Polskiego, ZNP, also translated as ''Union of Polish Teachers'', ''Polish Teachers' Association'', ''Association of Polish Teachers'') is the largest Polish trade union for teachers and educator ...
. She met there and befriended Janina Broniewska, the wife of
revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
ary poet
Władysław Broniewski Władysław Kazimierz Broniewski (17 December 1897, Płock – 10 February 1962, Warsaw) was a Polish poet, writer, translator and soldier. Known for his revolutionary and patriotic writings. Life He was the son of Antoni, a bank clerk. As a ...
; Janina's radical views would significantly influence Wasilewska. Wasilewska was a journalist for various left-wing newspapers, among them ''Naprzód'', '' Robotnik'', ''Dziennik Popularny'', '' Oblicze Dnia'' and ''Lewar'', and the chairperson of the '' Płomyk'' and '' Płomyczek'' monthlies for children. ''Płomyk'' was published under the auspices of the Teachers' Union and its March 1936 issue Wasilewska devoted entirely to the promotion of communist models of upbringing as practised in the Soviet Union. In the aftermath, she was attacked in Polish parliament by Prime Minister Felicjan Sławoj Składkowski, the printing ended up confiscated by the authorities, government restrictions and oversight were imposed on the activities of the Teachers' Union, and Wasilewska lost her job at the Editorial Division. She was often criticised for her radical left-wing views and supported an alliance of all the left-wing parties, including the communists, against the ruling Sanation. Wasilewska was closely associated with the communists from the mid-1930s. In May 1936 Wasilewska, among other left-wing Polish and Western
Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...
writers, participated in the
Lviv Anti-Fascist Congress of Cultural Workers Lviv Anti-Fascist Congress of Cultural Workers was an event that brought together the progressive intellectuals of Poland, Western Ukraine, and Western Belarus. It took place on May 16-17, 1936 in Lviv, being organized by the Communist Party of ...
. The gathering of intellectuals and cultural activists passed a resolution declaring their support for international humanist values and opposition to
fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and t ...
,
nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...
,
capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, private ...
,
imperialism Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic powe ...
and war; it did not invoke a Soviet leadership. Wasilewska left the congress convinced that "today the place of the writer, of the artist is among the
proletariat The proletariat (; ) is the social class of wage-earners, those members of a society whose only possession of significant economic value is their labour power (their capacity to work). A member of such a class is a proletarian. Marxist philo ...
of towns and villages, fighting for its liberation". Among the labour actions actively supported by Wasilewska was the 1937 strike of the Polish Teachers' Union, coordinated by her together with Janina Broniewska. In Poland Wasilewska, despite her own established position, was known as "Leon's daughter". Leon Wasilewski died in December 1936. Wasilewska recounted her comrades and communists bringing to his funeral a wreath with an inscription that read: "For Wanda's father". It is not clear what Wasilewska's position was on Stalin's persecution and extermination of Polish communists and the 1938 dissolution of the Communist Party of Poland ordered by the
Comintern The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to "struggle by ...
(she seems to have justified a "necessity" of "certain actions", given the pressure and isolation that the Soviet state was subjected to), but on the eve of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
she was a firm supporter of the Soviet Union, which she saw as the only force capable of stopping fascism. Wasilewska was highly regarded and accomplished in the field of
social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...
. Helping the needy, especially children, was her natural inclination and passion. Early in the period of her studies Wasilewska met Roman Szymański, a mathematics student and popular PPS activist. They married and had a daughter Ewa. Szymański, however, died of
typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...
in August 1931. Later the same year Wasilewska met Marian Bogatko, a construction worker active in the PPS. Their successful relationship, purposely not sanctioned by traditional marriage, became a formal marriage in late 1936, when Wasilewska and Bogatko needed documents to travel to the Soviet Union. Bogatko was murdered by Soviet agents in May 1940 in Lviv. At that time Wasilewska was already a delegate to the
Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( rus, Верховный Совет Союза Советских Социалистических Республик, r=Verkhovnyy Sovet Soyuza Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respubl ...
. There are different versions of what had happened or who was the actual target.
Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...
later wrote: "Wasilewska believed that it was not the case of premeditation and continued active work"; according to him, Bogatko was killed by mistake.


During World War II

After the
Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week af ...
by
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
in September 1939, Wasilewska, like hundreds of thousands of other
Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in ...
, fled to the east and following Stalin's directions ended up in
Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...
(after the
Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military operation by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west. Subs ...
a part of the Soviet-occupied zone). Like other Polish citizens, she soon automatically became a Soviet citizen, but unlike many she was enthusiastic about the historic turn of events and Poland's prospects under the Soviet tutelage that she expected; she thought it would promote both the national and social liberation of Poles. Wasilewska officially joined as a member the (All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) already in September 1939. According to Khrushchev, the Soviets worked with Wasilewska on organizing the Polish
intelligentsia The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the i ...
members present in their zone and turning them into Soviet allies. Several dozen Polish literary figures indeed joined the Federation of Soviet Writers of
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
in the fall of 1940. Wasilewska prevented a complete Ukrainization of the University of Lviv: because of her intervention part of the Polish prewar faculty remained there and teaching in Polish was retained in some departments. Also in 1940, Wanda Wasilewska participated in the production of "Wind from the East" – a propaganda film which justified the Soviet Invasion of Poland. Wasilewska soon came into prominence as a Soviet loyalist and diplomatic arrangements were made to bring members of her immediate family and her associates from Warsaw to Lviv. Five Poles were exchanged for five Germans in a transaction that took place at what was then the Soviet-German border. Wasilewska's daughter Ewa moved to the Soviet zone, but Wanda's mother and Bogatko's brother refused to move there.Joanna Szczęsn
Portret Wandy Wasilewskiej
-
Gazeta Wyborcza ''Gazeta Wyborcza'' (; ''The Electoral Gazette'' in English) is a Polish daily newspaper based in Warsaw, Poland. It is the first Polish daily newspaper after the era of " real socialism" and one of Poland's newspapers of record, covering the ...
, 6 June 2001
She was involved with various communist organisations uniting local Polish and Ukrainian communists. She was a journalist for '' Czerwony Sztandar'' ('The Red Banner'), a pro-Soviet newspaper printed in Lviv in Polish from October 1939. ''Czerwony Sztandar'' published a declaration signed by Polish writers, including Wasilewska, welcoming the "unification of Ukraine", meaning the incorporation of the southern part of Kresy into the
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
. In early 1940
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet Union, Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as Ge ...
, who favored Wasilewska among the Polish communists, awarded her a seat in the
Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( rus, Верховный Совет Союза Советских Социалистических Республик, r=Verkhovnyy Sovet Soyuza Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respubl ...
. She became literary director of the Polish Theatre in Lviv, replacing Broniewski, who was arrested by the
NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...
. Wasilewska was also one of the founders, together with Jerzy Putrament, of the social-literary monthly '' Nowe Widnokręgi'' ('New Horizons'), published from March 1941 and revived in May 1942 with
Alfred Lampe Alfred Lampe (14 May 1900 – 10 December 1943) was a Polish communist politician and journalist. Biography Lampe was born into a Jewish working-class family in Warsaw. He was a member of Poale Zion from 1918 to 1921. In 1921, he joined the Co ...
. On 28 June 1940, Stalin received Wasilewska, an unofficial leader of Polish communists, at the
Moscow Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of the kremlins (R ...
. The event initiated a reorientation of Soviet policies in regard to Poles, which was reported with concern by the German embassy in
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
. As a result a wide range of official political, military, social, cultural, educational and other Soviet-Polish projects and activities commenced in 1940 and continued during the years that followed. After the
German invasion of the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named afte ...
, Wasilewska fled before the advancing
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
army and in June 1941 arrived in Moscow. She joined the
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...
as a war correspondent and functionary of the Political Commandment, with the military rank of
colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...
.Slav Congress
''
Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Ma ...
'', September 30, 1946
To agitate for the cause of the
Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), an ...
, she tirelessly traversed the many paths of the Soviet-German front, "everywhere impatiently awaited" by the soldiers. Wasilewska soon wrote the war novel ''Tęcza'' ('The Rainbow'), instantly translated into Russian. The novel earned her the
Stalin Prize Stalin Prize may refer to: * The State Stalin Prize in science and engineering and in arts, awarded 1941 to 1954, later known as the USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, ...
and based on it a film was made. In August 1941 she became chairman of the Polish section of the All-Slavic Anti-Fascist Committee. According to
Jakub Berman Jakub Berman (23 December 1901 – 10 April 1984) was a Polish communist politician. Was born in Jewish family, son of Iser and Guta. An activist during the Second Polish Republic, in post-war communist Poland he was a member of the Politburo of ...
, the relationship between Stalin and Wasilewska became one of familiarity; she was free to contact him personally and had his private telephone number. Stalin made no secret of his confidence in Wasilewska, while she displayed considerable moral courage in her handling of the relationship. Following a January 1943 letter written with Lampe to
Vyacheslav Molotov Vyacheslav Mikhaylovich Molotov. ; (;. 9 March Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O._S._25_February.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O. S. 25 February">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dat ...
and consultations with Stalin, Wasilewska became the head of the Union of Polish Patriots (''Związek Patriotów Polskich'', ZPP), a mass-membership political and social organization for Polish citizens in the Soviet Union, officially formed at its founding congress in Moscow in June 1943. The ZPP, where Wasilewska functioned as "Stalin's great trustee", was oriented toward the establishment of
socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes th ...
in Poland; it facilitated the development of Poland's post-war government. Wasilewska was very involved in organizing material help for Poles dispersed in many parts of the Soviet Union and Polish schools for children. Nearly thirty thousand Polish children in the Soviet Union, many of them orphans, were taken care of by Wasilewska and her ZPP colleagues; most were returned to Poland after the war. After the Soviets suspended relations with the
Polish government-in-exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...
in late April 1943 (following the revelations of the
Katyn massacre The Katyn massacre, "Katyń crime"; russian: link=yes, Катынская резня ''Katynskaya reznya'', "Katyn massacre", or russian: link=no, Катынский расстрел, ''Katynsky rasstrel'', "Katyn execution" was a series of m ...
), Wasilewska wrote an article in ''
Izvestia ''Izvestia'' ( rus, Известия, p=ɪzˈvʲesʲtʲɪjə, "The News") is a daily broadsheet newspaper in Russia. Founded in 1917, it was a newspaper of record in the Soviet Union until the Soviet Union's dissolution in 1991, and describes i ...
'' sharply critical of the Polish government, which was taken as a sign that no Soviet-Polish government ''rapprochement'' was in the offing. On 6 May 1943, in Wasilewska-edited ''Wolna Polska'' ('The Free Poland') periodical, the formation of the Polish 1st Tadeusz Kościuszko Infantry Division was announced. Wasilewska and Zygmunt Berling had appealed to Stalin for permission to create a Polish division already in September 1942. Now they accomplished their goal and Stalin's move signaled his definite intention to pursue Poland-related undertakings without regard to the
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...
of Prime Minister
Władysław Sikorski Władysław Eugeniusz Sikorski (; 20 May 18814 July 1943) was a Polish military and political leader. Prior to the First World War, Sikorski established and participated in several underground organizations that promoted the cause for Polish i ...
. On 15 July 1943, the newly trained and equipped Polish army was shown to the public and the audience included foreign war correspondents. After the parade a press conference was given by Berling and Wasilewska, who spoke on behalf of the ZPP. In October, the Polish army fought the Germans for the first time in the Battle of Lenino. According to Wasilewska, she herself pressed for early deployment of the force. There was a perception of the need to demonstrate, before the
Tehran Conference The Tehran Conference ( codenamed Eureka) was a strategy meeting of Joseph Stalin, Franklin Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill from 28 November to 1 December 1943, after the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran. It was held in the Soviet Union's embass ...
of the
Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
, that the Soviet-allied Polish army was already engaged in combat, ahead of the army of
Władysław Anders ) , birth_name = Władysław Albert Anders , birth_date = , birth_place = Krośniewice-Błonie, Warsaw Governorate, Congress Poland, Russian Empire , death_date = , death_place = London, England, United Kingdom , serviceyears ...
, which had left the Soviet Union. At Lenino the Poles suffered heavy, but not unusual for the Soviet front casualties. Nevertheless, Wasilewska was appalled by the losses and had the division withdrawn from combat for further training and expansion, until the middle of 1944. Following the battle, the ZPP took it upon itself to award official military medals of the Polish state, such as the
Virtuti Militari The War Order of Virtuti Militari ( Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', pl, Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was created in 1792 by Polish King S ...
and the Cross of Valour. In July 1944, Wasilewska became deputy chief of the
Polish Committee of National Liberation The Polish Committee of National Liberation (Polish: ''Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego'', ''PKWN''), also known as the Lublin Committee, was an executive governing authority established by the Soviet-backed communists in Poland at the la ...
(PKWN), a provisional government sponsored by the Soviet Union and established in
Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of ...
, in opposition to the Polish government-in-exile in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. On 6–7 August, together with Bolesław Bierut and Michał Rola-Żymierski, Wasilewska conducted in Moscow unsuccessful negotiations with Prime Minister Stanisław Mikołajczyk of the government-in-exile (he refused their offer of becoming prime minister of a communist-dominated government). Already in 1942, Wasilewska presented to Ksawery Pruszyński the concept of "Poland of
Bolesław Krzywousty Boleslav or Bolesław may refer to: In people: * Boleslaw (given name) In geography: *Bolesław, Dąbrowa County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland *Bolesław, Olkusz County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland *Bolesław, Silesian Voivodeship, Pol ...
", from the
Oder The Oder ( , ; Czech, Lower Sorbian and ; ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows ...
to the
Bug River uk, Західний Буг be, Захо́дні Буг , name_etymology = , image = Wyszkow_Bug.jpg , image_size = 250 , image_caption = Bug River in the vicinity of Wyszków, Poland , map = Vi ...
. Geographical vision of post-war Poland, deprived of the " Kresy" eastern lands but compensated with the so-called Recovered Territories in the west, was formed in Wasilewska's discussions with Stalin. Back then, the Russian communists demanded reduction of a potentially hostile future Polish state to lands where ethnic Poles formed a majority of inhabitants. In July 1944, Wasilewska additionally secured Stalin's consent for the moving of Poland's western border in its southern portion from Nysa Kłodzka to
Nysa Łużycka The Lusatian Neisse (german: Lausitzer Neiße; pl, Nysa Łużycka; cs, Lužická Nisa; Upper Sorbian: ''Łužiska Nysa''; Lower Sorbian: ''Łužyska Nysa''), or Western Neisse, is a river in northern Central Europe.Kemp-Welch, A. (2008). Poland under Communism: A Cold War History, p. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. . It later caused problems at the
Potsdam Conference The Potsdam Conference (german: Potsdamer Konferenz) was held at Potsdam in the Soviet occupation zone from July 17 to August 2, 1945, to allow the three leading Allies to plan the postwar peace, while avoiding the mistakes of the Paris P ...
, because the British wanted to preserve this part of
Lower Silesia Lower Silesia ( pl, Dolny Śląsk; cz, Dolní Slezsko; german: Niederschlesien; szl, Dolny Ślōnsk; hsb, Delnja Šleska; dsb, Dolna Šlazyńska; Silesian German: ''Niederschläsing''; la, Silesia Inferior) is the northwestern part of the ...
for the future German state.Halik Kochanski, ''The Eagle Unbowed'', pp. 537–541. Wasilewska explained away Stalin's deadly purges by arguing that death of an innocent person was preferable to the risk of demise of the Soviet Union. The persecutions and victims, she felt, were an unavoidable cost of future progress or resulted from licentious conduct by functionaries. She intervened when Poles whom she knew were deported to distant regions of the Soviet Union and engaged in relief activities, such as sending parcels to deportees. Wasilewska's interventions freed her fellow Polish communists (kept in detention by
Lavrentiy Beria Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria (; rus, Лавре́нтий Па́влович Бе́рия, Lavréntiy Pávlovich Bériya, p=ˈbʲerʲiə; ka, ლავრენტი ბერია, tr, ;  – 23 December 1953) was a Georgian Bolshevik ...
even after the official amnesty for Poles negotiated by the government of Władysław Sikorski), the poet Broniewski and his by then estranged wife Janina Broniewska. Broniewska, who went to Moscow and worked for ''Nowe Widnokręgi'', took care of Wasilewska'a daughter Ewa during Wasilewska's lengthy involvement at the German front. When the
Polish People's Army The Polish People's Army ( pl, Ludowe Wojsko Polskie , LWP) constituted the second formation of the Polish Armed Forces in the East in 1943–1945, and in 1945–1989 the armed forces of the Polish communist state ( from 1952, the Polish Pe ...
was formed, Wasilewska and Broniewska pushed for the use as an emblem on soldier uniforms and elsewhere of a crownless
Piast The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great. Branche ...
eagle taken from the restored sarcophagus of
Bolesław III Wrymouth Bolesław III Wrymouth ( pl, Bolesław III Krzywousty; 20 August 1086 – 28 October 1138), also known as Boleslaus the Wry-mouthed, was the duke of Lesser Poland, Silesia and Sandomierz between 1102 and 1107 and over the whole of Poland between ...
, a
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
ruler of Poland. The crownless eagle, contrary to the previously and historically used eagle with a crown, was accepted for the army and remained in exclusive use as the
coat of arms of Poland The coat of arms of Poland is a white, crowned eagle with a golden beak and talons, on a red background. In Poland, the coat of arms as a whole is referred to as ''godło'' both in official documents and colloquial speech, despite the fact that ...
throughout the period of existence of communist Poland (1945–89). 00 Stalin valued Wasilewska's opinion highly, even though (or in part because) she had no prewar background in the Communist Party of Poland. As she later wrote, during the war all the matters were settled through her to the detriment of input from other Polish communists, even though she had not sought a leadership role but rather took advantage of the opportunities as they arose.


After World War II

After the war, Wasilewska decided to stay in the Soviet Union and retired from public life, thus rejecting the opportunity for becoming an active member of the political elites in communist Poland. She was involved in a long-term relationship with
Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...
playwright and Soviet state official Oleksandr Korniychuk, with whom she moved to
Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Ky ...
. Wasilewska had limited Russian and
Ukrainian language Ukrainian ( uk, украї́нська мо́ва, translit=ukrainska mova, label=native name, ) is an East Slavic language of the Indo-European language family. It is the native language of about 40 million people and the official state lan ...
abilities, but was a member of the Supreme Soviet for six terms. She often visited Poland, where a room was kept for her use at the villa of Broniewska in Warsaw. She was highly influential in the affairs of Poland and consulted by the country's top leaders, including Bierut and Berman. Especially before Gomułka's ascent to power in 1956, Wasilewska's visits followed invitations from the authorities; afterwards they were less frequent and of a more private character. According to communist historian Andrzej Werblan, Wasilewska and Gomułka were politically incompatible. She made frequent foreign trips as an activist in the peace movement, including one to
Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...
in 1956. Wasilewska wrote to her friend Nikita Khrushchev to complain of the 1955 publication of ''Poemat dla dorosłych'' ('A Poem for Adults') by Adam Ważyk, which she saw as one of the manifestations of the increasingly present in Poland anti-socialist agitation. However, after Khrushchev's assumption of the Soviet leadership and his reforms, she seemed primarily preoccupied with her family affairs and by the tending her grandson Peter in particular. She was often visited by family members and friends from Poland. Among other guests Wasilewska and Korniychuk entertained was the writer
John Steinbeck John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. (; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer and the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature winner "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social ...
. She spent time with her husband in their
dacha A dacha ( rus, дача, p=ˈdatɕə, a=ru-dacha.ogg) is a seasonal or year-round second home, often located in the exurbs of post-Soviet countries, including Russia. A cottage (, ') or shack serving as a family's main or only home, or an outbu ...
not far from Kiev, but the relationship eventually deteriorated. She developed heart and circulatory problems. Wanda Wasilewska died on 29 July 1964 in Kiev and is buried in the
Baikove Cemetery Baikove Cemetery ( uk, Байкове кладовище) is a historic cemetery memorial in Holosiiv Raion of Kyiv, Ukraine. It is a National Historic Landmark of Ukraine and is known as a necropolis of distinguished people. It was established i ...
. Oleksandr Korniychuk, who outlived her by several years, was buried there in another grave.


Role, assessments, influence and works

Wasilewska has "her place in Polish collective memory as a symbol of the establishment of the communist order after World War II". Brought up in a patriotic, intellectual, left-wing but anti-Russian Polish establishment environment, Wanda Wasilewska gradually developed a communist identity and revolutionary outlook, to become a theorist, ideologue and promoter of communism in Poland. She was "strongly embedded in the historical and geopolitical context of her era" and blurred in her daily activities and works she produced the distinction between the public or political, and private aspects of her life. The transgressions she engaged in as a radical leftist were of many dimensions and involved transcending the borders of her gender, nationality, and social class (it amounted to "rejecting superstition", as she put it). Wasilewska writings were heavily socially and ideologically engaged. She accused Sanation Poland of gross discrimination of its citizens based on their rank (the elites vs. the masses) and
ethnicity An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
. She pointed to a combination of economic and nationalistic oppression of the
working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
es and the minorities by the industry and land owners and by people of the dominant
Polish language Polish (Polish: ''język polski'', , ''polszczyzna'' or simply ''polski'', ) is a West Slavic language of the Lechitic group written in the Latin script. It is spoken primarily in Poland and serves as the native language of the Poles. In ad ...
and culture. With the end of the war, Wasilewska removed herself from the position of power to assume other roles. As Władysław Gomułka saw it, later she must have had regretted the decision she made but had to live with it. She "played her role till the end", but in a letter to her mother complained about the many ailments she suffered from, ascribing them all to "nerves". Agnieszka Mrozik speculates that Wasilewska's diseased body expressed her reaction to "the corset of a monument which she was given to wear" and that she may have been "stuck" in a role which "involved – apart from the appearance of a fulfilled activist and writer – the appearance of a happy woman". To some degree, Wasilewska might have been pushed out or discouraged from continuing political career in postwar Poland, because of being a lone woman in the Polish communist leadership or because of her image causing a problem for the new authorities (considered too closely associated with Stalin). Depending on the political orientation of those who judged her and the propaganda needs of the moment, Wasilewska has been depicted in different, often extreme ways. She was a revolutionary icon of the new order and an embodiment of progress under Stalinism. Afterwards, in Gomułka years, the stress was on her military and social activities as she became a patriotic symbol in the national Romantic tradition. For those strongly opposed to communism, radical leftism or the Soviet domination of Poland, she has been a "monstrosity" and represented "pathology" and "betrayal"; labels such as "renegade", "traitor" and "collaborator" have commonly been used. In particular, her
gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most culture ...
has been referenced to deny her as a woman individual agency and define her position relative to men, as in the primary characterizations of "Stalin's favorite" or "Leon's disgraced daughter".
Adam Ciołkosz Adam Ciołkosz (; January 5, 1901 – October 1, 1978) was a Polish scout, soldier, publicist and politician, who was one of the most important leaders of the Polish Socialist Party, both in the Second Polish Republic and in exile during a ...
, Wasilewska's colleague and friend in her PPS years and an anti-communist
émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French ''émigrer'', "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Huguenots fled France followin ...
in post-war
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, wrote "biographical sketches" about her. He patronizingly described Wasilewska as a well-meaning, even if sometimes rebellious (yet lacking truly radical credentials) woman of proper upbringing but limited intellectual ability and emotional maturity, who at the time of the
Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military operation by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west. Subs ...
(September 1939) succumbed to a sudden onset of infatuation with the Soviet Union. Wasilewska's biography, according to Mrozik, has been "continuously rewritten and corrected" by those who wanted to "inscribe into her their own content". This makes it possible to see her as a "liminal character", used to mark "the boundaries of political periods and ideological attitudes". The great Pole, an outstanding writer and diplomat from her pre-1989 biographies became a "degenerate daughter of the Polish nation" afterwards. Such processing of Wasilewska narrative corresponded with the dominant at a given place and time historical narrative (of pre-1989 Poland, post-1989 Poland, or Polish ''émigré'' circles in the West after World War II). Wasilewska was one of the first Polish writers to follow the rules of
socialist realism Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is ch ...
. She wrote several novels and a handful of poems. '' Oblicze Dnia'' ('The Face of Day') novel had the printing of its book edition stopped by Sanation censorship (it had already been issued in installments in the leftist ''Naprzód'' periodical). After an intervention by Wasilewska's father, the book was published in an expurgated form. However, a Russian translation and edition were soon produced. Around 1936, on several occasions the Soviet Embassy paid Wasilewska compensation for her books published in the Soviet Union. In the Soviet Union, where Wasilewska's literary works were much more appreciated than in Poland, the material she produced, including elements of her personal story, were turned, in accordance with the convention of socialist realism, into a model to be followed by the population. In the early 1950s, Wasilewska and Korniychuk wrote a
libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major li ...
for Kostiantyn Dankevych's opera ''Bohdan Khmelnytsky''. After it became a target of ideologically-based criticism, the authors submitted self-criticism and revised their work. Wasilewska was a triple recipient of the
Stalin Prize Stalin Prize may refer to: * The State Stalin Prize in science and engineering and in arts, awarded 1941 to 1954, later known as the USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, ...
for literature (1943, 1946, 1952). During Stalin's lifetime she was considered a classic writer of Soviet literature and her works were included in the Soviet school curriculum. Her "collected works" were published in Moscow in six volumes in 1955. The first volume was translated into the Ukrainian language and published in Ukraine in 1966. However, after the death of Stalin, Wasilewska was largely forgotten as a writer. The communist government in Poland named countless streets and schools after her and she was one of the most notable figures in communist society. After the war, some of her books were obligatory school reading. * ''Królewski syn'' (1933) * '' Oblicze Dnia'' (1934) * ''Kryształowa Kula Krzysztofa Kolumba'' (1934) * ''Ojczyzna'' (1935) * ''Legenda o Janie z Kolna'' (1936) * ''Ziemia w jarzmie'' (1938) * ''Płomień na bagnach'' (1940) * ''Pieśń nad Wodami'' (a trilogy: 1940, 1950, 1952) * ''Tęcza'' (1944) * ''Po prostu miłość'' (1944) * ''Gdy światło zapłonie'' (1946) * ''Gwiazdy w jeziorze'' (1950) * ''Rzeki płoną'' (1952) * ''Pokój na poddaszu'' (1954) * ''Że padliście w boju'' (1958)


Bibliography

* Aleksander Wat, ''Mój Wiek'' Warszawa 1990 * Helena Zatorska, ''Wanda Wasilewska'', Warszawa 1977 * Adam Ciołkosz, ''Wanda Wasilewska: dwa szkice biograficzne'', Polonia Book Fund: Londyn 1977 * Eleonora Salwa-Syzdek, ''Działalność Wandy Wasilewskiej w latach drugiej wojny światowej'', Warszawa 1981 * Ed. Eleonora Salwa-Syzdek, ''Wanda Wasilewska we wspomnieniach'', Warszawa 1982 * Eleonora Syzdek, ''W jednym życiu - tak wiele'', Warszawa 1965 * ''Zmarła Wanda Wasilewska''
Nowiny
p. 1–2, No. 179, 30 July 1964


See also

*
Rosa Luxemburg Rosa Luxemburg (; ; pl, Róża Luksemburg or ; 5 March 1871 – 15 January 1919) was a Polish and naturalised-German revolutionary socialism, revolutionary socialist, Marxism, Marxist philosopher and anti-war movement, anti-war activist. Succ ...
* Maria Koszutska * Małgorzata Fornalska * Janina Broniewska *
Halszka Wasilewska (soldier) Halszka Wasilewska, sometimes called ''Halina'', (21 March 1899 – 8 February 1961), WW2 nom-de-guerre Krystyna, was one of the first women to attain the rank of Major in the Polish Armed Forces. She was a Legionnaire in the First world war and ...
*
Alfred Lampe Alfred Lampe (14 May 1900 – 10 December 1943) was a Polish communist politician and journalist. Biography Lampe was born into a Jewish working-class family in Warsaw. He was a member of Poale Zion from 1918 to 1921. In 1921, he joined the Co ...
*
Jakub Berman Jakub Berman (23 December 1901 – 10 April 1984) was a Polish communist politician. Was born in Jewish family, son of Iser and Guta. An activist during the Second Polish Republic, in post-war communist Poland he was a member of the Politburo of ...
* Bolesław Bierut * Władysław Gomułka *
Edward Ochab Edward Ochab (; 16 August 1906 – 1 May 1989) was a Polish communist politician and top leader of Poland between March and October 1956. As a member of the Communist Party of Poland from 1929, he was repeatedly imprisoned for his activities u ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wasilewska, Wanda Polish socialists Polish communists 20th-century Polish women writers 1905 births 1964 deaths Politicians from Kraków People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Polish Austro-Hungarians Stalin Prize winners Jagiellonian University alumni University of Warsaw alumni Polish emigrants to the Soviet Union 20th-century Ukrainian women politicians Soviet women in politics 20th-century Polish writers 20th-century Polish politicians 20th-century Polish women politicians Burials at Baikove Cemetery First convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Second convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Third convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Fourth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Fifth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Sixth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Grunwald, 1st class Recipients of the Order of Lenin Polish women screenwriters 20th-century Polish screenwriters Polish people of German descent Polish people of Czech descent