Laura de Turczynowicz née Laura Christine Blackwell (28 August 1878 – 25 October 1953) was an operatic singer, theatre producer and director, notable for her charitable works during and after World War I, and an autobiography of her wartime experience in Poland.

Biography

Laura Christine Blackwell was born on 28 August 1878 in

St. Catharines St. Catharines is the most populous city in Canada's Niagara Region, the eighth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2021, St. Catharines has an area of and 136,803 residents. It lies in Southern Ontario, south of Toronto ac ...

, Ontario. She travelled to New York, Germany and Poland to pursue her career in the theater. It was in Krakow where she married . She claimed that he was count of

Gozdawa coat of arms Gozdawa () is a Polish nobility Coat of Arms. It was used by several szlachta families in the times of the Kingdom of Poland and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. History It is believed that the Gozdawa coat of arms was granted by Władysł ...

, thus claiming the noble title Laura de Turczynowicz, Countess of Gozdawa coat of arms. The couple had a daughter (Wanda Jolanda) and twin sons (Stanislaw Piotr and Wladislaw Pawel). It was not long after her children were born that World War I broke out. Madame de Turczynowicz was a prisoner in her home to the Germans for eight months, during which time, one of her sons suffered from typhus. During this time, General

Paul Von Hindenburg Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German military and political leader who led the Imperial German Army during the First World War and later became President of Germany (1919� ...

of the German army commandeered her home, which left them prisoners in their own home. Laura de Turczynowicz and her three children were later granted an American passport when she was recognized by a member of the embassy in Berlin. She travelled to Holland and on to America. She never discovered what happened to her husband and never returned to Poland. Once back in the United States, Madame Turczynowicz created the Polish Grey Samaritans (initially led by

Martha Chickering Martha Alexander Chickering (December 4, 1886 – November 13, 1988) was an American social work educator who served as director of the California State Department of Social Welfare from 1939 to 1943. She was inducted into the California Social Wo ...

), a group of women focused on training to aid those in war torn Poland and Lithuania. The women were Polish American and worked with the

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swit ...

to train before being sent to communities in need of assistance in Poland. She traveled in the United States and Canada to address the public about the need for assistance with the Polish War Relief and the Russian Red Cross. Laura de Turczynowicz also wrote a book describing her time in Poland during World War I. The work was titled ''When the Prussians Came to Poland'', published in 1916. Later in her career, Madame Turczynowicz returned to Toronto, Ontario, to direct for the

Toronto Conservatory of Music The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM; ), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher (musician), Edwar ...

, where she worked for two years before leaving in 1929. She moved on to

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

, where she founded the Victoria Operatic Society in 1930, producing five operas. Finally, Laura de Turczynowicz lived and worked in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, until her death in 1953.

Works

* ''When the Prussians came to Poland; the experiences of an American woman during the German invasion'' (1916)

References

External links

Laura de Turczynowicz fonds RG 89
Brock University Library Digital Repository {{DEFAULTSORT:Turczynowicz, Laura de 1878 births 1953 deaths Canadian autobiographers 20th-century Canadian women opera singers Musicians from St. Catharines Singers from Ontario Canadian women theatre directors Canadian women autobiographers Canadian expatriates Expatriates in Austria-Hungary Canadian expatriates in the United States