Maria Gurowska (née Zand; 1 October 1915 - 4 January 1998) was a Polish

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

in the

People's Republic of Poland The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...

Personal life

She was born in a Jewish family to Moryc and Frajda (Eisenman) Zand. Her father was an accountant and a trade agent; he died in 1941. She graduated from the "Państwowe Gimnazjum Żeńskie im. E. Szczanieckiej" in

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

and then from the Law Faculty of

Warsaw University The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well as 100 specializat ...

Career

In 1937, she worked as a lawyer in "Centralne Stowarzyszenie Kupców i Przemysłowców Województwa Łódzkiego". During the German occupation in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

she hid under the name of Genowefa Maria Danielak. In 1940 she left Łodź with her parents. She lived in

Żyrardów Żyrardów is a town and former industrial hub in central Poland with approximately 41,400 inhabitants (2006). It is the capital of Żyrardów County in the Masovian Voivodeship, west of Warsaw. Etymology Żyrardów, initially a textile settleme ...

for one year and then moved to

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, working as tutor, trader and glove maker. From 1943 on, she was a member of Gwardia Ludowa and communist

Polish Workers' Party The Polish Workers' Party (, PPR) was a communist party in Poland from 1942 to 1948. It was founded as a reconstitution of the Communist Party of Poland (KPP) and merged with the Polish Socialist Party (PPS) in 1948 to form the Polish United W ...

, which was under direct control of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

. She was assigned to the signal corp of The People's Army (another partisan, communist groups) at the outbreak of the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from ...

and afterwards in Staff of The People's Army. When the Warsaw Uprising fell she left Warsaw along with her mother for

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship. However, Częstochowa is historically part of Lesser Poland, not Si ...

. In January 1945 she was nominated as head of the Department of Information and Propaganda in Częstochowa. She moved again to

in March 1945 to taking the position of propaganda instructor in the Executive Committee of

. As of 1946 she begin to rise in the Department of Justice, becoming prosecutor, judge in

and

and finally judge to the IV Criminal Department of Regional Court on 4 January 1951.Szwagrzyk, 2008. From 1950-1954 she was a member of the secret section inside Regional Court in Warsaw, responsible for judging in political trials on requests from the

Ministry of Public Security of Poland The Ministry of Public Security (), was the secret police, intelligence and counter-espionage agency operating in the Polish People's Republic. From 1945 to 1954 it was known as the Security Office (, UB), and from 1956 to 1990 as the Security ...

, unleashing terror against the political opposition. Gurowska was a judge in the trial against general

August Emil Fieldorf August Emil Fieldorf (''nom de guerre:'' “''Nil''”; 20 March 1895 – 24 February 1953) was a Polish brigadier general who served as deputy commander-in-chief of the Home Army after the suppression of the Warsaw Uprising (August 1944 � ...

, whom she sentenced to death. On the wave of

De-Stalinization De-Stalinization () comprised a series of political reforms in the Soviet Union after Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, the death of long-time leader Joseph Stalin in 1953, and Khrushchev Thaw, the thaw brought about by ascension of Nik ...

she was released in 1956 from the Department of Justice, and finally in 1970 from the position of judge. The Institute of National Remembrance took the case against Maria Gurowska on 5 May 1992 accusing her of court-sanctioned murder of General Fieldorf. Gurowska defended herself, stating the verdict against Fieldorf was legitimate. The trial against Gurowska began on 22 December 1997, but the accused did not appear in court. She refused to appear until her death in 1998.

Feature film

In 2009 a historical drama entitled ''

Generał Nil ''General Nil'' () is a Polish historical film, based on the life of general Emil August Fieldorf, pseudonym "Nil". The film was directed by Ryszard Bugajski, and was released in 2009. Awards * Special Jury Award, 43rd WorldFest-Houston Intern ...

'' based on Fieldorf's life premiered in Poland to generally positive reviews. It was directed by

Ryszard Bugajski Ryszard Bugajski (27 April 1943 – 7 June 2019) was a Polish film director and screenwriter. He directed 23 films and television shows since 1972. His 1982 film '' Interrogation'' starring Krystyna Janda and Adam Ferency, described as "th ...

with Katarzyna Herman in the role of Gurowska.

Awards and decorations

Knights's Cross of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

(11 July 1951) * Gold Cross of Merit (22 July 1947) * POL Medal 10-lecia Polski Ludowej BAR

Medal of the 10th Anniversary of People's Poland The Medal of the 10th Anniversary of People's Poland (Polish: ''Medal 10-lecia Polski Ludowej'') is a former Polish civil state award established by the Council of State on 23 May 1954 to recognize services to the state. It was created to mark ...

(30 December 1954) - Resolution of the State Council of 30 December 1954 No. 0/1014 at the request of the Minister of Justice.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gurowska, Maria 1915 births 1998 deaths Lawyers from Łódź 20th-century Polish Jews Polish Workers' Party politicians Polish United Workers' Party members 20th-century Polish judges Gwardia Ludowa members Armia Ludowa members Polish women lawyers Recipients of the Medal of the 10th Anniversary of the People's Republic of Poland

Personal life

Career

Feature film

Awards and decorations

See also

References