Wanda Janicka (née Nowakowska, alias "Zofia") (16 June 1923 – 7 September 2023) was a Polish architect, participant in 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 ...

Biography

From 1939 she was involved in independence activities. From February 1944, she was in the underground, introduced to it by Stanisław Huskowski. Initially, she was assigned to the

Kedyw ''Kedyw'' (, partial acronym of ''Kierownictwo Dywersji'' ("Directorate of Sabotage") was a Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish World War II Home Army unit that conducted active and passive sabotage, propaganda and armed operations ...

of the Home Army Command – "Pegaz" company. During the

, she served as a runner for the 1st company of the Parasol Battalion of the

Radosław Group Radosław Group () was the codename of a group of Kedyw, a Polish World War II Armia Krajowa organization, units during World War II created shortly before the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising. Organization The ''Radosław Group'' took its name fr ...

of the

Home Army The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the ...

. She fought in

Wola Wola () is a district in western Warsaw, Poland. An industrial area with traditions reaching back to the early 19th century, it underwent a transformation into a major financial district, featuring various landmarks and some of the tallest offi ...

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...

City Centre A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the Commerce, commercial, Culture, cultural and often the historical, Politics, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely e ...

, and Upper

Czerniaków Czerniaków () is a neighbourhood, and an area of the City Information System, in Warsaw, Poland, within the district of Mokotów. It is a residential area with high-rise multifamily housing. The neighbourhood features the St. Anthony of Padua ...

. She was injured in both legs, which forced her to withdraw from further combat. She left Warsaw with the civilian population after the Germans took over the Old Town. She ended up in Dulag 121 Pruszków, from which she managed to escape. During the occupation, she studied architecture through

underground education Underground education or clandestine education refers to various practices of teaching carried out at times and places where such educational activities were deemed illegal. Examples of places where widespread clandestine education practices took ...

. She graduated from the Building School in Warsaw. Immediately after the war, she moved to Tricity. There, she married Stanisław Janicki, with whom she had a daughter. The marriage ended in divorce. She worked at the Development Bureau of

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. Along with Tadeusz Ptaszycki, she was involved in designing

Nowa Huta Nowa Huta (, literally "The New Ironworks") is the easternmost district of Kraków, Poland. With more than 200,000 inhabitants, it is one of the most populous areas of the city. Until 1990, the neighbouring districts were considered expansions o ...

. Later, she lived in Balice, where she was cared for by Jerzy Miziurek and Katarzyna Marszałek. As of 29 August 2023, she was promoted to the rank of Second lieutenant by President

Andrzej Duda Andrzej Sebastian Duda (born 16 May 1972) is a Polish lawyer and politician who has served as the sixth president of Poland since 2015. Before becoming president, he served as a Member of the Sejm from 2011 to 2014 and before becoming Member of ...

. Daughter of Bogdan and Zofia (née Dydzińska), sister of biologist and Warsaw Uprising insurgent Jakub Nowakowski. She died at the age of 100 as one of the last soldiers of the Parasol Battalion. She is buried at the Grębałów Cemetery in Kraków.

Awards

* 2022 – Officer'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 ...

"for outstanding merits for the independence of the Republic of Poland” * Silver Cross of Merit * Warsaw Insurgent Cross *

Partisan Cross The Partisan Cross () was a Polish military decoration awarded to World War II partisans (part of resistance movement fighting in the countryside). It was introduced by the Council of Ministers on October 26, 1945. It was awarded from 1945 unt ...

Medal for Warsaw 1939–1945 The Medal for Warsaw 1939–1945 () was a Polish commemorative medal awarded by the Polish People's Republic to commemorate active participation in defending Warsaw in 1939, 1944 Warsaw Uprising, and in liberation of Warsaw from Nazi Germany in ...

* Commemorative Badge of Operation "Burza" * Home Army Cross * Commemorative Badge of the "Radosław" Group

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Janicka, Wanda 20th-century Polish architects Home Army members Warsaw Uprising insurgents Polish women centenarians Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Silver Cross of Merit (Poland) 1923 births 2023 deaths People from Kraków Architects from Warsaw Architects from Kraków Polish women in World War II resistance Women architects