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Wartime Portraits: Women

Season 1 · 5 episodes · Jan 31, 2023

  1. Episode 1

    Halina Szymanska

    Jan 31, 2023

    Halina Szymanska (1906 - 1989) wife of the last Polish military attaché in Berlin. After the outbreak of WWII, she meets admiral Wilhelm Canaris, the head of the Abwehr. As a result of this meeting, Halina becomes a Polish-British MI6 spy.

  2. Episode 2

    Halina Szwarc

    Feb 14, 2023

    Sixteen-year-old Halina Szwarc volunteered for the conspiracy. In the Third Reich, she conducted sabotage and espionage activities, gaining invaluable information about the activities of the German army.

  3. Episode 3

    Wladyslawa Macieszyna

    Feb 28, 2023

    Wladyslawa Macieszyna (1888 - 1967) served in the Pilsudski Legions, was a senator of the 4th term of the interwar parliament. During World War II, she maintained contact with the Polish intelligence network in Germany.

  4. Episode 4

    Helena Marusarzówna

    Mar 20, 2023

    Helena Marusarzówna, champion in alpine skiing. From September 1939, she participated in the Polish resistance movement, acting as a secret courier, whose duties included carrying mail, money along mountain trails, and leading people.

  5. Episode 5

    Wanda Gertz

    Mar 29, 2023

    Wanda Gertz disguised as a man took part in World War I, and then continued her military career fighting in the Polish-Soviet War and becoming Józef Pilsudski's trusted secretary.