Wartime Portraits: Women - Season 1

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Halina Szymanska

1 - Halina Szymanska

Air Date: January 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.

Halina Szwarc

2 - Halina Szwarc

Air Date: February 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.

Wladyslawa Macieszyna

3 - Wladyslawa Macieszyna

Air Date: February 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.

Helena Marusarzówna

4 - Helena Marusarzówna

Air Date: March 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.

Wanda Gertz

5 - Wanda Gertz

Air Date: March 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.