Hanna Stadnik

Hanna Stadnik (February 23, 1929 – December 1, 2020) was a Polish social worker, women's rights activist, and veteran of the Polish resistance movement in World War II. In 1944, at the age of 15-years old, Stadnik participated in the Warsaw Uprising against Nazi German occupation.[1][2][3] She was imprisoned by German authorities for the duration of the war, but later received numerous awards and recognitions for her role in the uprising.[1]

Stadnik later served as a longtime Vice President of the World Association of Home Army Soldiers (ŚZŻAK).[1] In September 2020, Stadnik was named acting President of the ŚZŻAK, a position she held until her death on December 1, 2020.

Biography

Stadnik was born on February 23, 1929, in Warsaw, Poland.[1]

Nazi Germany invaded and occupied Poland, including Warsaw, in 1940. In 1942, Stadnik began working for the Polish underground when she was 13-years old.[2] She received medical training and smuggled documents and weapons across Warsaw from 1942 to 1944.[2]

Hanna Stadnik was just 15-years old at the onset of the Warsaw Uprising, a major revolt led by the Home Army and the Polish resistance to free the city from German occupation, on August 1, 1944.[1] Stadnik joined the Uprising beginning on the first day of the revolt as a member of the Home Army's "Baszta" regiment under the nickname "Hanka".[1][3] She served as a paramedic, liaison, and weapons smuggler during the fighting, mainly in the city's Mokotów district.[1][2] Stadnik and her colleagues were eventually forced to surrender. She was imprisoned in German camps at Dulag 121 and Skierniewice.[1][2]

Following the end of World War II and her release from German imprisonment, Hanna Stadnik completed high school and enrolled at the University of Warsaw.[1][2] However, she was forced to leave the university after two years for concealing her past membership in Home Army and the Warsaw Uprising by Poland's new communist dictatorship.[1][2] Stadnik worked as a social worker during her career while participating in veterans organizations.[1]

Stadnik served as a longtime Vice President of the World Association of Home Army Soldiers (ŚZŻAK), an organization for veterans of the Home Army.[1] In 2020, ŚZŻAK President Leszek Żukowski resigned from the position, effective September 18, 2020.[4] Hanna Stadnik succeeded him as the acting President of ŚZŻAK, a position she held until her death on December 1, 2020.[5]

She remained active in social and political causes until the end of her life.[1] In 2016, Stadnik and her colleagues, including psychologist Wanda Traczyk-Stawska, became vocal public supporters of the nationwide All-Poland Women's Strike.[1] She also publicly criticized Deputy Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński for invoking the Warsaw Uprising for political purposes.[3] Most recently, Stadnik took part in the October–December 2020 Polish protests, less than one month before her death, in response to a Constitutional Tribunal ruling which restricted abortion in Poland.[1]

Hanna Stadnik died in Warsaw on December 1, 2020, at the age of 91.[1][2][3] Her death was announced by the Warsaw Uprising Museum.[1]

Awards and recognitions

References
  1. Halicki, Piotr (2020-12-02). "Zmarła Hanna Stadnik, bohaterka Powstania Warszawskiego". Onet.pl. Archived from the original on 2020-12-10. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  2. "Nie żyje Hanna Stadnik, sanitariuszka Powstania Warszawskiego". Rzeczpospolita. 2020-12-02. Archived from the original on 2020-12-02. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  3. "Hanna Stadnik, heroine of the Warsaw Uprising passed away on the first day of December". Beautiful Warszawa. 2020-12-02. Archived from the original on 2020-12-02. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  4. "Prezydium Zarządu Głównego". ŚZŻAK. 2020-03-31. Archived from the original on 2020-11-25. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  5. "zmarła Hanna Stadnik p.o. Prezesa ZG ŚZŻAK". ŚZŻAK. 2020-12-02. Archived from the original on 2020-12-29. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
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