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Maria Antonina Boniecka - Biography

Maria Antonina Boniecka

Early life and education

Maria Antonina Boniecka (née Olaszewska) was born in 1910, in the Polish capital of Warsaw, the daughter of a barrister. From 1927, Boniecka worked as a teacher in adult education, and in 1934 she was awarded a master's degree in philosophy.

During the War

Boniecka was in Warsaw during the German occupation. She became a soldier for the Armia Krajowa Polish Resistance movement in 1942, acting as a copyist and archivist for the Warsaw Command. During the Warsaw Uprising Boniecka was taken to the camp at Małszyce, near Kutno.

Post-War

After the war, Boniecka moved to the city of Szczecin (Stettin). She taught at the secondary and tertiary level here. During the political “thaw” known as Polish October, the socio-literary periodical Ziemia i Morze (Land and Sea) was founded, and Boniecka was offered and accepted the position of chief editor. She was ejected in December of the same year due to “political transgressions regarding the issue of Hungary, censorship, elections, inadequate condemnation of erroneous tendencies, failing to consult with the State Committee (KW) in regards to editorial politics, failing to bring the publication in line with the party line…” and the publication was closed by an arm of the government in the following year.

In 1957, Boniecka was taken to court over an article published in Ziemia i Morze that revealed the poor conditions throughout the local education system.

Emigration

A staunch anticommunist, she was discriminated against by the communist party, and after many years of efforts Boniecka found an opportunity to leave the country, moving to Australia in 1965. She contributed to various publications in the free world, including Wiadomości (London) and Radio Free Europe.

Boniecka died in 1978 and was interred at Rookwood Cementary, Sydney.

Before the war, Boniecka published several works on the topics of psychology and psychopathology. (I.O.D.) She was a member of the Związek Literatów Polskich (Polish Writers' Association) from 1946. She published the novels Nad Wielkim Zalewem and Pięć córek Agaty, the series Opowieść o Justynie composed of Szklane Kulki, Domy Przy Szosie and Na Jarmarku Odpustowym, as well as the books Księga Miłości i Cierpiena and Ucieczka Za Druty.