Meeting on the 100th birthday of a veteran from Szczecin

Danuta Szyksznian-Ossowska is a legend of the Home Army and the veterans' community. On Thursday (June 5), students from Szczecin schools commemorated this extraordinary and important figure for Szczecin by taking part in a meeting entirely devoted to "Sarenko". On June 7, Danuta Szyksznian would have turned 100.

"Only trees with strong roots will survive the storm" - these words spoken by Mrs. Danuta's mother on Christmas Eve 1944 became the motto of Thursday's meeting at the headquarters of Przystanek Historia (pl. Brama Portowa I). ​​Its main point was the presentations on the biography and activity (not only during World War II) led by Danuta Szyksznian-Ossowska, alias "Sarenka". The meeting was organized by the Institute of National Remembrance, Szczecin Branch, together with the World Association of Home Army Soldiers, Szczecin District, chaired by Jolanta Szyłkowska. She also spoke at the beginning of the event.

- Everyone who knew Mrs. Danuta knows and is aware of the fact that Mrs. Danuta had always invited people to her 100th birthday. It was even said jokingly that the arena was already booked so that all the guests could fit in. Life wrote its own scenario, so I decided to treat this wish of Mrs. Danuta as a kind of testament. And that is why this 100th birthday in such a slightly different dimension - she said.

Students from Primary School No. 14 named after Danuta Szyksznian-Ossowska brought closer the youthful and war years spent in Vilnius. During their presentation, they used many archival photos of "Sarenka" and fragments of source texts and interviews. The most moving fragments came from stories about the experience of the gulag.

Barbara Tuzimek from the Home Army School Complex No. 4 in Szczecin spoke about the post-war years, veterans’ activities, work in schools and cultural and educational activities.

- Mrs. Danuta had Vilnius and the Borderlands in her heart - said the speaker. - Activities in Western Pomerania are activities related to memory, to the history of what she experienced.

From the presentation we learned that the heroine to whom the meeting was dedicated was not only a member of the Home Army and a soldier, but also - and perhaps above all - a teacher. Her activities in the following years of her life in Western Pomerania were related to commemorating the history of the Home Army and debunking the history of World War II.

The event was accompanied by an exhibition entitled: "Vilnius Home Army Courier", consisting of archival photos and other archival materials telling about the life and activities of Danuta Szyksznian-Ossowska, as well as an exhibition in display cases, where one could see memorabilia of the soldier: decorations, medals, ID cards, etc.

The next part of the celebration of Danuta Szyksznian-Ossowska's 100th birthday will take place on Friday at 10:00 a.m. at Primary School No. 14 in Szczecin (ul. Strzałowska 27A) and at 1:00 p.m. at the Central Cemetery, where flowers will be laid and candles will be lit on Mrs. Danuta's grave. The organizers of the ceremony are: the World Association of Home Army Soldiers, Szczecin District and the Institute of National Remembrance, Szczecin Branch - Central Cemetery in Szczecin.

Col. Danuta Szyksznian, pseudonym "Sarenka", née Janiczak, was born on June 7, 1925. From 1940, she was a liaison in the Vilnius District of the Union of Armed Struggle-Home Army, where she dealt with the transfer of documents, orders, weapons, and gasoline. She participated in Operation "Ostra Brama" in Vilnius. In 1944, she was imprisoned in an NKGB prison, where she was interrogated and tortured. She was sentenced to 10 years in the gulags, but due to poor health, she was released in 1945. She linked her post-war life with Western Pomerania. She was harassed for her conspiratorial past. However, she did not stop her activities related to the Borderlands and the Home Army. She was a co-founder of the Szczecin Borderlands Soldiers Club of the Home Army and honorary President of the Szczecin District Board of the World Union of Home Army Soldiers. She died on December 1, 2022. She was buried in the veterans' section near the second gate of the Central Cemetery.©℗

Agata Jankowski