The Service of Women in the Military Structures of the Polish Underground State. The Example of the Central Command of the Polish Victory Service and the General Headquarters of the Union for Armed Struggle - Home Army

This text is an attempt to depict the broad theme of Polish women's involvement within the structures of the Polish Victory Service, the Union for Armed Struggle and the Home Army (SZP/ZWZ/AK) in years 1939-1945. In the first part, it discusses the involvement of women in the struggle for independence, and subsequently in its defence in the years 1914-1921. In the second part, it examines the tasks conducted under the auspices of the Women's Military Service and related organisations in the preparation of women for the upcoming war in defence of independence, finishing with a brief description of women's participation in the Polish campaign of 1939. The third part is devoted to the formal place of female soldiers both within the structures of the SZP-ZWZ-AK, and broadly - Polish Armed Forces in general. The fourth shows female soldiers' involvement within the military structure of the Polish Underground State on specific individual examples.