Irena Adamowicz

Who was Irena Adamowicz?

Irena Adamowicz, was a Polish-born scout leader and a Resistance worker during World War II.

Adamowicz was born in Warsaw, to a Polish noble family and held a degree in social work from the University of Warsaw before World War II. She served as one of the leaders of the Polish Scout movement coordinating its activities as a Senior Girl Scout. A Polish Roman Catholic, Adamowicz provided counseling and educational services not only for the Catholic Scouts, but also for the Jewish youth movement called Hashomer Hatzair in the 1930s, working in close co-operation with Arie Wilner.

Following the Nazi German invasion of Poland, Adamowicz became a member of the underground Home Army as a clandestine courier. She delivered messages and provided aid and moral support for the Jewish ghettos in several distant cities.

In 1985, Adamowicz was posthumously bestowed the title of the Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem in Jerusalem for her heroic stand against the German Nazi Holocaust.