01/08/2026
On today’s 8⃣2⃣nd anniversary of the , the largest armed operation by underground resistance in German-occupied Europe, we remember the courage and sacrifice of the Polish resistance fighters who rose up in a brave attempt to re-take from the German occupiers.
Among them was Janina Rożecka née Gutowska, war name "Dora", who passed away on 11 February 2026 at the age of 104. Her life, which was one of courage, selflessness and sense of duty to her country but also to humanity, is a true inspiration.
Janina Rożecka was born on 6 January 1922 in Stryj (then Poland, today’s Ukraine). Her family moved to Warsaw and made home in Żoliborz, where she attended school until 1939.
After World War Two broke out, her father, Mieczysław Gutowski, who was a senior officer in the Polish Army, was captured by the NKVD and executed, on Stalin’s orders, in the spring of 1940 together with thousands of Polish officers and intelligentsia in what became known as the .
During the German occupation of Warsaw, Janina, her mother Leonia Gutowska and her sister Wanda, hid two Jews – a seven-year-old boy and a woman smuggled out of the – in their villa at Felińskiego 6 in Żoliborz. They also sheltered one of the , elite special-ops of the Polish Army in exile, and would hide weapons and ammunition for the resistance.
When the broke out on 1 August 1944, Janina, war name “Dora”, who had joined the underground resistance against N**i Germany, volunteered first as a liaison delivering orders, intelligence, and medical supplies, and later as an orderly attending to the wounded.
After the collapse of the uprising, she left Warsaw with the civilian population but kept providing medical assistance to resistance fighters evacuated from the capital. In 1946, she married Aleksander Rożecki with whom she moved back to Warsaw. They had two daughters, Ewa and Maria.
She received numerous awards and state decorations for her wartime service, and in 1988, she, her mother and sister were awarded the Righteous Among the Nations medal by Yad Vashem: World Holocaust Center, Jerusalem for risking their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust.
She was determined to pass on the lessons of history to the next generations, contributing and working together with Muzeum Powstania Warszawskiego/Warsaw Uprising Museum but above all sharing her wisdom, values and wartime experiences with young people.
Many Poles living in New Zealand as well as Polish New Zealanders know Janina Rożecka's daughter Ewa Rożecka-Pollard, President of Poles Down South/Polish Heritage of Otago & Southland Charitable Trust and a valued member of the Polish community in Dunedin and beyond.
Pamiętamy. We remember 🕯️
Holocaust Centre of New Zealand Polacy światu BohaterON Stowarzyszenie Żołnierzy Armii Krajowej Żywiciel i Miłośników Ich Tradycji Nie Zapomnij O Nas, Powstańcach Warszawskich Polonijna Agencja Informacyjna
