The Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta was awarded to Zofia Olszakowska-Glazer on 10 October 2007 at the Grand Theatre in Warsaw. This recognition honored her actions during the Second World War as a resistance member and educator who navigated the perilous environment of occupied Poland to save Jewish lives from the Holocaust.
Early Life and Education
Born in 1915 in Warsaw, Zofia Olszakowska-Glazer was the daughter of a Catholic pharmacist based in Siedlce. She completed her secondary education at the Gymnasium of Queen Jadwiga, where she formed a friendship with classmate Cypora Zonszajn. Following her graduation, she enrolled at the SGH Warsaw School of Economics. During her university years, she participated in protests against the Numerus clausus segregation policies implemented by the Sanacja government. She later extended her studies in Sweden, returning to Poland immediately upon the outbreak of the war in 1939.
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Upon returning to Siedlce during the Nazi-Soviet invasion, Olszakowska-Glazer engaged with the Polish underground resistance, specifically associating with Bataliony Chłopskie partisans. Her wartime efforts centered on the rescue of individuals targeted by the Nazi regime, most notably the daughter of her friend Cypora. When Cypora faced the liquidation of the Siedlce Ghetto in 1942, she entrusted her infant daughter, Rachela, to a network of rescuers. In the summer of 1943, Olszakowska-Glazer relocated Rachela to the town of Zakrzówek near Lublin. To ensure the child's safety, she secured a new birth certificate from a Catholic priest under the name Marianna Tymińska.
Postwar Recognition
The legacy of her wartime activities was formally acknowledged later in the century. In 1989, Yad Vashem awarded her the title of Righteous Among the Nations, including the privilege of having her name added to the Garden of the Righteous in Jerusalem. Her final public honor came weeks before her death in 2007, when President Lech Kaczyński bestowed the Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta upon her. Zofia Olszakowska-Glazer died on 20 November 2007 in Warsaw and was interred at the Northern Communal Cemetery.
Fast facts
- Born: 1915, Warsaw
- Died: 20 November 2007, Warsaw
- Education: SGH Warsaw School of Economics
- Resistance affiliation: Bataliony Chłopskie
- Award: Righteous Among the Nations, 1989
- Award: Commander of the Order of Polonia Restituta, 2007
- Burial site: Northern Communal Cemetery, Warsaw
Questions readers ask
What was the significance of the name Marianna Tymińska?
It was a false identity document obtained from a Catholic priest to protect Rachela Zonszajn, the daughter of a Jewish friend, by allowing the child to live openly.
What did Zofia Olszakowska-Glazer study at university?
She studied economics at the SGH Warsaw School of Economics, with a specific focus on the cooperative movement.
Achievements
- Righteous Among the Nations — 1989
- Commander of the Order of Polonia Restituta
- Worked as economist
- Educated at SGH Warsaw School of Economics
