Doświadczenia kobiet w działalności konspiracyjnej i niepodległościowej w latach 1914-1945

The aim of the paper is to present women fighting for Polish independence and taking part in underground activities during the 1914-1945 period. Izabella Horodecka, Władysława Macieszyna, and Elżbieta Zawacka were all active in the structure of Polish intelligence and counterintelligence service during that time. There was an ongoing discussion in the media about how such women reconciled their family duties with working for secret services, at the same time risking their lives to defend their homeland. Women employed in secret services usually carried classified information from one place to another, which was a continuation of the tradition of women employed in special services, where they used to be couriers (due to their cleverness and ability to adapt to unforeseen situations). However, even in those years, there were women who did not stop at the role of couriers and were active in the structures organizing military actions targeted to eliminate the enemies of the state. While analyzing their biographies, one can notice that their lives and war experiences, personalities, and motivations were similar; they also undertook the same activities to fight for the Polish state. They were all young, born to Polish patriotic families, and they devoted their lives to do intelligence work for Poland. They were carrying out both courier tasks, also actively obtaining strategic information for the functioning of military and independence organizations. The analysis of the subject matter, confirmed by the research, allows stating that women played a secondary role in the structure of Polish special services, but their work was necessary for the proper and efficient functioning of these services.