BIOGRAPHY OF MARIA MIRECKA-LORYS - Grand Marshall of the Parade
Maria Mirecka-Lorys, like others of her generation, while a
passionate Polish patriot, spent most of her life outside an entity
called Poland. She was born during the dark days of World War I in
the part belonging to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as the seventh of
eight children. Her formative years were spent in the Polish Second
Republic. She started her law studies at the University of King Jan
Kazimierz in Lwow in 1937, but they were interrupted by the German
invasion of Poland in 1939.
Having been in the Girl Scouts, the Women’s Army Training Program
and the National Democrats youth organization, she was prepared to
join the underground opposition to the German occupation of Poland.
She functioned as a courier of underground journals. In 1941 she was
named the commandant of the National Army’s Organization of Women in
the so – called Central Industrial District. Later, when the various
para-military groups were unified, she became the head of the Armed
Women’s Service of the Home Army – Armia Krajowa. In 1943 she
participated in a clandestine Student and young people’s meeting at
the shrine of Czestochowa, and formally vowed to fight and work for
a just and fair Poland after the war. Representing students from the
Krakow area was a young man named Karol Woytyla, known today as Pope
John Paul II.
After the war she resumed her studies in Krakow. The defeat of the
Nazis did not end Poland’s problems. A Soviet occupation force
succeeded the Germans. In early 1945 she was arrested and
incarcerated as a political prisoner in the town of Nisko. She was
later transferred to Rzeszow and eventually delivered to the
Interior Ministry in Warsaw. After a weeklong interrogation, she was
transferred to the prison in Krakow.
On September 1, 1945, six years after the outbreak of the war, she
was freed in a general amnesty. She was ordered re-arrested, but
evade the Security forces and
decided to leave Poland. She arrived
in Italy in 1946 and joined the Polish Second Corps, the heroes of
Monte Cassino. She married an officer of the Corps, Lieutenant
Henryk Lorys and moved to England when the Corps was demobilized. In
England, they endured the cramped living conditions and extended
rationing. They left England in 1952 for the United States, the
family being increased to three with the birth of their son, Jan.
The family traveled around the northeastern United States, finally
settling in Chicago. Maria became acquainted with the many Polish
organizations in America. In 1955 she joined the Polish American
Congress and as a Home Army
Veteran, spoke out about Polish
Communist Government’s use of force to put down the striking workers
in Poznan. She has served many years as a delegate to the PAC
National board.
She joined the Polish Women’s Alliance and in 1964 became the Polish
language editor of the Glos Polek (Polish Women’s Voice) and
fulfilled that role for thirty years. As editor she was able to
visit Poland and the many Polish communities around the world. In
1978 the election of Karol Cardinal Woytyla as Pope John Paul II
held special meaning for her when the list of those who had attended
the Czestochowa meeting was printed. For security reasons, the
participants had used their underground nom de guerre’s.
In the 1970’s she began to travel to Polish lands that had been
incorporated into the Soviet Union after World War II. Among the
millions who had remained was her elder brother, a Roman Catholic
priest. She used her underground training to smuggle in religious
items as well as Polish patriotic material. She was never caught and
attained the nickname “God’s Smuggler”. With the downfall of the
Soviet Union she has continued her travels to those areas where
Poles are still found. She delivers aid and has for the last few
years conducted interviews on Polish language radio programs in
Chicago to raise awareness and assistance for the Poles in those
areas. Poles whom the government either cannot or does not want to
assist.
While her interests are in Poland, Maria is proud to be an American
and a Chicagoan. She has been honored by the city, by the Polish
Government and by Polish American organizations. In 1991 the
Illinois Division of the PAC honored her with its annual Polish
Heritage Award. The first free Polish government, under President
Lech Walesa awarded
her the medal of Restored Poland. She also received the Cross of
Service with Swords, the Partisan Medal for her service in World War
II and during the war she was awarded the Golden Cross of Service
with Swords and promoted to Captain.
The selection of her as parade marshal for the Polish Constitution
Day Parade of 2003 and the first woman parade marshal is a singular
honor.
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Constitution Day Committee is pleased to announce that
Chicago City Clerk James J. Laski, a Polish American from
the south side of Chicago, will be celebrating Polish
Constitution Day with the Polish American community by
serving as Master Of Ceremonies and speaking at the Polish
Constitution Day Banquet. Recently re-elected to a third
term as Chicago’s City Clerk, James J Laski has redefined
and reformed the Office of the City Clerk. Through a series
of strategic implementations, he has increased revenue
collection and has positioned the Clerk's office to act as a
liaison between Chicago residents and the City Council. He
has used the office to become involved in legislative
policies and has sponsored many community programs and
research projects.
