Alexandra Pilsudska (1880–1963)

Aleksandra Pilsudska, née Szczerbińska, was born in Suwałki, Poland (then the Russian Empire). Her parents died when she was 10 years old, and she was raised by her maternal grandmother and aunt. She graduated from gymnasium (high school) in 1901 and began university studies. In 1904, she joined the Polish Socialist Party (PPS), one of the two main revolutionary and political movements in Poland. She took part in the party's military arm, acting as a courier and obtaining weapons. In 1907, she was arrested and imprisoned by the authorities, but released due to lack of evidence. She moved to Kiev, and fell in love with Josef Piłsudski, a leader of the PPS and a married man. In 1908, she played a key role in the daring Bezdany raid near Vilna, in which Piłsudski and several other Polish revolutionaries robbed a Russian mail train. Afterwards, she moved to Lwów, and took a job as an office worker in a factory. She became involved with the women's section of a new organization formed by Piłsudski, The Union of Riflemen (ZS). During World War I, she worked in the intelligence and communication section of the First Brigade of the Polish Legions, and was involved with the Polish Military Organization. As a result, she was arrested in Warsaw by the Germans, and imprisoned in Silesia. She was released after the creation of the Kingdom of Poland in 1916. She then returned to Warsaw, and resumed her work in an organization called the Women's League. She gave birth to two daughters with Piłsudski, but could not marry him until the death of his first wife in 1921. After Piłsudski staged a coup d'état to become dictator of Poland in 1926, Aleksandra worked to assist women's groups, military families, and homeless children. Her marriage to Piłsudski became fractured in later years and the couple lived apart in various governmental residences. Her husband died in 1935. After the German invasion of Poland in World War II, she fled with her daughters to Great Britain, settling in London. She wrote her memoirs, published in 1940, and a biography of her husband.