INFORMATION PORTAL OF THE MARSHAL'S OFFICE OF THE KUJAWSKO-POMORSKIE Region IN TORUŃ

Centenarians of the region – Krystyna Nadolna and Halina Bylińska – have been honored with the Marshal of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region’s medal Unitas Durat Palatinatus Cuiaviano-Pomeraniensis. The celebrants met with the Vice-Marshal of the Region, Aneta Jędrzejewska, and the Spokesperson, Beata Krzemińska.

“Every century of life is a story of strength, perseverance, and everyday work that builds not only a family but also our community. It is thanks to such people that we can draw on experience and values that do not lose their significance despite the passage of time,” emphasizes Marshal Piotr Całbecki.

Krystyna Nadolna was born on March 23, 1926, in the village of Piasków (Mazowieckie Region) into a farming family. In her childhood, she moved with her relatives to Pomorze, where she completed primary school just before the outbreak of World War II. Her youth was brutally interrupted by the occupation – in 1941 she was arrested and sent to camps in Toruń (Szmalcówka) and Potulice. There she experienced hard labor, illness, and dramatic living conditions. In 1945, after a return march on foot, she came back to her home region.

After the war, she pursued her dream of becoming a teacher with determination. She completed a teaching course, then a teacher training high school and further studies at a teacher training college. She worked as a teacher, educational methodologist, and school inspector, supervising schools in the region. For three decades she was involved in education, raising successive generations of students and supporting the development of teachers. For her work, she received numerous state decorations, including the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta. After retiring, she devoted herself to writing memoirs and poetry, preserving wartime experiences and the history of her generation. She published three books, two of which concern her experiences during the German occupation and her time in the camps.

Halina Bylińska was born in the village of Obóz in the Skępe commune, into a farming family. She grew up among siblings, and her childhood fell during the difficult years of the war – at the age of thirteen, she worked caring for children for German farmers. In 1943, she married Jan Byliński, with whom she shared her life in the following years.

In the post-war years, the couple settled in Skępe, where they ran a small farm. Mrs. Halina also took up seasonal work and later worked for many years as a cook in a kindergarten, remaining close to children and the local community. She was the mother of two sons, Janusz and Tomasz – one of whom died in early childhood, and the other passed away this year. Today she is a grandmother and great-grandmother, surrounded by a family she is extremely proud of. Despite her advanced age, she remains independent, cheerful, and full of kindness, always happy to receive visits from loved ones. She is also cared for daily by her devoted daughter-in-law Barbara, who looks after her comfort and safety with great commitment.

The regional self-government has been honoring centenarian residents since 2018. To date, more than 450 people have received the “Unitas Durat” medal.

Families of residents of the region who will soon turn one hundred, as well as those already older, are encouraged to contact the office by phone at +48 56 62 18 344 or by email at: stulatkowie@kujawsko-pomorskie.pl

Beata Krzemińska
Spokesperson of the Marshal’s Office

March 30, 2026