Women Born in 1926 Celebrate Their Centenary – Four Remarkable Life Stories
They are united not only by the year they were born. Their childhoods were overshadowed by the Second World War, while their adult lives were devoted to family, hard work and building strong local communities. They survived wartime occupation, the loss of loved ones, forced labour and the difficult post-war reconstruction of Poland. Bonawentura Kuziemska, Wiktoria Śliwińska, Stanisława Chojnacka and Daniela Stolarska have now joined the recipients of the Unitas Durat Palatinatus Cuiaviano-Pomeraniensis Medal awarded by the Marshal of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region.
“A 100th birthday is a unique opportunity to express our gratitude to the generation that lived through some of the darkest chapters of history and yet succeeded in building strong families and communities. I wish our centenarians good health, peace and the continued joy of being surrounded by their loved ones,” said Marshal Piotr Całbecki in his anniversary message.
Bonawentura Kuziemska (née Żmuda) was born on 26 June 1926 in Skowierzyn (Małopolska Province) and spent her childhood in Volhynia. Her youth was marked by the tragedies of the Second World War: the death of her mother during childbirth, the loss of her three-month-old sister and the deportation of her father to Russia because of his involvement with the Polish Home Army (Armia Krajowa). After the war she settled in Pruszcz (Świecie County), where she began a new life. Together with her first husband, Aleksander Bednarczyk, she ran a farm and raised four daughters. For many years she was actively involved in community life, co-founding the local Rural Housewives’ Association, which she chaired for eighteen years, and serving as a municipal councillor. After the death of her first husband she married Józef Kuziemski. Following his passing she returned to Bydgoszcz, where she still lives today. She is the proud grandmother of twelve grandchildren, sixteen great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. In her younger years she enjoyed writing poetry, singing, tending flowers and solving crossword puzzles. Her family describes her as kind-hearted, cheerful and exceptionally resilient. On behalf of the Marshal of the Region, the medal was presented by Vice-President of the Regional Parliament Przemysław Sznajdrowski.
Wiktoria Śliwińska was born on 28 June 1926 in the village of Długie near Wąpielsk (Brodnica County) and has remained closely connected with the area throughout her life. She grew up in a farming family as the eldest of five siblings. Today, her youngest sister is 86 years old. Her education was interrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War, and during the occupation she worked on a German-owned farm. In 1947 she married Bolesław Śliwiński, with whom she ran a farm and built a loving family home. Mr Śliwiński also suffered greatly during the war, having been deported by the Germans for forced labour under harsh conditions. The consequences affected him throughout his life, eventually leading to the amputation of one of his legs at a relatively young age. Mrs Śliwińska devoted herself to caring for her husband while managing the household and raising their six children: Kazimierz, Jadwiga, Maria, Jan, Barbara and Teresa. She is now the grandmother of seven and great-grandmother of five. Throughout her life she has been known for her diligence and was actively involved in the local Rural Housewives’ Association. Her family values her kindness, harmonious nature and unwavering devotion to her loved ones. She now lives with her daughter Barbara and son-in-law Edward, surrounded by the care and affection of several generations of her family. Regional Councillor Robert Malinowski met with the centenarian to award the distinction.
Stanisława Chojnacka (née Skwaraj) was born on 5 July 1926 in the village of Góra, then located in Sokal County in Poland’s former Eastern Borderlands. According to family recollections, she was actually born in 1925, but the documents confirming this were lost during the war. While still a small child, she was brought to Poland by her grandmother and settled in Jeziora Wielkie (Mogilno County), where she was raised by her aunt, her mother’s sister. This decision spared her the tragic fate of her parents, who remained in the Eastern Borderlands and were killed during the war. She completed six years of primary school before the war interrupted her education. During the occupation she performed heavy agricultural work on a German estate near Markowice (Mogilno County). In 1947 she married and, together with her husband, raised two daughters, Krystyna and Teresa. After her husband’s premature death she supported the family on her own while working for the Agricultural Machinery Cooperative and ensuring that her daughters received a good education. Today she is the grandmother of four, great-grandmother of two and great-great-grandmother of one. She currently lives with her daughter Teresa. The medal was presented by Elżbieta Piniewska, President of the Regional Parliament.
Daniela Stolarska, born on 15 July 1926 in Służewo (Aleksandrów County), has spent her entire life in the Kujawy region. She grew up in the family of Władysława and Mieczysław Białkowski. During the Second World War, at the age of just twelve, she began working in the kitchen of the Służewo Palace, which spared her from deportation to Germany for forced labour. As a teenager she joined the Polish Scouting and Guiding Association, helping to organise performances and community events whose proceeds financed group trips and summer holidays, including visits to the mountains. After the war she married Wacław Stolarski, a carpenter employed by a military unit. Together they raised two children, Elżbieta and Ryszard, and built the family home in Służewo, where she continues to live today. She has seven grandchildren, sixteen great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. Reading books was her greatest passion in her younger years, allowing her to broaden her horizons and nurture her imagination. Her family describes her as resourceful, hardworking and deeply devoted to her loved ones. Her kindness, sense of responsibility and strong family values have made her a lifelong role model for successive generations. Vice-Marshal Aneta Jędrzejewska presented Mrs Stolarska with the Unitas Durat Medal.
Families of residents of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region who are about to celebrate their 100th birthday – or who are already over one hundred years old – are encouraged to contact the Marshal’s Office by telephone at +48 56 621 8344 or by e-mail at stulatkowie@kujawsko-pomorskie.pl.
Facts about Centenarians in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region:
- The regional self-government has been honouring centenarians since 2018.
- More than 570 people have received the Unitas Durat Medal to date.
- The recipients include twin sisters from the Lubraniec municipality, who celebrated their 100th birthday together, continuing a family tradition of longevity inherited from their mother.
- Among the distinguished centenarians are also veterans who fought for Poland’s freedom, including Colonel Urszula Tauer, honoured on the occasion of her 105th birthday.
More information is available in the Peers of Independent (Rówieśnicy Niepodległej) section.
Beata Krzemińska
Spokesperson of the Marshal’s Office
23 July 2026
