Inka was a medical orderly of the Home Army 5th Wilno Brigade. She got arrested by the communists and sentenced to death. The president of People’s Republic of Poland, Boleslaw Bierut refused to grant her clemency. Inka was brutally interrogated before her execution. She was murdered on 28 of September 1946 (six days before her 18th birthday) along with Feliks Selmanowicz „Zagończyk” by the Soviet-backed communist regime that came to power in Poland after World War II. They both refused blindfolds. They took the Sacrament of Penance.

When the prosecutor gave the order for the execution squad to fire, both prisoners simultaneously shouted (in Polish) „Long Live Poland!” (Niech żyje Polska!).

In Danuta’s last secret message she asked fellow prisoners to inform her Grandmother that she „acted as she should have”(zachowałam się jak trzeba).

She was only 17-year-old. Her unjustified death became a symbol of patriotism and sacrifice. The story of „Inka” is still a reminder of the brutality of the communist regime.

Maria Byczynski

Pictures: British Poles