The mural

AUTHOR’S VIEW

The idea of a mural about the nurses of the Warsaw Uprising seemed intriguing and necessary to me from the beginning. So far, commemorative monuments, such as the Warsaw Uprising Monument at Pl. Krasińskich, only represent male figures, and even boyish ones, like the Little Insurgent Monument at Podwale. This could give the mistaken impression that women were not present in the uprising or that their role was so marginal that it was not worth remembering. However, according to estimates, there were about 12,000 women, mainly nurses and messengers, but also those who built barricades, rescued people from the rubble, and fought with weapons. They demonstrated enormous courage and determination in the fight for freedom, for family and loved ones, and for their beloved city. Remembering all the participants of the uprising in Mokotów would be impossible. Therefore, I decided to create a universal image of a single woman, representing the nurses, to pay them tribute.

Bartosz Podlewski, Bakcyl Studio

MOKOTÓW INSURGENT NURSES

Saving the life and health of Home Army soldiers and Warsaw residents was the most important task of the Health Service in the underground and during the Warsaw Uprising. The nurses, young women of different ages, who sacrificed their own lives to help the wounded and sick, played a crucial role.
In September 1944, the sanitary points and hospitals in Mokotów dealt with a growing number of patients injured by bombings and artillery shelling. The nurses also helped wounded soldiers passing through the channels to the city center before the capitulation of Mokotów. Some were with them until the end, paying the highest price.
One example is the commander of the medical service of the O-2 “Misiewicza” company of the AK “Baszta” Regiment, Ewa Matuszewska “Mewa,” who was shot on September 26, 1944, by the Germans at Aleja Niepodległości 117/119. She was posthumously awarded the Order of Virtuti Militari for this act.

Among many Mokotów nurses, Maria Chytrowska “Myszka,” who provided assistance to the wounded at the sanitary point on Kielecka 46 and later at the Field Hospital on Malczewskiego 16 and 18, as well as Stanisława Olędzka “Sława,” who worked at Szustra 49, should be mentioned.
It is important to remember that where operations and treatments were performed, bombs also fell, simultaneously burying medical staff and the wounded. After the capitulation of Mokotów on September 27, 1944, many nurses continued their service in prisoner-of-war camps or helping the civilian population survive.

AN EXTRAORDINARY ADDRESS – RACŁAWICKA 7

The address of the building where the mural is located is special, as it is inscribed in the history of a family. It begins in 1913 when Aleksander Kałasa obtained a master baker’s diploma, and in 1932 he opened the family bakery “Kuracyjna” at Racławicka 7, employing 15 people. For years, bread was baked there by hand, exclusively using traditional sourdough or yeast recipes.

During the occupation, the owner built an underground warehouse that could store up to 60 tons of flour, which also served as a shelter. When the Warsaw Uprising broke out, Tadeusz Kałasa, the founder’s son, had the warehouse full, allowing him to bake bread for the army for the next two months. When flour began to run out in mid-September, residents brought it at night in five or ten kilogram bags from abandoned German warehouses on Podchorążych Street to continue baking bread. On September 27, 1944, with the capitulation of Mokotów, the Germans expelled the Kałasa family. There was still hot bread in the ovens.
On October 31, 1990, Tadeusz Kałasa regained the company, and in 1992 the Mokotów District Office returned the property. The “Kuracyjna” bakery operated until 2020, and the memories of its exceptional products endure to this day.
The stories of the district and the address Racławicka 7 are closely intertwined. They are stories of heroic people, their work ethic, bravery, friendship, and commitment. Therefore, the investor, Syrena Invest, which influenced the new character of this place, decided to preserve the memory of the previous owners and their social commitment, as well as to honor the sacrifice of the Mokotów nurses of the Warsaw Uprising through the mural and the transmission of historical information.