Matylda Szymaniak

SZYMANIAK MATYLDA SZYMANIAK Matylda Szymaniak died on February 13, 2011 in Annandale, VA. She was born Matylda Garfunkel on February 27, 1913 in her beloved Lwow, in what was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and later became part of Poland. She attended and graduated from the renowned Zofia Strzalkowska high school. At the same time she pursued her interest in acting and graduated from the Wanda Siemaszkowa Drama Studio. In 1935, she graduated with a Master's degree in Pharmacy from the Jan Kazimierz University in Lwow. She worked at the storied Mikolash pharmacy and later moved to Klucze near Olkusz, where her first husband Henryk Schneid began work as a chemical engineer. During World War II she was taken from the ghetto in Zawiercie to the Otmuth labor camp in Silesia. Upon learning that the camp was to be liquidated, she set to escape from it. Her second attempt was successful and after several harrowing weeks she reached Krakow. She found shelter there with friends, who arranged false identity papers for her. She found her way to Warsaw, where she joined the Polish underground and participated in the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 as a nurse. After its cruel defeat she was deported to Stalag 4B camp near Dresden. Her first husband was killed in the Gross Rosen concentration camp. On war's end she returned to Poland and settled in Bytom, where she started a pharmaceutical factory, "Vis." Later she moved to Krakow and established the vial department of the Krakow Pharmaceutical Factory. In 1949 she was imprisoned on fabricated charges by the Stalinist regime, but after two months was released. In Krakow she married Stanislaw Szymaniak, an economist, also a native of Lwow. They shared the love of the city of their youth and of the Tatra Mountains. She worked at several Krakow pharmacies. She was a people person, always ready to help or advise. When her daughter married and moved to the United States, she visited her and her family together with her husband. After his death in 1986 she spent half of her time in Poland and half in the U.S. She enjoyed her grandsons tremendously. Since 2000 she lived continuously with her daughter and her family. She loved animals - all cats and dogs and especially Pifus, the family's mini-dachshund - and she loved flowers. She always admired the natural beauty of her adopted country. She was always an optimist even in the most difficult times. Until her very last day she was interested in her loved ones and in politics in Poland and in the U.S. (Mike Huckabee's show was her favorite), and she remembered the poetry verses and songs of her youth. She is survived by her daughter Joanna Pleszczynska, her son-in-law Wladyslaw Pleszczynski, her grandsons Feliks and Benedykt, and many friends, here and in Poland. A Funeral Mass will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, February 19, 2011 at St. Ambrose Catholic Church, 3901 Woodburn Rd., Annandale, VA.department of the Krakow Pharmaceutical Factory. In 1949 she was imprisoned on fabricated charges by the Stalinist regime, but after two months was released. In Krakow she married Stanislaw Szymaniak, an economist, also a native of Lwow. They shared the love of the city of their youth and of the Tatra Mountains. She worked at several Krakow pharmacies. She was a people person, always ready to help or advise. When her daughter married and moved to the United States, she visited her and her family together with her husband. After his death in 1986 she spent half of her time in Poland and half in the U.S. She enjoyed her grandsons tremendously. Since 2000 she lived continuously with her daughter and her family. She loved animals - all cats and dogs and especially Pifus, the family's mini-dachshund - and she loved flowers. She always admired the natural beauty of her adopted country. She was always an optimist even in the most difficult times. Until her very last day she was interested in her loved ones and in politics in Poland and in the U.S. (Mike Huckabee's show was her favorite), and she remembered the poetry verses and songs of her youth. She is survived by her daughter Joanna Pleszczynska, her son-in-law Wladyslaw Pleszczynski, her grandsons Feliks and Benedykt, and many friends, here and in Poland. A Funeral Mass will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, February 19, 2011 at St. Ambrose Catholic Church, 3901 Woodburn Rd., Annandale, VA.