Władysława Kostakówna was born on December 20, 1908 in Warsaw as the daughter of a sculptor, Stanisław, and a disinherited countess, Maria Antonina née Potocki. When World War I broke out, she moved with her family to Crimea, where her father died, and finally returned to the capital in 1920. However, she did not stay there for long, because a few weeks later she left for France and entered a monastery.
On her way to the title of Miss Polonia, she defeated high-ranking candidates. Who was Władysława Kostakówna?
After 3 years spent behind the walls, Kostakówna decided to abandon the habit and returned to her homeland. She completed a stenography and typing course, and then worked as a clerk at the Municipal Savings Bank. Complimented for her beauty, she increasingly began to wonder how she could use it. When she learned about the first elections in history in 1929, she went to a local photographer to take some portraits, and then signed up to participate under the pseudonym “Limba”. What a surprise she was when, among the ten selected candidates, she came first, beating actresses and aristocrats who were popular at that time, including: Hanna, daughter of the then Marshal Ignacy Daszyński.
It is no secret that the win significantly improved her financial situation. She still worked in the office, but also participated in photo sessions and fashion house shows. As a reward for her victory, she went to Paris, where the Miss Europe pageant was held, in which she represented Poland, ultimately taking 2nd place. In the meantime, she also became the wife of a lawyer, Leon Śliwiński, who at the time of the wedding was a widower, raising a 15-year-old son alone.
She was an agent during World War II. For her services, Kostakówna received orders
Due to the fact that Kostakówna’s husband earned well, she could afford to take care of the house and do charity work, for which she was awarded the Gold Cross of Merit. When the outbreak occurred, she went to France with her family, and the destination turned out to be Nice. In September 1940, with the help of her stepson, she became involved in the activities of the naval intelligence unit, adopting the pseudonym “Maria”. Her duties included encrypting radio messages and writing reports. She was so good that she was eventually promoted to the rank of second lieutenant. For her services, she was later awarded the King’s Medal for Courage for Freedom, and then received the Legion of Honor.
In the second half of 1946, the three of them moved to Morocco, where Leon Śliwiński took up a position as a lawyer at the International Tribunal in Tangier, and her stepson became an honorary consul and director of a mining company. She, in turn, returned to charitable activities. In the following years, the family changed their place of residence several times, finally settling in Aix-en-Provence, France, where Kostakówna died in 2001.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
