Wanda Delong – A Personal Portrait of a Hero
The Resistance Fighter who Didn’t Come Home
The Girl behind the “Sarenka” Legend
Born: 21 May 1919 in Orlová, Czechoslovakia. Died: 1 October 1944 in Mistřovice, Czechoslovakia.
Beyond the Classroom: The Scout and the Student
In my mother’s photo album (see my post about the Cieszyn Handlówka) sits a photo of a girl who wasn’t in her class, but was clearly in her heart. Wanda Delong, later known by her nom de guerre “Sarenka” (young deer) was a scout from a different school, but they shared the same Cieszyn streets and the same dreams of a career in trade. While my mother survived the war, Wanda became a martyr for the Polish resistance.
On the back of the photo, in a graceful, youthful hand, Wanda wrote: “I offer this in memory to my beloved Nela.”
Underneath the photo, years later, my mother added a cross (bottom left) and a note in her own handwriting:
“Wanda Delong – Executed by the Gestapo during the war.”
But in my mother’s album, she isn’t a martyr or a soldier. She’s just a friend.
Wanda Delong
Timeline of a Cieszyn Hero
Born in Orlová (Czechoslovakia) to Jerzy and Julia Delong (née Liberda).
Graduated from the State Gymnasium in Cieszyn (Poland) and began studying at the Higher School of Political Science in Warsaw.
Worked at the Osram Lightbulb Factory in Warsaw while training as a swimmer with AZS Warsaw.
Participated in the defence of Warsaw before returning to Cieszyn in November.
Served as a courier under the war name “Sarenka” for the ZWZ/AK and organised food aid for POWs and starving civilians.
Arrested by the Gestapo after being denounced. Held on remand in Leipzig.
Moved to Katowice and sentenced by the Higher Regional Court to five years hard labour.
Transferred to Wadowice (Poland) in May, 1943. Escaped on 28 June. In hiding in Kraków, Warsaw and Cieszyn.
Hiding in the Ostre area, Beskid mountains (Poland). Prepared terrain photographs to aid RAF pilots during weapons and medical supply drops for Beskid partisans. Second arrest 19 September. Under extreme torture did not divulge information about the partisan movement.
Executed by the Gestapo in a Mistřovice forest, Czechoslovakia. After the war in 1945, reburied at the Evangelický hřbitov v Mistřovicích. The Lutheran Cemetery in Mistřovice, Czechoslovakia.
Clarification Notes
- Cieszyn is and was at the time a small town in southern Poland straddling the River Olza, which marked the border between Czechoslovakia (today Czech Republic) and Poland. The Czech name for this town is Český Těšín. The associated map shows the location of Cieszyn.
- AZS. Akademicki Związek Sportowy Warszawa. Warsaw Academic Sports Association.
- ZWZ/AK. Związek Walki Zbrojnej – Union of Armed Struggle, renamed as Armia Krajowa in 1942 – Home Army.
- 1 October 1944. Loaded onto a truck by the Cieszyn Gestapo and driven to a Mistřovice forest. Told to run into the forest. As she ran, she was executed.
- Evangelický hřbitov v Mistřovicích. Cemetery coordinates: 49° 44′ 47.57″ N, 18° 33′ 59.46″ E.
- Mistřovice. This town is on the Czech side of the border and very close to Český Těšín. The town is known in Poland as Mistrzowice.
In 1944, a brutal execution took place in Mistřovice. Now, the same place hosts the ‘Memoriał Wandy Delong,’ where hundreds of young people from Poland and the Czech Republic run each October to honour her. The race trails go through the very woods where Wanda met her end *.
She lost her life for standing up for what she believed in, and today her name stands for the strength and endurance of the people of Cieszyn.
Image of Wanda’s grave attribution: D T G, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Derivative work. The image is cropped.
Note: There are multiple internet sources that show various birth and death dates for Wanda Delong. I have settled on the dates provided in the above image of Wanda’s grave in Mistřovice.
*The Memoriał Wandy Delong Yearly Race
The event was first held in 1977. The famous Polish and European light heavyweight boxing champion, Adolf “Bolko” Kantor from Cieszyn, who was Wanda Delong’s brother-in-law, was involved in organising the event.
“He came to me in 1977 and said, Wanda Delong was my very dear relative, a heroine, and a wonderful girl.” We should honour her memory, recalled Professor Kadłubiec.
Source: Mistrzowice: udany Memoriał Wandy Delong. Głos. The Voice. 2024. The newspaper of Poles in the Czech Republic. In Polish.
The Cieszyn Connection
Having been born in 1919, Wanda was the same age as my mother. While my mother was studying commerce at the Cieszyn State School of Commerce (Państwowa Szkoła Handlowa w Cieszynie), Wanda was attending the Antoni Osuchowski High School in Cieszyn (I Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Antoniego Osuchowskiego w Cieszynie).
Looking at the photo my mother kept, I see a different Wanda than the one on Wikipedia. There is a softness in her expression that the official school record did not capture. It makes her end in October 1944, executed by the Gestapo in a Mistrzowice forest, feel even more personal.
Why We Remember
As I look through the album and learn about these girls, Wanda stands out to me. She shows the strength of the anti-Nazi resistance on both sides of the Czech/Polish border. My mother’s simple note is a tribute to a friendship that survived the war, even though Wanda did not.
Sources, Further Reading and Watching
Personal archive of the post author: Photograph of Wanda Delong from the album of Aniela (Nela) Szkawran.
Historical Record: “Narody, które tracą pamięć, tracą życie.” Nations That Lose Their Memory, Lose Their Life. By Tadeusz Kopoczek, published in Głos Ziemi Cieszyńskiej, 20 August 1993. In Polish. Digital Archive: Silesian Digital Library. P.414 in the PDF navigation.
Historical Record. Wanda Delong held on remand in Leipzig. Arolsen Archives. Tap the “Show all search results +” button and look for the listing Delong Wanda.
Facebook Watch Video from Události Ostrava In Polish. This video features the Memoriał Wandy Delong youth race from October 2025.
Wanda Delong – niezłomna bohaterka Zaolzia! (YouTube presentation). In Polish. English subtitles are available.
Wanda Delong at Wikipedia. In Polish.
Related Post: The Girls of Handlówka in Cieszyn. Post on this website.
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