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In the second half of the 19th century, the idea of gymnastic exercise came to Poland, and in 1884 the first “Sokół” (“Falcon”) nest in the Prussian Partition was founded in Inowrocław. In 1909, Ksawery Zakrzewski set up a female division of “Sokół” (the first female societies had been established before, but they were dissolved due to non-compliance with the Societies Act). The girls, similarly to the boys and men, exercised gymnastics and took part in gymnastic shows and conventions. Events were organised, including dancing parties, theatre plays, patriotic evenings, exhibitions, etc. Classes in Polish, history, national literature and geography were held. Excursions focused around these subjects were also organised. After the outbreak of World War I, the process of preparing for the fight for independence became the prevailing subject of classes. Women learnt field and sanitary services – Doctor Zakrzewski organised the first sanitary courses for them. Successive courses were organised by the women who had previously completed his training, including a direct continuator of his activity, Janina Łakińska.

In 1912, on the initiative of the activists from “Sokół”, the first scout patrols and troops were set up in Poznań. The first female scout patrol was formed on 29 November 1912. In 1913, it was transformed into a girl-scout troop with Emilia Plater as its patron. The organisation of female scouting was supported by an instructor from Lviv, Jadwiga Falkowska. Scouting promoted a woman’s role that was different from the one known and taught so far. It gave initiative to women. Campfires were organised, during which patriotic stories were told. During their field activities, girl-scouts were trained in intelligence, courier service, communication and sanitary service. Outdoor games taught them how to behave while performing intelligence-related tasks. Girl-scouts from Poznań helped the young conspirators from the UNIA organisation in a number of activities. One of their joint activities, which lasted practically throughout the entire period preceding the uprising, was following undercover policemen. In cooperation with the Red Cross, girl-scouts also did charity work. Other events included protests, pro-independence demonstrations or the distribution of leaflets with patriotic information most often concerning national anniversaries.

In 1864, the Red Cross, a humanitarian movement to help people who need medical aid, was founded. In Greater Poland under Prussian occupation, the authorities did not allow for the establishment of a similar Polish organisation. The situation after 1916, however, required the provision of care services and first-aid to Polish soldiers returning from the front, who were often disabled, and also to Polish civilians returning as a result of war. As well as medical aid, they also provided material support – food, clothing and medication. In early November 1918, the first Polish branch of the Red Cross was founded, inspired by a group of doctors from the department of medicine at the Society of Friends of Arts and Sciences. Preparatory courses at the Institute run by the Sisters of Saint Elizabeth, the Gąsiorowskis Orthopaedic Institute in the district of Łazarz and the Institute run by the Sisters of Mercy on Bernardine Square were launched.  An important person for the Poznań branch of the Red Cross was Izabela Drwęska née Amrogowicz, who co-organised bonfires at the Poznań Central Station for returning Polish soldiers and civilians. After the outbreak of the uprising, she set up a unit of the Red Cross composed of the women who had been involved in the organisation of the bonfires. She became its Chairperson. She was an advocate of a practical approach to women’s medical and sanitary service in Poznań. A great number of women from the Poznań unit of the Red Cross were active in sanitary teams, providing help in local hospitals.

The sanitary and medical services

When the uprising broke out, the sanitary and hospital services were dominated by women. Women from different environments, from families representing the bourgeoisie, the working class, the landed gentry and peasants, were all involved in care and sanitary work. Some women, or rather girls, had been suitably trained at the above-mentioned courses before the outbreak of the uprising.

Barbara Łazarkiewicz, a participant of the courses organised by “Sokół”, during the uprising served at the field hospital in Szubin. Waleria Solińska, who had completed girl-scouts’ courses, also worked as a medical orderly, similarly to Zofia Szyfter, who in October 1918 joined the Polish Military Organisation, where she worked as a courier and a medical orderly. After the outbreak of the uprising she was directed to the Hospital of the Transfiguration in Poznań.

Zofia Tucholska worked in the Red Cross ambulance in Jeżyce, while girl-scouts Konstancja Kolska, Anna Muchalewska, Marianna Sobczyńska and many more helped at Poznań hospitals.

Some of the women who joined the uprising had undergone sanitary training under different circumstances during the First World War. As they had experience in the field, they actively helped the injured, organised hospitals and trained new orderlies. Stanisława Łagierska-Kőnig was a good example of this. Due to her good knowledge of German, she completed her training at the German Red Cross. When the uprising broke out, she helped the injured during the first battles, and went on to organise sanitary posts and helped to transport the injured from the front line to Czarnków. The service of Anna Szczepaniak was similar. After her mother’s death, she was taken in by her sister who lived in Germany. Later, she moved to Egypt to recover. In 1915, during the war, she was expulsed by the English and taken in by the German Red Cross, which, having trained her, sent her to Turkey. After her return to Poznań, in the first days of the uprising she started work as a medical orderly.