Janina Oszast

Janina Oszast
Born(1908-02-02)2 February 1908
Kraków, Grand Duchy of Kraków, Austria-Hungary
Died7 October 1986(1986-10-07) (aged 78)
Kraków, Polish People's Republic
Alma materJagiellonian University
OccupationsBiologist, palaeobotanist, educator and resistance movement member
EmployerPolish Academy of Sciences
Organization(s)Polish Botanical Society
Union of Armed Struggle's Home Army (ZWZ-AK)
HonoursGold Cross of Merit with Swords
Cross of Valour
Virtuti Militari
Medal of Władysław Szafer

Janina Celina Oszast (2 February 1908 – 7 October 1986) was a Polish biologist, palaeobotanist and educator. She was also a member of the resistance movement Union of Armed Struggle's Home Army during World War II. In 1977, Oszast was among the first Polish palaeobotanists attempting biogeographic synthesis of Miocene land sediments.[1]

In the aftermath of World War II, Oszast was imprisoned twice. She was released early on both occasions as part of an amnesty. She was arrested and imprisoned again in late 1952, but she was released on parole in December 1954. She subsequently served in the Polish Academy of Sciences from 1956 until her retirement in 1978.

Early life

Oszast was born on 2 February 1908[2] in Kraków, Grand Duchy of Kraków, Austria-Hungary, to a working-class family. Her brother was the dermatologist Zbigniew Oszast.[3]

Education and early career

Oszast studied a master's degree at the Faculty of Philosophy and Natural Sciences of Jagiellonian University in Kraków.[4]

Oszast was primarily interested in researching Quaternary era deposits. She was the first person in Poland to identify pollen from a range of herbaceous plants and the first to find pollen grains of Ephedra in glaciation period deposits.[4][5]

World War II resistance

During World War II, when Poland was occupied by Nazi Germany's General Government, Oszast was a member of the Polish resistance movement. She served as the head of the first department of the general organizational Bureau of Propaganda Information of the Kraków District of the Union of Armed Struggle's Home Army (ZWZ-AK).[2][6][7] She also taught clandestine classes.[2] Her code names were Janina or Jula.[2]

Oszast was arrested in July 1945, but was released due to an amnesty in October 1945.[2] By December, she had resumed her activities. Oszast was arrested again in October 1947 and was sentenced to six years in prison, but was again released due to an amnesty,[2] on 17 October 1949.[8] In December 1952, she was arrested again and sentenced to four years in prison, remaining incarcerated at Zakład Karny w Bydgoszcz-Fordonie [pl] in Bydgoszcz until her release on parole on 11 December 1954.[2]

Post war career

After World War II and her release from imprisonment,[9] Oszast returned to her alma mater, Jagiellonian University, to resume her scientific career.[4] Oszast published in journals including Acta Palaeobotanica and Geological Quarterly.[10] She was a member of the Polish Botanical Society (PTB) [pl] and participated in national and international conferences with the organisation.[4]

From 1956, Oszast was an assistant professor at the Department of Palaeobotany of the Institute of Botany in the Polish Academy of Sciences.[7] She worked at the Polish Academy of Sciences until her retirement in 1978.[4][7]

In 1977, Oszastwas among the first Polish palaeobotanists attempting biogeographic synthesis of Miocene land sediments, working with Leon Stuchlik [pl], a colleague at the Polish Academy of Sciences.[11][12][13]

Grave in Rakowicki Cemetery

Death

Oszast died on 7 October 1986[4] in Kraków, Polish People's Republic. She was buried in Rakowicki Cemetery.

Awards

References

  1. ^ Słodkowska, Barbara; Ziembińska-Tworzydło, Maria (12 December 2022). "Polish Palaeobotany: 750 Million Years of Plant History as Revealed in a Century of Studies. Research on the Paleogene and Neogene (Tertiary)". Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae. 91 (0). doi:10.5586/asbp.9122. ISSN 2083-9480.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Oszast Janina". Lista Wyklętych (in Polish). 20 October 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  3. ^ Jaworek, Andrzej; Jeliczko, Paulina; Sułkowska, Weronika; Pastuszczak, Maciej; Wojas-Pelc, Anna (2013). "Professor Zbigniew Oszast – one of the most famous Cracow dermatologists". Dermatology Review/Przegląd Dermatologiczny. 100 (2): 132–136. ISSN 0033-2526. Archived from the original on 4 September 2024. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Ogilvie, Marilyn Bailey; Harvey, Joy Dorothy (2000). The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: L-Z. Taylor & Francis. p. 968. ISBN 978-0-415-92040-7.
  5. ^ Acta Botanica Hungarica. Vol. 36. Akadémiai Kiadó. 1983. p. 122.
  6. ^ Mazur, Grzegorz (1987). Biuro Informacji i Propagandy SZP-ZWZ-AK, 1939-1945 (in Polish). Instytut Wydawniczy Pax. p. 200. ISBN 978-83-211-0892-6.
  7. ^ a b c "Małopolscy Bohaterowie Armii Krajowej. Janina Oszast (1908-1986)". Instytut Pamięci Narodowej - Kraków (Institute of National Remembrance - Krakow) (in Polish). Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  8. ^ Tomalak, Irena (1994). Drugi brzeg: wiersze wojenne i więzienne (in Polish). Fundacja "Archiwum Pomorskie Armii Krajowej". p. 194. ISBN 978-83-901006-4-7.
  9. ^ Zemanek, Alicja. (2019) "WŁADYSŁAW SZAFER? OBROŃCA PRZYRODY, KLASYK BOTANIKI." Archived 30 November 2019 at the Wayback Machine Kosmos 68.3 (in Polish) pp. 327-338.
  10. ^ Oszast, Janina (1970). "O wieku stożka Domańskiego Wierchu na podstawie badań palinologicznych". Geological Quarterly. 14 (4): 843–847. ISSN 1641-7291. Archived from the original on 23 August 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  11. ^ Słodkowska, Barbara; Ziembińska-Tworzydło, Maria (12 December 2022). "Polish Palaeobotany: 750 Million Years of Plant History as Revealed in a Century of Studies. Research on the Paleogene and Neogene (Tertiary)". Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae. 91 (0). doi:10.5586/asbp.9122. ISSN 2083-9480. Archived from the original on 15 July 2025. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  12. ^ The Review of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Polska Akademia Nauk. 1979. p. 109.
  13. ^ Kosmos: Biologia. Seria A (in Polish). Vol. 28. Państwowe Wydawn. Naukowe. 1979. p. 228.
  14. ^ Zawacka, Elżbieta; Kromp, Dorota (2004). Słownik biograficzny kobiet odznaczonych Orderem Wojennym Virtuti Militari: A-G (in Polish). Fundacja "Archiwum i Muzeum Pomorskie Armii Krajowej oraz Wojskowej Służby Polek". p. 54. ISBN 978-83-88693-03-8.
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