Urszula Tauer, Home Army courier and Warsaw Uprising veteran, dies at 105
Colonel Urszula Tauer, a courier for the Polish Home Army who served in the Warsaw Uprising and undertook missions into the Third Reich, has died at the age of 105.
Wartime service
Urszula Tauer, known by her pseudonym "Ala", died on 5 July 2026, the Warsaw Uprising Museum announced. She was 105. During the German occupation of Poland she worked in the underground as a liaison and courier for the Union of Armed Struggle and later the Home Army. Her fluent German allowed her to carry out courier missions inside the Third Reich, reaching as far as Berlin. She also fought in the Warsaw Uprising as an officer of the Home Army Headquarters.
State honours and final promotion
For her service Tauer received the Gold Medal "For Merits for National Defence" and the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (5th Class). In April 2026 she celebrated her 105th birthday and was promoted to the rank of colonel by the Minister of National Defence.
Legacy and remembrance
The World Association of Home Army Soldiers, Bydgoszcz District, where Tauer was a member of the Pomeranian Circle, issued a statement recalling her dedication to preserving the memory of the Polish Underground State.
With her life she bore witness to patriotism, courage and fidelity to the highest values. One of the last representatives of the Generation of Columbuses, who during World War II stood up to fight for a free and independent Poland, has passed away. She will remain in our memory as a person of great heart, modesty and unyielding spirit.
- Participated in the Warsaw Uprising as a Home Army courier.
- Celebrated 105th birthday and promoted to colonel by the Minister of National Defence.
- Death announced by the Warsaw Uprising Museum.
