Marianna Biernacka

Marianna Biernacka, née Czokało (1888 - 13 July 1943) was a Polish Roman Catholic citizen and a victim of the Second World War. She is listed among the 108 Blessed Polish Martyrs also known as the 108 Martyrs of World War II.

Biography
She married a farmer and had two children. In 1943, during the Second World War, her son, Stanislaw and his wife were arrested by German soldiers. In retaliation for the death of other German soldiers that had been killed in a village nearby, the husband and wife were singled out to be shot. Marianna offered to take the place of her pregnant daughter in-law and the soldiers agreed. Two weeks later, after being imprisoned, Marianna was shot and killed on July 13, 1943 in Naumowicze (Naumovichi, Belarus).

On 13 June 1999, Marian was recognized as a martyr and beatified, alongside 107 other victims, by Pope John Paul II at Warsaw, Poland. There are two parishes named for the 108 Martyrs of World War II in Powiercie in Koło County, and in Malbork, Poland.