A lawyer by profession. A journalist, regionalist, and popularizer of the Jelenia Góra Valley out of passion. She participated in the formation of Nowiny Jeleniogórskie actively.
Walenty Fiałek was Maria’s grandfather, a well-known bibliophile, printer, publisher, and patriot from Chełmno. His daughter, Zofia, married Stanisław Różański, a graduate of the Sorbonne and an English teacher in Grudziądz. He was a linguist who knew 8 or 9 languages. There is a handed-down story about Maria Jarmolukowa’s father, who at the end of his life was placed in a hospital where was a pain in the neck for nurses because he spoke a different language every day, what is more, he was surprised that they did not understand him. They had three children: Maria and twins, Leszek and Jurek
Maria, then Różańska, was born in Grudziądz where she graduated from primary school and, until the outbreak of war, three grades of lower secondary school. Because of many residents of German nationality, the school taught in Polish and German which Maria mastered perfectly. At the age of 12, she went with her father to England. It was one of her few trips abroad.
She spent the occupation in Wrocław working as a forced labourer and in Prague employed in a hospital as a medical assistant. In October 1945, she passed the Matura exam as an extramural student at the Education Office in Toruń, and she began her studies at the University of Warsaw at the Faculty of Chemistry in May of the following year. In 1947, she moved to Łódź, changing her field of study to law. Simultaneously, she attended classes at Wyższa Szkoła Nauk Administracyjnych, which she graduated in 1950. Since 1948 she worked at Biuro Eksportowe Centrali Tekstylnej Cetebe, where she passed the exam in English, French, and German in front of a special commission of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She was continuing her studies when she moved to Warsaw in July 1950, taking up a job at Centrala Importowo-Eksportowa Przemysłu Drewnego
In November 1951, Maria defended her master’s thesis at the Faculty of Law of the University of Łódź, receiving a graduate degree in administration. From May 1952, she worked at C-Hartwig SA in Szczecin, but soon, due to her husband’s work, sending him to the state-owned farm, she moved to Lipiany, Pyrzyce County, and worked at PSS, and then at Zespół Rybacki – Lipiany. In March 1953, she took up a job at the office of Wojewódzka Centrala Handlu Przemysłu Skórzanego in Olsztyn, which she quit after giving birth to her son. She spent the years 1953-1956 in Ruciane and Mikołajki, where her husband was employed until the end of his work order.
Meanwhile, her brothers came to Jelenia Góra. They marvelled at the beauty of the surroundings and landscapes in letters written to the family. In 1956, Maria and Borys Jarmoluk decided to move to Cieplice Śląskie.
The second half of the 1950s was an extremely interesting and creative period, also in Jelenia Góra. The climate of the Polish thaw favoured cultural and social actions and initiatives. In 1958, Jelenia Góra celebrated its 850th anniversary, thus the tradition called Wrzesień Jeleniogórski was initiated. The city prided itself on developing the famous Tezy Jeleniogórskie, a perspective plan for the development of the region for the years 1958-1961, taking into account, above all, socio-economic activation. It was, if not the first, certainly one of the first programs of this type on a national scale. Hence, it is not surprising that the enthusiasts of the Jelenia Góra Valley felt the desire to popularize not only its tourist and landscape advantages but also its contemporary achievements. Nowiny Jeleniogórskie was founded in this atmosphere.
Maria Jarmolukowa devoted herself to Nowiny Jeleniogórskie from the beginning and continued until her retirement. Already, in the first issue (on 03/04/1958), she published an article about the great flood of 1897, and in the third issue, she started a series about regional historical trivia, which from the next one was regularly published as Sensacje... sprzed stu lat or Ciekawostki z myszką. The journalistic debut indicates the area of the author's interests and the subject area that she dealt with in Nowiny Jeleniogórskie. Generally understood regionalism, the history of the Jelenia Góra Valley, the tourist attractions of the Karkonosze Mountains and the surrounding area, and environmental protection were close to her heart. Due to her duties as an editor, she wrote about health care and culture as well as national councils and industry. She signed some of her articles with the pseudonym Anna Jarecka.
Such a wide range of publications was possible thanks to extremely efficient writing skills, which she cultivated constantly, despite the increased chores related to the birth of her daughter, Anna, in 1959. In 1967, she graduated from Zaoczne Studium Ekonomiki i Organizacji Turystyki at Polskie Towarzystwo Ekonomiczne we Wrocławiu. That year, she was admitted to Stowarzyszenie Dziennikarzy Polskich. She participated in a foreign language course for journalists at Karl-Marx-Stadt in 1969 and Studium Doskonalenia Kadr Dziennikarskich (specialization: culture-science-education) in 1973.
For the first time, her name appeared in the imprint of Nowiny Jeleniogórskie in 1959 in issue 17 (dated April 30). On October 1, 1965, she became the editor secretary with the function of deputy executive editor; however, due to family obligations and the studies that she had started, she resigned from this position after a year (October 30, 1966), devoting herself entirely to the journalistic and popularizing work.
Maria Jarmolukowa’s passion for chronicles was revealed very quickly. Initially, tedious archival searches and findings, coming from journalistic obligations, resulted in the studies that are used by subsequent generations of regionalists to this day. In Nowiny Jeleniogórskie, she published, apart from the mentioned Sensacje, Kalendarium: Jelenia Góra w 1000-leciu, Encyklopedia Szkół Średnich, and many episodes of Encyklopedia Jeleniogórskiego Przemysłu.
Her works printed in Rocznik Jeleniogórski, with which she originally cooperated sporadically, were of a similar nature. Later, she regularly published the consecutive issues of Kroniki Województwa Jeleniogórskiego (for the years 1981-84 and 1986-87), Kalendarium Jeleniej Góry, or monographs.
Maria Jarmolukowa was a passionate cruciverbalist. In Nowiny Jeleniogórskie, apart from the above-mentioned publications, she edited the entertainment section as well. Subsequent generations of inhabitants of Jelenia Góra associated her surname with the crosswords she composed and placed on the last page, which her husband helped to draw and Danuta Różańska dealt with the artistic side. However, as she mentioned, the greatest satisfaction was given to her by the opportunity to help those in need by editing the column called Radzimy Sobie. She continued to run the liaison with the readers section as well as the crossword section when she was already retired.
She considered the campaign Niedziela w górach, conducted in the years 1963-64 under the patronage of Nowiny Jeleniogórskie, as her personal success. She drew eager readers on tourist routes and handled the entire logistics side by herself. The venture started by Maria has the longest tradition due to its continuation under the changed name W niedzielę na wycieczkę.
Jarmolukowa’s tourist and popularizing activity was not limited to mountain hikes. In the years 1961–1966 she was a correspondent of Turystyczna Agencja Prasowa w Warszawie. She collaborated with the area of Karkonosze. In the facilities of Towarzystwo Klubów Robotniczych i Chłopskich w Jeleniej Górze, she introduced the experimental and innovative program of popularizing culture, created as a result of the publication of Tezy Jeleniogórskie. Each year, under a different slogan, she organized the tournaments for secondary schools Mister Intelektu for 9 years and the tournaments for primary schools Znawca Regionu for 5 years. She went to libraries, community centres and colonies, met with readers, and gave lectures along with her husband, who made them attractive with slides. In later years, also retired, she was chatting about the history, monuments, and the Karkonosze Mountains as a lecturer of Jeleniogórskie Towarzystwo Społeczno-Kulturalne.
In the years 1965-69 and 1969-73, she was a councilwoman of Miejska Rada Narodowa w Cieplicach Śląskich and, in the last term of office, a chairwoman of Komisja Kultury i Oświaty Miejskiej Rady Narodowej. In 1973, she was awarded the honorary medal Zasłużony dla miasta Cieplic.
In the years 1973-1988, she was the secretary of the board of Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Jeleniej Góry, which on May 6, 1980, awarded her the honorary medal Zasłużony dla Jeleniej Góry for popularizing the city in the mass media.
After years of journalistic work, on July 19, 1978, she was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, on December 18, 1978, she received the Award of the Minister of Culture and Art, and on February 1, 1979, an honorary diploma of the Minister of Culture and Art.
After her retirement, on June 30, 1979, she was still active. In addition to the above-mentioned crosswords and the intervention section, she kept a cultural snapshot column in Nowiny Jeleniogórskie. She was active in Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Jeleniej Góry, she published in Rocznik Jeleniogórski, and she cooperated with Jeleniogórskie Towarzystwo Społeczno–Kulturalne. In 1986, she received a medal for 25 years of journalistic work.
She died on January 11, 1999. She rests in the cemetery in Cieplice.