Boniecka studied in
Warsaw where she finished a degree in
pedagogy in 1934, and then obtained a master's degree in philosophy in 1937. From 1928 Boniecka worked as a teacher in
adult education in
Warsaw, and in 1937 she was awarded the Silver
Cross of Merit for her work with illiterate adults. Boniecka spent the
occupation in Warsaw. Though she served the resistance from 1940, she officially joined the
Polish Home Army in 1942, and was later awarded the
Home Army Cross. During 1946–1949, Boniecka taught
Polish at a secondary school, and was in charge of the student literary circle, one of whose members was
Włodzimierz Odojewski, who was to become a distinguished author and who, like Boniecka, would emigrate. In 1959 she received the
Szczecin Literary Award. Up until 1963 she delivered lectures on various subjects including literary history, earning her a Gold Award from the
Towarzystwo Wiedzy Powszechnej (Society for Universal Knowledge) in 1960. During the political "thaw" known as
Polish October, Boniecka was chosen to be the first editor of the socio-literary weekly
Ziemia i Morze (Land and Sea) in the city of
Szczecin. In 1957, she was removed from this position
in absentia, for "political transgressions regarding the
issue of Hungary, censorship, elections, inadequate condemnation of erroneous tendencies, failing to consult with the State Committee (KW) in regards to editorial politics, failing to bring the publication in line with the party line...". A few weeks after losing her job, Boniecka was taken to court over an article she published in
Ziemia i Morze which exposed the appalling conditions existing in the local education system. The court found in favour of Boniecka. As time progressed, the efforts of the communist
state to intimidate Boniecka increased. In 1960, the
party confiscated a number of her manuscripts. In 1963 she was placed on a
blacklist preventing her from being published and from giving lectures, and in 1964 her pension was revoked, effectively depriving her of income. Also in 1963 an unruly tenant, backed by the communist party, took up residence in her home, verbally and physically abusing Boniecka and her family. In an effort to get the man evicted, she took him to court in 1964, but the proceedings dragged on until 1966 (finding in her favour), by which time she had left the country. In 1964 she tried to take her own life, but was medically revived. In 1965 Boniecka succeeded in an attempt to leave the country. Together with her husband and daughter, she emigrated to Australia to join her other children. She subsequently published in various Polish-language publications on political subjects, both in Australia and abroad. Her last book,
Ucieczka za Druty (Escape across the [barbed] wire), a work of
creative non-fiction, was written in Sydney, and published in London in 1975. ==Selected works==