Maria Barszczewicz

Mariette "Maria" Barszczewicz (born 8 January 1909) is a Canadian supercentenarian currently unvalidated by the Gerontology Research Group.

Biography
Mariette Barszczewicz was born on 8 January 1909 in Belgium. She married Jan Barszczewicz on June 16, 1932, in her hometown of Belgium, and they later moved to Warsaw, the capital of Poland. In 1939, the Second World War had begun, and her husband had to leave on duty. Amongst the chaos, Maria fled to the Belgium Consulate, where she took refuge, though she recalls having to sleep on the floor because of the number of people there. In Belgium, she worked for a charitable organization that helped reunite families who had become displaced by the war. She realized the war had followed her to Belgium in May 1940, however, when the bombing started. Forced to flee again, she and her two step-sisters headed for France. After travelling countless kilometers on foot, as well as numerous trips on trains and military vehicles, the girls finally made it to Paris. Thereafter, she emigrated to Canada. Her husband survived the war.