[1][2] Born in Ashmyany in the Russian Empire (now Belarus), her mother Alina Górska was forbidden to act after marrying, but used the money from her dowry to build a home with a cinema inside.

She met Czesław Miłosz in a cafe while reciting poetry, and they developed a relationship that lasted for two years; they continued to correspond throughout their lives after separating.

The following year, the actor and Nazi collaborator Igo Sym was killed by members of the Polish resistance movement after he named Hanka Ordonówna to the Gestapo.

Górska-Damięcka and her husband, under suspicion though innocent, fled the city two hours before the Nazis searched their home; 21 of those arrested were executed.

The couple lived through the rest of World War II in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, changing hiding places and under false documents, using the name Bojanowski.