Eugeniusz Lokajski
Encyclopedia
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
athlete, gymnast
Gymnast
Gymnasts are people who participate in the sports of either artistic gymnastics, trampolining, or rhythmic gymnastics.See gymnasium for the origin of the word gymnast from gymnastikos.-Female artistic:Australia...
and photographer. He is notable as the Champion of Poland in javelin throw
Javelin throw
The javelin throw is a track and field athletics throwing event where the object to be thrown is the javelin, a spear approximately 2.5 metres in length. Javelin is an event of both the men's decathlon and the women's heptathlon...
and the creator of more than 1000 photos documenting the Warsaw Uprising
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army , to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces...
.
Biography
Eugeniusz Lokajski was born in 1909 in WarsawWarsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
. In 1924 he joined the Warszawianka
Warszawianka Warszawa
Klub Sportowy Warszawianka is a former Polish multi-sport club from Warsaw. Founded in 1921 by the famous Warsaw families of Luxemburgs and Loths . Hues - black-white, the logo consisted of a black capital letter W.-History:At first, the club's main effort was concentrated on football...
sports club, where he started training in a variety of disciplines, including swimming, running and football. Initially he wanted to join the javelin section, but was refused by the coach. In 1928 he passed his bachalaureate
Matura
Matura or a similar term is the common name for the high-school leaving exam or "maturity exam" in various countries, including Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Serbia,...
exams at the Mikołaj Rej lyceum
Lyceum
The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies between countries; usually it is a type of secondary school.-History:...
and served the obligatory service in the Polish Army. After graduating from the reserve NCO school in Zambrów
Zambrów
Zambrów is a town in northeastern Poland with 22,933 inhabitants . It is the capital of Zambrów County. Situated in the Podlaskie Voivodeship , previously in Łomża Voivodeship .-History:...
, Lokajski joined the Central Sport Education Centre in Bielany
Bielany
Bielany is a district in Warsaw located in the north-western part of the city.Initially a part of Żoliborz, Bielany has been an independent district since 1994. Bielany borders Żoliborz to the south-east, and Bemowo to the south-west...
, Warsaw.
In 1932 he returned to KS Warszawianka and became one of the most notable athletes of that club. Successful in hurdling
Hurdling
Hurdling is a type of track and field race.- Distances :There are sprint hurdle races and long hurdle races. The standard sprint hurdle race is 110 meters for men and 100 meters for women. The standard long hurdle race is 400 meters for both men and women...
, long jump
Long jump
The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...
, high jump
High jump
The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....
and decathlon
Decathlon
The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word decathlon is of Greek origin . Events are held over two consecutive days and the winners are determined by the combined performance in all. Performance is judged on a points system in each event, not...
, he was finally admitted to the javelin section. In 1934 he became Champion of Poland in javelin throw
Javelin throw
The javelin throw is a track and field athletics throwing event where the object to be thrown is the javelin, a spear approximately 2.5 metres in length. Javelin is an event of both the men's decathlon and the women's heptathlon...
and in gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
, which he achieved also the following year. His 1936 javelin record (73,27 metres, established during a duel with Walter Turczyk of Poznań
Poznan
Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
) was not beaten until 17 years later, long after his death. At the time, it was the third best record in the world. In 1935 he was a member of the Polish team to the World Student Games in Budapest and won the silver medal for javelin throw. He took part in the 1936 Summer Olympics
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. However, during training he suffered an injury of the scapula muscle, which made his results much worse. His result (66,36 m) gave him seventh place. After the Olympics it turned out that the injury was a serious one and it ended his sports career. In 1937 he briefly appeared in the Polish national team and was appointed to the Polish team for the 1940 Summer Olympics
1940 Summer Olympics
The anticipated 1940 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XII Olympiad and originally scheduled to be held from September 21 to October 6, 1940, in Tokyo, Japan, were cancelled due to the outbreak of World War II...
in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, but then he finally withdrew from sports life and had to spend several months in various hospitals. Also, an ear disease resulted in a series of surgical operations, one of them resulting in skull trepanation
Trepanation
Trepanning, also known as trephination, trephining or making a burr hole, is a surgical intervention in which a hole is drilled or scraped into the human skull, exposing the dura mater in order to treat health problems related to intracranial diseases. It may also refer to any "burr" hole created...
.
Conscripted into the Polish Army for the Polish Defensive War
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
of 1939, Lokajski served as a platoon commander in the Polish 35th Infantry Regiment. After the Battle of Brześć he was taken prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
by the Soviets
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, but managed to escape to Warsaw, which most probably saved him from the fate of other Polish officers, murdered by the Soviets in the Katyn Massacre
Katyn massacre
The Katyn massacre, also known as the Katyn Forest massacre , was a mass execution of Polish nationals carried out by the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs , the Soviet secret police, in April and May 1940. The massacre was prompted by Lavrentiy Beria's proposal to execute all members of...
. In Warsaw he reunited with his family and opened a photographic shop. At the same time he served as a teacher in one of the underground universities operating secretly in Warsaw. After his brother, Józef Lokajski, was killed by the Germans, Eugeniusz took over his duties in the Armia Krajowa
Armia Krajowa
The Armia Krajowa , or Home Army, was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej . Over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces...
unit, where he started serving as the person responsible for arms and munitions transport. There he served with distinction as lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Brok (his nom de guerre).
After the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army , to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces...
, both Lokajski and his sister joined the Koszta company, the staff defense unit defending the commanders of the Śródmieście
Warszawa-Sródmiescie
Śródmieście is the central borough of the city of Warsaw. The best known neighborhoods in the borough are the Old Town and New Town ....
area. The commander of his unit, Stefan Mich Kmita knew Lokajski from before the war and decided to use his photographical talents and provided him with a camera, with which Eugeniusz Lokajski started to document the fate of the Warsaw Uprising. Throughout the 63 days of the Uprising, Lokajski made more than a thousand of pictures, each of priceless value for historians. After August 30, when the Polish forces were short of professional officers, Lokajski was attached to the 2nd platoon of the Koszta company as its commanding officer. Among the most notable skirmishes his unit took part in was the ill-fated attempt to join the forces fighting in the Warsaw's Old Town with those fighting in the city centre. His unit was the only one to successfully reach the specified area of operations, but it was withdrawn due to failure of other units to achieve their goals.
After the action, Lokajski's unit was withdrawn to the rear and became the tactical reserve of the HQ, used for filling the gaps in Polish lines. Among the most serious fights he took part in was the struggle for the baricades on Chmielna street, as well as for the Main Post Office, in which he managed to retake the lost building and capture 18 German prisoners of war. Although his unit was decimated and cut out in the ruins without supplies, food and ammunition, Lokajski held out with his men until a relief force arrived - 48 hours later. By the end of the Uprising, on September 25, 1944, Lokajski was attached to the Headquarters of the Armia Krajowa as a photographer. His main task was to prepare photos of important AK soldiers for fake German documents, which would allow them to evade captivity and continue the struggle. Lacking materials, Lokajski went to a photographic shop at Marszałkowska street 129. Caught in an artillery barrage, he was killed in the ruins of the house. It was not until May 1945 that his body was exhumed from the rubble and buried in the Powązki Cemetery
Powazki Cemetery
Powązki Cemetery , also known as the Stare Powązki is a historic cemetery located in the Wola district, western part of Warsaw, Poland. It is the most famous cemetery in the city, and one of the oldest...
, among other Polish sportsmen killed in World War II. After the war a collection of photos documenting the Uprising was found in Warsaw, well hidden in one of the ruined houses.
The collection of his 840 photographs documenting the Uprising along with some taken by him before the War was published on February 4, 2008, published in a 500 page album through the joint effort of his sister Zofia Domańska and the Warsaw Uprising Museum.
There is a street named after him in Warsaw's borough of Ursynow
Ursynów
Ursynów is the southernmost district of Warsaw. With a surface area of 44.6 km², it is the third largest district in Warsaw, comprising 8.6 percent of the city. The district has a population of almost 148,000, and is one of the fastest growing neighborhoods in Warsaw...
.
Sources
- Uprising Museum page
- BROK - Eugeniusz Lokajski, album of his work - ISBN 978-83-60192-07-3, Warsaw 2007,