Henryk Cybulski
Encyclopedia
Henryk Cybulski was born in 1910 in the village of Przebraze in Volhynia
(under Russian partition
). He died in 1971.
He worked as a forester, when in September 1939 the Red Army
invaded Eastern Poland
. Cybulski was forcibly deported by the Soviets to Siberia
on February 10, 1940.
In the summer of 1940 he managed to escape and, after walking for eight weeks, returned to Volhynia. As he later wrote, his sports experiences in long-distance running were a great help. Upon coming back, he took up several menial jobs, trying to lie low and not to attract attention of Soviet authorities.
In August 1942, Cybulski joined the Home Army. In early Spring of 1943, at the beginning of Massacres of Poles in Volhynia
, he became one of commandants of the Przebraże Defence
, together with Ludwik Malinowski
. Under his leadership, Polish resistance groups reorganized into a 500-man strong brigade, including a cavalry unit. Przebraze became a fortress, in which up to 25 000 people lived. Cybulski was a very daring commandant; together with his soldiers he fought off Ukrainian attacks on Przebraze and in the second half of 1943, initiated several raids on Ukrainian centers, including an attack on UPA's military college in Troscianiec. Cybulski was actively cooperating with Soviet partisan forces present in Volhynia; when the Red Army entered into Volhynia, he joined a Soviet unit, but soon left it, finding out that NKVD
was going to arrest him.
His after-war whereabouts remain unknown. In 1969 Cybulski issued a book Czerwone noce ("Red nights"), worked out by Henryk Pająk
, based on his memoirs, in which he described Ukrainian massacres of Poles in the early 1940s Volhynia. The book was very popular and it had several reprints.
Volhynia
Volhynia, Volynia, or Volyn is a historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Prypiat and Southern Bug River, to the north of Galicia and Podolia; the region is named for the former city of Volyn or Velyn, said to have been located on the Southern Bug River, whose name may come...
(under Russian partition
Russian partition
The Russian partition was the former territories of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth that were acquired by the Russian Empire in the late-18th-century Partitions of Poland.-Terminology:...
). He died in 1971.
He worked as a forester, when in September 1939 the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
invaded Eastern Poland
Kresy
The Polish term Kresy refers to a land considered by Poles as historical eastern provinces of their country. Today, it makes western Ukraine, western Belarus, as well as eastern Lithuania, with such major cities, as Lviv, Vilnius, and Hrodna. This territory belonged to the Polish-Lithuanian...
. Cybulski was forcibly deported by the Soviets to Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
on February 10, 1940.
In the summer of 1940 he managed to escape and, after walking for eight weeks, returned to Volhynia. As he later wrote, his sports experiences in long-distance running were a great help. Upon coming back, he took up several menial jobs, trying to lie low and not to attract attention of Soviet authorities.
In August 1942, Cybulski joined the Home Army. In early Spring of 1943, at the beginning of Massacres of Poles in Volhynia
Massacres of Poles in Volhynia
The Massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia were part of an ethnic cleansing operation carried out by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army West in the Nazi occupied regions of the Eastern Galicia , and UPA North in Volhynia , beginning in March 1943 and lasting until the end of...
, he became one of commandants of the Przebraże Defence
Przebraze Defence
The Przebraże Defence was the World War II defence of Przebraże, a Polish settlement, located in Lutsk county, Volhynian Voivodeship, near the village of Troscianiec. Between 1919 and 1939, the settlement belonged to the Second Polish Republic; it exists no more.-Location:The Przebraże settlement...
, together with Ludwik Malinowski
Ludwik Malinowski
Ludwik Malinowski , as born in 1887 in the village of Ksawerow near Lodz, was a Polish Resistance fighter. As a teenager he worked in a textile factory in Lodz...
. Under his leadership, Polish resistance groups reorganized into a 500-man strong brigade, including a cavalry unit. Przebraze became a fortress, in which up to 25 000 people lived. Cybulski was a very daring commandant; together with his soldiers he fought off Ukrainian attacks on Przebraze and in the second half of 1943, initiated several raids on Ukrainian centers, including an attack on UPA's military college in Troscianiec. Cybulski was actively cooperating with Soviet partisan forces present in Volhynia; when the Red Army entered into Volhynia, he joined a Soviet unit, but soon left it, finding out that NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
was going to arrest him.
His after-war whereabouts remain unknown. In 1969 Cybulski issued a book Czerwone noce ("Red nights"), worked out by Henryk Pająk
Henryk Pajak
-Biography:Coming from peasant family, he studied philology at the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University. He then became professor of Polish language in a gymnasium and contributed to a farm newspaper in Lublin . In 1965, he founded a poets association in 1965 called « Prom »...
, based on his memoirs, in which he described Ukrainian massacres of Poles in the early 1940s Volhynia. The book was very popular and it had several reprints.
Sources
- Cybulski H., Czerwone noce. Wyd. 5 zm. Bellona, Warszawa 1990, ss. 375. Opracowanie literackie H. Pająk. ISBN 83-11-07834-3
- Władysław FilarWładysław FilarWładysław Filar - soldier of 27th Home Army Infantry Division, Polish historian, professor.Born in Iwanicze Nowe in Volhynia, Ukraine, then under Polish administration...
, Przebraże bastion polskiej samoobrony na Wołyniu. Bitwy i akcje. Wyd. Rytm, Warszawa 2007, ss. 128. Seria: Biblioteka Armii Krajowej, ISBN 978-83-7399-254-2