Jan Mazurkiewicz
Encyclopedia
Jan Mazurkiewicz codename Radosław, was a Polish soldier, a veteran of World War I
, and a colonel
in the Polish anti-Nazi resistance Armia Krajowa
(AK) during World War II
. He was one of the main commanders of the Warsaw Uprising
, where he led the eponymous force which was one of the best armed and trained insurrectionist units in the Uprising. After the war he was persecuted by the communist authorities of the People's Republic of Poland
despite the fact that he tried to cooperate with the new regime. He was rehabilitated
after the end of the Stalinist period and was active in the official veterans' organization Society of Fighters for Freedom and Democracy
(ZBoWiD). He was eventually promoted to the rank of general of the Armed Forces of the People's Republic of Poland (LWP). He died shortly before the fall of communism in Eastern Europe.
in Lwów. He was a member of Strzelec and then of the Polish Legions in World War I
. He was a private in Józef Piłsudski's First Brigade and fought in the Battle of Łowczówek
on 25 July 1914, where he was wounded and taken into Russian captivity. He soon escaped and rejoined his unit. In 1918, he took part in the Battle of Kaniów
as a unit commander, while serving under General Józef Haller.
, he was promoted to the rank of captain
, but left active service between 1922 and 1927. Right before the outbreak of World War II (1938–1939), he served as an instructor at the Centrum Wyszkolenia Piechoty w Rembertowie (Center for Infantry Education in Rembertów
), where he taught military tactics
to future company commanders.
operations against Nazi Germany
, particularly in the Free City of Danzig
. After the German invasion of Poland and the imminent collapse of Polish defenses in mid-September, following plans made before the outbreak of the war, he organized Tajna Organizacja Wojskowa
(Secret Military Organization, TOW), an underground group dedicated to sabotaging and resisting the German occupation. He travelled to Paris, where he met with General Władysław Sikorski, the Polish prime minister in exile, who officially sanctioned the formation of TOW. In Hungary
, Mazurkiewicz subsequently organized a cell whose purpose was to serve as a transit point for soldiers and couriers traveling between occupied Poland and France. He returned to Poland in June 1940.
In March 1943, TOW was officially merged with Kierownictwo Dywersji (Directorate for Diversion), or Kedyw
, which was the group within the general anti-Nazi organization Armia Krajowa (The Home Army, AK), charged with carrying out sabotage, propaganda, intelligence gathering and direct action against the Germans. Mazurkiewicz was the second in command of Kedyw (its head was General
Emil August Fieldorf
) until August 1944 and the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising
.
Shortly before the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising
in 1944, Mazurkiewicz was made commander of the Radosław Group. This force was one of the largest, best trained and equipped Polish units in the uprising. After the initiation of the uprising, the unit seized major portions of the Wola
suburbs, and subsequently defended it against German attacks carried out by troops under the command of SS Gruppenführer
Heinz Reinefarth
and Standartenführer
Oskar Dirlewanger
. One of the battalions of the group, Battalion Zośka, liberated the Gęsiówka concentration camp located within Warsaw, and freed 384 prisoners (mainly Jews), most of whom then joined the unit. The Radosław Group fought its way to Stare Miasto
(Warsaw Old Town) borough, when further defense in Wola became impossible. In the areas of Wola that Reinefarth's and Dirlewanger's troops recaptured from the insurgents, at least 40,000 civilians and prisoners of war
(POWs) were murdered in the Wola massacre
.Dirlewanger was killed by Polish prison guards after the war. Reinefarth was never charged with a war crime
. After the war, he served as a mayor and a member of the Landtag in Schleswig-Holstein
and was awarded a general's pension by the West German government. He died in 1979.
Despite being severely wounded in the head and leg during his escape from Wola,The wounded Mazurkiewicz, unable to walk, was carried from Wola to Stare Miasto by some of the prisoners that had been liberated from the Gęsiówka camp. after a short stay in a hospital, Mazurkiewicz was put back in charge of the Radosław Group. He led an unsuccessful attempt in early September to evacuate to Śródmieście (City center, Warsaw) after Stare Miasto was overrun by German troops. After this failed, his group managed to make its way to the Czerniaków
suburb where it tried to contact the First Polish Army under Soviet command
, stationed on the right bank of Vistula
. Since no help was forthcoming from the Soviet-controlled Poles, Mazurkiewicz and his unit made their way through Warsaw's sewers to Mokotów
, the last center of resistance in Warsaw, in late September. There, the remains of the decimated group, including the Parasol
and Czata 49 battalions, fought until the surrender of the Polish forces on 2 October. Shortly before the order was signed, Mazurkiewicz was officially promoted to the rank of colonel
, by General
Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski
, the commander of the uprising.
According to the capitulation agreement, the Polish Home Army soldiers were to be treated as regular POWs and the civilians of Warsaw evacuated. Mazurkiewicz disbanded his unit and together with his wife Anna, who was a member of the Radosław Group, escaped the city by posing as a civilian.
to lay down their arms in accordance with the amnesties of 1945 and 1947
.
In 1949, Mazurkiewicz wrote a letter to Stanisław Radkiewicz
, head of the Ministry of Public Security, complaining of the continued persecution of former Home Army soldiers and he was arrested again. During a two-year pre-trial confinement, Mazurkiewicz was interrogated and tortured—he was beaten and his teeth and hair were forcibly pulled out. He was eventually sentenced to life imprisonment in a show trial
, in which the prosecutor submitted a false confession allegedly made by Mazurkiewicz and no defense witnesses were allowed to appear. He remained imprisoned until the amnesty of 1956. Eventually rehabilitated
, he was active in organizations which sought to protect former veterans of anti-Nazi resistance and served as vice-president of the Society of Fighters for Freedom and Democracy
, the Polish veterans association. In 1980, during a brief liberalization associated with the first Solidarity period he was promoted to the rank of General
.
He died in May 1988, about a year and a half before the first postwar non-communist government
was elected in Poland, and was buried at Powązki Military Cemetery
.
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and a colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
in the Polish anti-Nazi resistance 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...
(AK) during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He was one of the main commanders 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...
, where he led the eponymous force which was one of the best armed and trained insurrectionist units in the Uprising. After the war he was persecuted by the communist authorities of the People's Republic of Poland
People's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
despite the fact that he tried to cooperate with the new regime. He was rehabilitated
Rehabilitation (Soviet)
Rehabilitation in the context of the former Soviet Union, and the Post-Soviet states, was the restoration of a person who was criminally prosecuted without due basis, to the state of acquittal...
after the end of the Stalinist period and was active in the official veterans' organization Society of Fighters for Freedom and Democracy
Society of Fighters for Freedom and Democracy
The Society of Fighters for Freedom and Democracy was an official Polish state-controlled veterans association in the People's Republic. Initially headed by Franciszek Jóźwiak, it was formed on September 2, 1949 out of 11 pre-existing veterans associations...
(ZBoWiD). He was eventually promoted to the rank of general of the Armed Forces of the People's Republic of Poland (LWP). He died shortly before the fall of communism in Eastern Europe.
Early life and World War I
Mazurkiewicz was born in a craftsman's family in Lwów. His father died in a fire in 1905. He spent his childhood in Złoczów and attended a gymnasiumGymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
in Lwów. He was a member of Strzelec and then of the Polish Legions in World War I
Polish Legions in World War I
Polish Legions was the name of Polish armed forces created in August 1914 in Galicia. Thanks to the efforts of KSSN and the Polish members of the Austrian parliament, the unit became an independent formation of the Austro-Hungarian Army...
. He was a private in Józef Piłsudski's First Brigade and fought in the Battle of Łowczówek
Battle of Łowczówek
Battle of Łowczówek was a battle during World War I, fought on 22–25 December, between the First Brigade of the Polish Legion, fighting for Austria-Hungary, and troops of Imperial Russia...
on 25 July 1914, where he was wounded and taken into Russian captivity. He soon escaped and rejoined his unit. In 1918, he took part in the Battle of Kaniów
Battle of Kaniów
Battle of Kaniów took place during World War I on the night of 10–11 May 1918 near Kaniv between the Polish II Corps in Russia under general Józef Haller de Hallenburg and the German Imperial Army under general Zierhold...
as a unit commander, while serving under General Józef Haller.
Second Polish Republic
During the interwar period of the Second Polish RepublicSecond Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
, he was promoted to the rank of captain
Captain (OF-2)
The army rank of captain is a commissioned officer rank historically corresponding to command of a company of soldiers. The rank is also used by some air forces and marine forces. Today a captain is typically either the commander or second-in-command of a company or artillery battery...
, but left active service between 1922 and 1927. Right before the outbreak of World War II (1938–1939), he served as an instructor at the Centrum Wyszkolenia Piechoty w Rembertowie (Center for Infantry Education in Rembertów
Rembertów
Rembertów is a district of the city of Warsaw, the capital of Poland. Between 1939 and 1957 Rembertów was a separate town, after which it was incorporated as part of the borough of Praga Południe. Between 1994 and 2002 it formed a separate commune of Warszawa-Rembertów...
), where he taught military tactics
Military tactics
Military tactics, the science and art of organizing an army or an air force, are the techniques for using weapons or military units in combination for engaging and defeating an enemy in battle. Changes in philosophy and technology over time have been reflected in changes to military tactics. In...
to future company commanders.
Organizing resistance
In August of 1939, Mazurkiewicz was assigned to the Grupa Operacyjnej Dywersji ("Diversionary Operations Group") of the Polish General Staff, which was involved in counter-intelligenceCounter-intelligence
Counterintelligence or counter-intelligence refers to efforts made by intelligence organizations to prevent hostile or enemy intelligence organizations from successfully gathering and collecting intelligence against them. National intelligence programs, and, by extension, the overall defenses of...
operations against Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, particularly in the Free City of Danzig
Free City of Danzig
The Free City of Danzig was a semi-autonomous city-state that existed between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig and surrounding areas....
. After the German invasion of Poland and the imminent collapse of Polish defenses in mid-September, following plans made before the outbreak of the war, he organized Tajna Organizacja Wojskowa
Tajna Organizacja Wojskowa
Tajna Organizacja Wojsowa or "Secret Military Organization", was the name given to a underground group, or groups, which was supposed to be formed in Poland in the case Polish territory was occupied by foreign powers...
(Secret Military Organization, TOW), an underground group dedicated to sabotaging and resisting the German occupation. He travelled to Paris, where he met with General Władysław Sikorski, the Polish prime minister in exile, who officially sanctioned the formation of TOW. In Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, Mazurkiewicz subsequently organized a cell whose purpose was to serve as a transit point for soldiers and couriers traveling between occupied Poland and France. He returned to Poland in June 1940.
In March 1943, TOW was officially merged with Kierownictwo Dywersji (Directorate for Diversion), or Kedyw
Kedyw
Kedyw , was an underground movement - Armia Krajowa organization during World War II, which specialized in active and passive sabotage, propaganda and armed action against Nazi German forces and collaborators.-Operations:...
, which was the group within the general anti-Nazi organization Armia Krajowa (The Home Army, AK), charged with carrying out sabotage, propaganda, intelligence gathering and direct action against the Germans. Mazurkiewicz was the second in command of Kedyw (its head was General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Emil August Fieldorf
Emil August Fieldorf
Emil August Fieldorf was a Polish Brigadier General. He was Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Home Army or AK, after the failure of the Warsaw Uprising...
) until August 1944 and 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...
.
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...
in 1944, Mazurkiewicz was made commander of the Radosław Group. This force was one of the largest, best trained and equipped Polish units in the uprising. After the initiation of the uprising, the unit seized major portions of the Wola
Wola
Wola is a district in western Warsaw, Poland, formerly the village of Wielka Wola, incorporated into Warsaw in 1916. An industrial area with traditions reaching back to the early 19th century, it is slowly changing into an office and residential district...
suburbs, and subsequently defended it against German attacks carried out by troops under the command of SS Gruppenführer
Gruppenführer
Gruppenführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party, first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA.-SS rank:...
Heinz Reinefarth
Heinz Reinefarth
Heinrich Reinefarth was a German military officer during and government official after World War II. During the Warsaw Uprising his troops committed numerous war atrocities. After the war Reinefarth became the mayor of the town of Westerland and member of the Schleswig-Holstein Landtag...
and Standartenführer
Standartenführer
Standartenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in the so-called Nazi combat-organisations: SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK...
Oskar Dirlewanger
Oskar Dirlewanger
Oskar Paul Dirlewanger was a World War II officer of the SS who commanded the SS-Sturmbrigade Dirlewanger, a penal battalion composed of German criminals...
. One of the battalions of the group, Battalion Zośka, liberated the Gęsiówka concentration camp located within Warsaw, and freed 384 prisoners (mainly Jews), most of whom then joined the unit. The Radosław Group fought its way to Stare Miasto
Warsaw Old Town
Warsaw's Old Town is the oldest historic district of the city. It is bounded by Wybrzeże Gdańskie, along the bank of the Vistula, and by Grodzka, Mostowa and Podwale Streets. It is one of Warsaw's most prominent tourist attractions....
(Warsaw Old Town) borough, when further defense in Wola became impossible. In the areas of Wola that Reinefarth's and Dirlewanger's troops recaptured from the insurgents, at least 40,000 civilians and prisoners 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...
(POWs) were murdered in the Wola massacre
Wola massacre
The Wola massacre was the scene of the largest single massacre in the history of Poland. According to different sources, some 40,000 to 100,000 Polish civilians and POWs were killed by the German forces during their suppression of the Warsaw Uprising...
.Dirlewanger was killed by Polish prison guards after the war. Reinefarth was never charged with a war crime
War crime
War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
. After the war, he served as a mayor and a member of the Landtag in Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
and was awarded a general's pension by the West German government. He died in 1979.
Despite being severely wounded in the head and leg during his escape from Wola,The wounded Mazurkiewicz, unable to walk, was carried from Wola to Stare Miasto by some of the prisoners that had been liberated from the Gęsiówka camp. after a short stay in a hospital, Mazurkiewicz was put back in charge of the Radosław Group. He led an unsuccessful attempt in early September to evacuate to Śródmieście (City center, Warsaw) after Stare Miasto was overrun by German troops. After this failed, his group managed to make its way to the Czerniaków
Czerniaków
Czerniaków is a neighbourhood of the city of Warsaw, located within the borough of Mokotów, between the escarpment of the Vistula river and the river itself....
suburb where it tried to contact the First Polish Army under Soviet command
First Polish Army (1944-1945)
The Polish First Army was a Polish Army unit formed in the Soviet Union in 1944, from the previously existing Polish I Corps as part of the People's Army of Poland . The First Army fought westward, subordinated to the Soviet 1st Belorussian Front, during the offensive against Germany that led to...
, stationed on the right bank of Vistula
Vistula
The Vistula is the longest and the most important river in Poland, at 1,047 km in length. The watershed area of the Vistula is , of which lies within Poland ....
. Since no help was forthcoming from the Soviet-controlled Poles, Mazurkiewicz and his unit made their way through Warsaw's sewers to Mokotów
Mokotów
Mokotów is a dzielnica of Warsaw, the capital of Poland. Mokotów is densely populated. It is a seat to many foreign embassies and companies...
, the last center of resistance in Warsaw, in late September. There, the remains of the decimated group, including the Parasol
Batalion Parasol
Battalion Parasol was a Scouting battalion of the Armia Krajowa, the primary Polish resistance movement in World War II. It consisted mainly of members of the Szare Szeregi, distinguishing itself in many underground operations, and in the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 .-...
and Czata 49 battalions, fought until the surrender of the Polish forces on 2 October. Shortly before the order was signed, Mazurkiewicz was officially promoted to the rank of colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
, by General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski
Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski
General Count Tadeusz Komorowski , better known by the name Bór-Komorowski was a Polish military leader....
, the commander of the uprising.
According to the capitulation agreement, the Polish Home Army soldiers were to be treated as regular POWs and the civilians of Warsaw evacuated. Mazurkiewicz disbanded his unit and together with his wife Anna, who was a member of the Radosław Group, escaped the city by posing as a civilian.
In communist Poland
In 1945, he was arrested by Urząd Bezpieczeństwa, the Polish communist secret police. He decided to cooperate with communist authorities in order to protect former members of resistance and he called for ex-AK soldiers who had joined the anti-communist undergroundCursed soldiers
The cursed soldiers is a name applied to a variety of Polish resistance movements formed in the later stages of World War II and afterwards. Created by some members of the Polish Secret State, these clandestine organizations continued their armed struggle against the Stalinist government of Poland...
to lay down their arms in accordance with the amnesties of 1945 and 1947
Amnesty of 1947
The Amnesty of 1947 in Poland was an amnesty directed at soldiers and activists of the Polish anti-communist underground, issued by the authorities of People's Republic of Poland. The law on amnesty was passed by the Polish Sejm on February 22, 1947. The actual purpose of the amnesty was the...
.
In 1949, Mazurkiewicz wrote a letter to Stanisław Radkiewicz
Stanisław Radkiewicz
Stanisław Radkiewicz was a Polish communist activist with Soviet citizenship, member of the pre-war Communist Party of Poland and of the post-war Polish United Workers' Party...
, head of the Ministry of Public Security, complaining of the continued persecution of former Home Army soldiers and he was arrested again. During a two-year pre-trial confinement, Mazurkiewicz was interrogated and tortured—he was beaten and his teeth and hair were forcibly pulled out. He was eventually sentenced to life imprisonment in a show trial
Show trial
The term show trial is a pejorative description of a type of highly public trial in which there is a strong connotation that the judicial authorities have already determined the guilt of the defendant. The actual trial has as its only goal to present the accusation and the verdict to the public as...
, in which the prosecutor submitted a false confession allegedly made by Mazurkiewicz and no defense witnesses were allowed to appear. He remained imprisoned until the amnesty of 1956. Eventually rehabilitated
Rehabilitation (Soviet)
Rehabilitation in the context of the former Soviet Union, and the Post-Soviet states, was the restoration of a person who was criminally prosecuted without due basis, to the state of acquittal...
, he was active in organizations which sought to protect former veterans of anti-Nazi resistance and served as vice-president of the Society of Fighters for Freedom and Democracy
Society of Fighters for Freedom and Democracy
The Society of Fighters for Freedom and Democracy was an official Polish state-controlled veterans association in the People's Republic. Initially headed by Franciszek Jóźwiak, it was formed on September 2, 1949 out of 11 pre-existing veterans associations...
, the Polish veterans association. In 1980, during a brief liberalization associated with the first Solidarity period he was promoted to the rank of General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
.
He died in May 1988, about a year and a half before the first postwar non-communist government
Tadeusz Mazowiecki
Tadeusz Mazowiecki is a Polish author, journalist, philanthropist and Christian-democratic politician, formerly one of the leaders of the Solidarity movement, and the first non-communist prime minister in Central and Eastern Europe after World War II.-Biography:Mazowiecki comes from a Polish...
was elected in Poland, and was buried at Powązki Military Cemetery
Powązki Military Cemetery
Powązki Military Cemetery is an old military cemetery located in the Wola district, western part of Warsaw, Poland. The cemetery is often confused with the older Powązki Cemetery, known colloquially as "Old Powązki"...
.
Honors and awards
- Gold Cross of the Order of Virtuti Militari, previously awarded the Silver Cross
- Cross of Independence with Swords
- Cross of Valour – eleven times
- Warsaw Uprising Cross (1981)