Karol Szwedowski
Encyclopedia
Karol Szwedowski was a Polish
builder, contracted to work at Westerplatte
. He was one of the civilian defenders of this installation when Poland was invaded by Germany in 1939.
from Legionowo
. He was hired as a contract worker by the Military Transit Depot of Westerplatte. He worked there seasonally until 1939.
on September 1-7, 1939, Szwedowski was called on as a civilian defender, and assisted the wounded and fighting soldiers.
After the battle was over, Szwedowski was arrested and sent to the camp Stutthof. At first it was thought that he perished in this camp, but there is evidence to the contrary in the form of a death certificate issued on the basis of the record books for the day of August 30, 1941 in the General Governorship in Legionowo (document number 105 of the year 1941). The death certificate states that Karol Szwedowski, son of Jacenty (father) and Jozefa (mother), died in Legionowo at Bukowiec on August 30, 1941, at the age of 52.
Karol's son Ryszard Szwedowski was an officer in the Polish Army, who was killed by the Germans in Palmiry
.
Szwedowski is mentioned in the book Westerplatte published by Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej (the Publishing House of the Ministry of National Defense) in Warsaw in 1978. He was played by Bolesław Płotnicki in the 1967 feature film Westerplatte directed by Stanisław Rozewicz.
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...
builder, contracted to work at Westerplatte
Westerplatte
Westerplatte is a peninsula in Gdańsk, Poland, located on the Baltic Sea coast mouth of the Dead Vistula , in the Gdańsk harbour channel...
. He was one of the civilian defenders of this installation when Poland was invaded by Germany in 1939.
Early life and career
On December 13, 1927, at the age of 38, he received the diploma of master builder and was accepted to the Craftsmen's Guild of the city of Pułtusk. On April 4, 1934 he arrived in GdańskGdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
from Legionowo
Legionowo
Legionowo is a town in Masovia . According to the 2004 Census estimate the town has a total population of 50,759.Legionowo is located ca. 23 km to the north-east of the center of Warsaw and only 7 km to the south of Zegrze Reservoir , near the Warsaw-Gdańsk railroad and Warsaw-Suwałki...
. He was hired as a contract worker by the Military Transit Depot of Westerplatte. He worked there seasonally until 1939.
Battle of Westerplatte
During the Battle of WesterplatteBattle of Westerplatte
The Battle of Westerplatte was the very first battle that took place after Germany invaded Poland and World War II began in Europe. During the first week of September 1939, a Military Transit Depot on the peninsula of Westerplatte, manned by fewer than 200 Polish soldiers, held out for seven days...
on September 1-7, 1939, Szwedowski was called on as a civilian defender, and assisted the wounded and fighting soldiers.
After the battle was over, Szwedowski was arrested and sent to the camp Stutthof. At first it was thought that he perished in this camp, but there is evidence to the contrary in the form of a death certificate issued on the basis of the record books for the day of August 30, 1941 in the General Governorship in Legionowo (document number 105 of the year 1941). The death certificate states that Karol Szwedowski, son of Jacenty (father) and Jozefa (mother), died in Legionowo at Bukowiec on August 30, 1941, at the age of 52.
Karol's son Ryszard Szwedowski was an officer in the Polish Army, who was killed by the Germans in Palmiry
Palmiry
Palmiry During World War II, between 1939 and 1943, the village and the surrounding forest was one of the sites of German mass executions of Jews, Polish intelligentsia, politicians and athletes, killed during the AB Action. Most of the victims were first arrested and tortured in the Pawiak prison...
.
Szwedowski is mentioned in the book Westerplatte published by Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej (the Publishing House of the Ministry of National Defense) in Warsaw in 1978. He was played by Bolesław Płotnicki in the 1967 feature film Westerplatte directed by Stanisław Rozewicz.