Wiktor Wiechaczek was a Polish

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...

 soldier, who participated in the Silesian Uprisings

Silesian Uprisings

The Silesian Uprisings were a series of three armed uprisings of the Poles and Polish Silesians of Upper Silesia, from 1919–1921, against German rule; the resistance hoped to break away from Germany in order to join the Second Polish Republic, which had been established in the wake of World War I...

. Born on 10 October 1879 in Ruda Śląska

Ruda Slaska

Ruda Śląska is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. It is a district in the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union, a metropolis with a population of 2 million. It is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river ....

, Wiechaczek was a Polish patriot, living in Upper Silesia

Upper Silesia

Upper Silesia is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia. Since the 9th century, Upper Silesia has been part of Greater Moravia, the Duchy of Bohemia, the Piast Kingdom of Poland, again of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown and the Holy Roman Empire, as well as of...

, which then belonged to Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. In 1913 he took part in a strike in the Pawel coal mine, for which he was fired. After 1918, Wiechaczek actively participated in pro-Polish movement in Silesia, and together with Józef Trojok, he was one of leaders of the First Silesian Uprising. In 1921, he was a member of the Wawelberg Group

Wawelberg Group

The Wawelberg Group , also known as the Konrad Wawelberg Destruction Group , was a Polish special-forces unit. The group began the Third Silesian Uprising on May 2/3, 1921 by blowing up seven rail bridges linking Upper Silesia with the rest of Germany....

, and for his activities, Wiechaczek was awarded the Virtuti Militari

Virtuti Militari

The Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war...

 cross, number 7840.

Wiechaczek was arrested by the Germans on 3 May 1940, and transported to the Dachau concentration camp, and later to Oranienburg

Oranienburg concentration camp

Oranienburg concentration camp was one of the first detention facilities established by the Nazis when they gained power in 1933. It held the Nazis' political opponents from the Berlin region, mostly members of the Communist Party of Germany and social-democrats, as well as a number of homosexual...

where he died on 3 June 1941.

Sources

• ¶wiêtoch³owice / wiktor wiechaczek at swiony.pl