GeneralLeopold Okulicki(noms de guerreKobra,Niedźwiadek;1898 – 1946) was aPolish Armygeneraland the last commander of the anti-Nazi undergroundHome ArmyduringWorld War IIand theGerman occupation of Poland (1939–1945).
Leopold Okulicki | |
|---|---|
 Okulicki in 1943 | |
| Nickname(s) | Kobra,Niedźwiadek |
| Born | 12 November 1898 Bratucice,Congress Poland,Russian Empire |
| Died | 24 December 1946 (aged 48) Moscow,Russian SFSR,Soviet Union |
| Awards |  Order of Virtuti Militari(Gold Cross) Order of Virtuti Militari (Silver Cross) Cross of Valour(4 times)  Cross of Merit with Swords(Gold) Commander of theLegion of Merit(USA) |
After the war he was arrested by the SovietNKVDand died at Moscow'sButyrka prison.
Life
editOkulicki was born in November 1898 inBratucice,Bochnia Countyin the Austrian section of partitioned Poland ( "Galicia"). He was born on November 12, 1898 into the family of farmers Błażej and Anna née Korcyl.[1][2][3]
In 1910 he enrolled at a localgymnasium(secondary school), and after 1913 was a member of theZwiązek Strzelecki(Riflemen's Association). The following year, aged 16, after finishing basic military training, he passed hisNCOexams.
After the outbreak of World War I, in October 1915, he left school and volunteered for thePolish Legions,where he served with distinction in the 3rd Legions Infantry Regiment.
He remained in thePolish Armyand fought in various units during World War I and the subsequentPolish–Bolshevik War(1919–1921). Okulicki was decorated with the highest Polish military order, theVirtuti Militari.[4]
During theinterwar periodhe remained in the army and in 1925 graduated from the prestigiousWarsaw Military Academy.Afterward Okulicki took a post in theGrodnolocal corps headquarters.
Until the late 1930s, he taught at the Infantry Training Centre inRembertów,and became commanding officer of Polish 13th Infantry Division.[4]
Nazi occupation
editIn 1939, Okulicki was made commander of one of the departments of the Polish Commander-in-Chief's Headquarters.
At the outbreak ofWorld War IIand thedefense of Poland against Nazi Germany in 1939,Okulicki was inWarsaw.[5]AfterEdward Rydz-Śmigłyevacuated his staff from Warsaw, Okulicki remained in the Polish capital and served in various posts during theSiege of Warsaw.
After the capitulation of the Polish troops defending the capital, Okulicki evaded capture by theGermansand joinedSłużba Zwycięstwu Polski(en.Service for Poland's Victory), one of the first underground resistance organizations formed in Nazi and Soviet-occupied Poland. This organization later changed its name to theUnion of Armed Struggleand then to theHome Army.
In January 1940, he moved toŁódź,where he assumed the post of commander of the local area of that organization. After a brief stint at Headquarters, he was transferred to Soviet-occupiedLwówand became head of that area.[4]GeneralStefan Rowecki,the commander-in-chief of theZWZ,appointed Okulicki as the commander of the Soviet occupation in Area No. 2 -Białystokand Area No. 3 -Lwów,with the difficult and dangerous task of eliminating the organizational breakdown in the Lwów Area and putting the affairs of the ZWZ in order throughout the entire occupation.[6]
Soviet period
editArrested by theNKVDin January 1941, Okulicki was imprisoned and tortured in various Soviet prisons.
Released after theSikorski-Mayski Agreementof 1941, he joined thePolish Armyrecreated in the USSR, where he assumed the post ofchief of staff.
After a brief period commanding thePolish 7th Infantry Division,he was moved to London for training in theCichociemnitraining camp and transported to occupied Poland. In July 1944, duringOperation Tempest,he became the commander of the 2nd Echelon of theHome Army.GeneralBór-Komorowski,anticipating his own arrest by the Soviets after theWarsaw Uprising,named him his deputy and successor.
Okulicki fought in the Uprising, among other posts as chief of staff of the Home Army. After the capitulation of the Uprising, he managed to evade capture by the Germans and moved to Kraków, from where he started to reorganize the Home Army. On 3 October 1944, he became commander of the entire Home Army.
On 3 January 1945 he met in the "Zacisze estate" nearOdrowąż, Radomsko CountynearRadomskowith theBritishspecialSOEMission Freston.[7]Capt D.T. Bill Hudsonwrote on 3 January 1945: "we met the Commander of the Home Army and our friend, Colonel Rudkowski [...]. There were also several other people whose names and functions we did not have time to learn. The commander of the Home Army seemed to us a decisive, sincere and clear-minded man. His demeanor was calm and friendly. He knew many personalities from the London SOE office and stated that he commanded the 7th Infantry Division in the army of General Anders. We didn't know his name."[8][9]
In order to protect Polish soldiers against the NKVD and more general Stalinist repression, Okulicki, in consultation with the government delegate and on the basis of the government instruction from London of November 14, 1944, providing for the dissolution of the Home Army in the areas occupied by the USSR, issued an order on 19 January 1945 dissolving the Home Army and releasing soldiers from their oath.[10]He feared that the existence of Allied forces in Poland would only lead to the Soviets murdering or arresting more people.
In February 1945, Okulicki and his commanders were summoned by the NKVD to a meeting in Warsaw. They were arrested and then flown toMoscow.Okulicki was charged with "preparing an armed uprising against the Soviet Union in league with the Germans."[11]
Okulicki was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment in the stagedTrial of the Sixteen.Under international law, this was a completely illegal verdict.[12]He independently defended Poland in the courtroom against Soviet accusations. "He left the courtroom with his head held high," noted an Englishman present at the trial.[13]Okulicki died 24 December 1946 atButyrka prison.[14]A cenotaph commemorating his death was built in thePowązki Military Cemetery,Warsaw.[citation needed]
Decorations
edit- Order of the White Eagle,posthumously on 11 November 1995[15]
- Order Virtuti MilitariGolden Cross
- Order Virtuti MilitariSilver Cross
- Cross of Independence
- Cross of Valour,4 times
- Cross of Merit with SwordsGolden Cross
- Legion of Merit,posthumously (USA)
References
edit- ^Kunert, Andrzej(1987).Słownik biograficzny konspiracji warszawskiej 1939–1945 Tom 2[Biographical dictionary of the Warsaw underground 1939–1945 Volume 2.] (in Polish). Warsaw: Instytut Wydawniczy „Pax”. p. 138.ISBN83-211-0758-3.
- ^Kurtyka, Janusz."Biogram. Generał Leopold Okulicki. 1898–1921. Żołnierz komendanta"[Biography. General Leopold Okulicki. 1898–1921. Commander's soldier.] (in Polish).Retrieved21 January2024.
- ^"Zarządzenia Ministra Spraw Wojskowych. Zmiany (sprostowania) nazwisk, imion i dat urodzenia"[Orders of the Minister of Military Affairs. Changes (corrections) of surnames, given names and dates of birth. No 2. p.24] (in Polish).Retrieved20 January2024.
- ^abcProf. Jerzy R. Krzyzanowski."Gen. Leopold Okulicki: the Last C-i-C of the Home Army".www.warsawuprising.com.Retrieved2 November2016.
- ^Kurtyka, Janusz."Biogram. Generał Leopold Okulicki. 1939-1940. W walce z Niemcami"[Biography. General Leopold Okulicki. 1939-1940. In the fight against the Germans.] (in Polish).Retrieved21 January2024.
- ^Kurtyka, Janusz."Biogram. Generał Leopold Okulicki. 1939-1940. W walce z Niemcami"[Biography. General Leopold Okulicki. 1939-1940. In the fight against the Germans.] (in Polish).Retrieved21 January2024.
- ^Kurtyka, Janusz;Pawłowicz, Jacek (2010).Generał Leopold Okulicki 1898-1946[General Leopold Okulicki 1898-1946] (in Polish). Warsaw: Instytut Pamięci Narodowej. pp. 308–309.ISBN978-83-7629-216-8.
- ^Dudek, Paweł (10 September 2018)."O misji Freston"[About the Freston Mission] (in Polish).Retrieved18 January2024.
- ^Jafra, Przemysław (17 March 2012)."Alianci na naszej ziemi, czyli opowieść o misji Freston"[Allies on our soil, or the story of the Freston mission] (in Polish).Retrieved18 January2024.
- ^Kurtyka, Janusz."Biogram. Generał Leopold Okulicki. 1944-1945. Na straconym posterunku"[Biography. General Leopold Okulicki. 1944-1945. At a lost post.] (in Polish).Retrieved21 January2024.
- ^Applebaum, A. (2012).Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1944-1956.Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.ISBN978-0-385-53643-1.Retrieved2024-06-24.
- ^Kurtyka, Janusz."Biogram. Generał Leopold Okulicki. 1945-1946. Przed czerwonym trybunałem"[Biography. General Leopold Okulicki. 1945-1946. Before the Red Tribunal.] (in Polish).Retrieved21 January2024.
- ^Kurtyka, Janusz."Biogram. Generał Leopold Okulicki. 1945-1946. Przed czerwonym trybunałem"[Biography. General Leopold Okulicki. 1945-1946. Before the Red Tribunal.] (in Polish).Retrieved21 January2024.
- ^Kofman, Roszkowski, Jan, Wojciech.Biographical Dictionary of Central and Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century.Routledge. p. 255.ISBN0765610272.
{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^Monitor Polski: Order of the White Eagle.Archived2009-10-08 at theWayback Machine
External links
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