Adam Mohuczy (1891–1953) was a

Polish Navy The Polish Navy (; often abbreviated to ) is the Navy, naval military branch , branch of the Polish Armed Forces. The Polish Navy consists of 46 ships and about 12,000 commissioned and enlisted personnel. The traditional ship prefix in the Polish ...

officer. Captain of several ships and squadrons,

Counter Admiral Counter admiral is a military rank used for high-ranking officers in several navies around the world, though the rank is not used in the English-speaking world, where its equivalent rank is rear admiral. The term derives from the French . Dependi ...

from 1946 and Chief of Staff and Commander of the Polish Navy from 1945 to 1947. In 1949 arrested by Polish

secret police image:Putin-Stasi-Ausweis.png, 300px, Vladimir Putin's secret police identity card, issued by the East German Stasi while he was working as a Soviet KGB liaison officer from 1985 to 1989. Both organizations used similar forms of repression. Secre ...

, accused of sabotage, tortured. He died in prison in 1953. In 1957 he was rehabilitated.

Biography

Adam was born on 7 March 1891 in

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Vitsyebsk (, ; , ; ) is a city in northern Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vitebsk Region and Vitebsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it has 358,927 inhabitants, m ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. He enlisted in the

Russian Navy The Russian Navy is the Navy, naval arm of the Russian Armed Forces. It has existed in various forms since 1696. Its present iteration was formed in January 1992 when it succeeded the Navy of the Commonwealth of Independent States (which had i ...

to become a

military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent c ...

, finishing the Naval Corps School in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

in 1911. From 1912 to 1916 he served aboard a

training ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house class ...

armored cruiser The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a pre-dreadnought battles ...

General-Admiral class ''

Gerzog Edinburgski ''Gerzog Edinburgski'' () was an armoured cruiser of the built for the Imperial Russian Navy. She was the sister ship of and was named after Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duke of Edinburgh (''Gerzog Edinburgski'' in Russian) who married ...

'', next, armoured cruiser, '' Rossiya'',

battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...

'' Tsarievitch'', and

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

s '' Akula'', '' Bars'' and '' S-12''. Later he was an instructor in

Mykolaiv Mykolaiv ( ), also known as Nikolaev ( ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and a hromada (municipality) in southern Ukraine. Mykolaiv is the Administrative centre, administrative center of Mykolaiv Raion (Raions of Ukraine, district) and Myk ...

Naval Academy. In 1917 he took a course of underwater swimming. In the aftermath of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Poland regained independence. Adam Mohuczy joined the

; first he served in the organizational structures in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

and

Toruń Toruń is a city on the Vistula River in north-central Poland and a World Heritage Sites of Poland, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its population was 196,935 as of December 2021. Previously, it was the capital of the Toruń Voivodeship (1975–199 ...

. He studied and graduated from École de Guerre Navale in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1926. During the

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

he participated in the defense of Hel. On the night of 1 to 2 October he made an unsuccessful attempt to escape to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

on the fishing cutter Hel-117. In the years 1939–1945 he was in German captivity in Oflag XVIII A

Lienz Lienz (; Southern Bavarian: ''Lianz'') is a medieval town in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It is the administrative centre of the Lienz district, which covers all of East Tyrol. The municipality also includes the cadastral subdivision of ''Pat ...

and II C Woldenberg. After liberation and return to Poland he was the head of the Department of Shipping and Harbours in the Chamber of Industry and Trade. In 1945 he was called up for active service as the director of science of the Naval Officers' School and temporarily as acting deputy chief of the Navy's Main Staff. Then he was deputy chief of the Main Staff and chief of the Navy's Main Staff. By order of the Supreme Command of the Polish Armed Forces on 1 January 1946 he took over the position of commander of the Gdynia garrison and acting commander of the Navy. By resolution of the Presidium of the Polish State National Council of 1 March 1946 he was appointed rear admiral. In 1947 he became president of the Main Council of the Maritime League. He retired in 1948. At the end of 1949 he was arrested by

Main Directorate of Information of the Polish Army Main may refer to: Geography *Main River (disambiguation), multiple rivers with the same name * Ma'in, an ancient kingdom in modern-day Yemen * Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province * Spanish Main, the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish terr ...

and placed in the Military Information buildings in Gdynia, where he was tortured. In 1950 he was sentenced by the Supreme Military Court to 13 years in prison on false charges of sabotage. He died in prison in

Sztum Sztum () (formerly ) is a town in northern Poland in the Powiśle region, located in the Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is the capital of Sztum County, with some 10,141 inhabitants (2004). History Signs of settlement dating back to the Roman Empir ...

Awards and decorations

Silver Cross of

Virtuti Militari The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', ) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was established in 1792 by the last King of Poland Stanislaus II of Poland, ...

(1921) *

Order of the Cross of Grunwald The Order of the Cross of Grunwald (') was a military decoration created in Poland in November 1943 by the High Command of Gwardia Ludowa, a World War II Polish resistance movement organised by the Polish Workers Party. On 20 February 1944 it ...

, 3rd Class (16 July 1946) * Silver Cross of Merit (2 March 1935)M.P. z 1925 r. nr 62, poz. 234
„za zasługi, położone w dziedzinie wyszkolenia armji Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej”. * Medal of the 10th Anniversary of Independence *

Medal for Oder, Neisse and Baltic The Medal for Oder, Neisse and Baltic () was a Polish commemorative medal awarded by the Polish People's Republic to commemorate those who directly participated in combat against the Nazi Germany for the liberation of Poland and the restoration of ...

Medal of Victory and Freedom 1945 Medal of Victory and Freedom 1945 ( Polish: ''Medal Zwycięstwa i Wolności 1945'') was a Polish military decoration awarded to persons who fought during World War II against Nazi Germany. Overview The medal was introduced by a decree of the Counc ...

References

External links

Adam Mohuczy
on dzieje.pl 1891 births 1953 deaths Polish Navy admirals Polish People's Republic rehabilitations Polish torture victims Polish people who died in prison custody Prisoners who died in Polish People's Republic detention Prisoners of Oflag II-C {{Poland-mil-bio-stub

Biography

Awards and decorations

References

Further reading

External links