Karol Wacław Świerczewski (; callsign ''Walter''; 10 February 1897 – 28 March 1947) was a
Polish and Soviet
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...
general
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...
and statesman. He was a
Bolshevik Party
" Hymn of the Bolshevik Party"
, headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow
, general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first)Mikhail Gorbachev (last)
, founded =
, banned =
, founder = Vladimir Lenin
, newspaper ...
member during the
Russian Civil War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Russian Civil War
, partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I
, image =
, caption = Clockwise from top left:
{{flatlist,
*Soldiers ...
and a Soviet officer in the wars fought abroad by the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
including the one against
Polish as well as Ukrainian Republics and in
Republican Spain. In 1939 he participated in the
Soviet invasion of Poland
The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military operation by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west. Subs ...
again. At the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
in Europe he was installed as one of leaders of the Soviet-sponsored Polish
Provisional Government of National Unity
The Provisional Government of National Unity ( pl, Tymczasowy Rząd Jedności Narodowej - TRJN) was a puppet government formed by the decree of the State National Council () on 28 June 1945 as a result of reshuffling the Soviet-backed Provisio ...
. Soon later, Świerczewski died in a country-road ambush shot by the militants from
OUN-UPA
The Ukrainian Insurgent Army ( uk, Українська повстанська армія, УПА, translit=Ukrayins'ka povstans'ka armiia, abbreviated UPA) was a Ukrainian nationalist paramilitary and later partisan formation. During World ...
. He was an icon of communist propaganda for the following several decades.
Life
Born in
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...
in
Congress Poland
Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. I ...
, Karol Świerczewski grew up in a poor working-class family and began working at age 12 in a local Warsaw factory. During the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, at the age of 18 he was evacuated in 1915 to
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
by the
Russian Imperial Army
The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian A ...
. According to his official biography in the
Polish People's Republic
The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million ne ...
he was a member of the
Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania
The Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania ( pl, Socjaldemokracja Królestwa Polskiego i Litwy, SDKPiL), , LKLSD), originally the Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland (SDKP), was a Marxist political party founded in 1893 an ...
.
In 1918 he joined the
Bolshevik Party
" Hymn of the Bolshevik Party"
, headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow
, general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first)Mikhail Gorbachev (last)
, founded =
, banned =
, founder = Vladimir Lenin
, newspaper ...
, and fought in the
Russian Civil War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Russian Civil War
, partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I
, image =
, caption = Clockwise from top left:
{{flatlist,
*Soldiers ...
as a soldier of the Red Army. In 1919 during the
Polish-Soviet War he fought on the Soviet side against the
Polish Second Republic and was wounded. He remained in Russia and in 1928 on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of establishment of the Red Army he was awarded the
Order of the Red Banner
The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...
(no. 146), his first military award. From 1921, Świerczewski taught in the Soviet School for the Red
Commissar
Commissar (or sometimes ''Kommissar'') is an English transliteration of the Russian (''komissar''), which means ' commissary'. In English, the transliteration ''commissar'' often refers specifically to the political commissars of Soviet and E ...
s. In 1927 he graduated from
Frunze Military Academy in Moscow and worked in the Red Army
General Staff
A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military ...
.
Spanish Civil War
In 1936, under the name General Walter, he was sent to Spain during the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...
, where he initially led the
XIV International Brigade
300px, A memorial commemorating the International Brigades
The XIV International Brigade was one of several international brigades that fought for the Spanish Second Republic during the Spanish Civil War.
History and structure
It was raised on 2 ...
in the
Battle of Lopera, and later the
35th International Division in the
Segovia offensive
The Segovia Offensive was a Republican diversionary offensive which took place between 31 May and 6 June 1937, during the Spanish Civil War. The main goal of the offensive was to occupy Segovia and divert Nationalist forces from their advance on ...
, and the battles of
Brunete
Brunete () is a town located on the outskirts of Madrid, Spain with a population of 10,730 people.
History
There was no military garrison in Brunete and there was no rebel attempt to seize the city during the coup of July 1936. Brunete remain ...
,
Belchite
Belchite is a municipality and town in the province of Zaragoza, Spain, about 40 km southeast of Zaragoza. It is the capital of Campo de Belchite ''comarca'' (administrative region) and is located in a plain surrounded by low hills, the high ...
,
Teruel
Teruel () is a city in Aragon, located in eastern Spain, and is also the capital of Teruel Province. It has a population of 35,675 in 2014 making it the least populated provincial capital in the country. It is noted for its harsh climate, with ...
, the
Aragon Offensive and the
Battle of the Ebro. By April 1938 Spanish communist leaders wanted the replacement of many International Brigade commanders due to poor performance, and although
André Marty disagreed, he had to compromise and General Walter and
Vladimir Ćopić
Vladimir "Senjko" Ćopić (8 March 1891 – 19 April 1939) was a Yugoslav revolutionary, politician, journalist and communist leader of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia from April 1919 to August 1920.
Biography
Born into a family of mixed Croat ...
were replaced.
General in the Red Army
Following the outbreak of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
and the
Soviet invasion of Poland
The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military operation by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west. Subs ...
, Świerczewski served as general in the Soviet Army. His Russian commanders, seeing Świerczewski's apparent incompetence and worsening
alcoholism
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...
, moved him to a reserve command away from the front lines—the decision was made by General
Georgi Zhukov himself.
[Piotr Lipiński: Towarzysze Niejasnego. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Prószyński i Spółka, 2003, s. 48. .] The fact that Świerczewski gave most of his orders under influence of alcohol had tragic consequences for his soldiers, described in General
Zygmunt Berling's book ''Wspomnienia'' (Memories).
In 1943 he became one of the generals charged with the creation of the Soviet-controlled
Polish Armed Forces in the East, the
1st Polish Army. His alcoholism and disregard for the life and health of his soldiers stirred conflict with Zygmunt Berling, and led to his removal from command on several occasions. Świerczewski's alcoholism-related orders gained criticism from other Polish generals as well, including General
Aleksander Waszkiewicz.
In 1944 he became one of the leaders of the
Polish Workers' Party
The Polish Workers' Party ( pl, Polska Partia Robotnicza, PPR) was a communist party in Poland from 1942 to 1948. It was founded as a reconstitution of the Communist Party of Poland (KPP) and merged with the Polish Socialist Party (PPS) in 194 ...
and the government of
People's Republic of Poland
The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million ne ...
.
In the winter of 1944 and the spring of 1945 he led the
Polish Second Army
The Polish Second Army ( pl, Druga Armia Wojska Polskiego, 2. AWP for short) was a Polish Army unit formed in the Soviet Union in 1944 as part of the People's Army of Poland. The organization began in August under the command of generals Karol � ...
during the fighting for western Poland and the
Battle of Berlin
The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II.
After the Vistula– ...
. His leadership in the
Battle of Bautzen (Budziszyn) has been severely criticized by modern historians, and he is held responsible for the Second Army's very heavy casualties in that engagement.
While commanding, he might have been drunk, and was temporarily relieved of his command.
However, due to important backing in the Soviet political apparatus (Main Intelligence Directorate Main Intelligence Directorate may refer to:
* Main Directorate of Intelligence (Ukraine), the military intelligence service of Ukraine
* GRU, the foreign military intelligence agency of the Russian Armed Forces
* GRU (Soviet Union)
Main Intel ...
or NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union.
...
), not only did he retain his command, but his mistakes were hushed up, and after the war he was glorified as a hero.[
In February 1946 Świerczewski became the Deputy Defense Minister of Poland. He was involved in the persecution of the anti-communist underground movement in Poland, and signed many death sentences, while establishing the communist regime.
]
Controversial death
Świerczewski was heavily wounded in a skirmish near Baligród in March 1947 while driving in a car without escort for the inspection of Polish troops fighting Ukrainian insurgents. He was ambushed by a unit of Ukrainian Insurgent Army, and died from his wounds within hours. There were several conspiracy theories claiming that the ambush was arranged by the Soviet intelligence due to his insubordination. According to one theory, the information about the general's arrival to the area was passed to Ukrainians by the NKVD and his escort prevented from leaving by mechanical problems with both trucks that transported the escort's soldiers. Most other hypotheses also suggest Soviet or even direct orders from Stalin. The general, a Pole by ethnicity but essentially a Soviet officer with a military record from the Spanish Civil War and a long Red Army war record, had been previously placed lower in the command structure than prewar Polish officers Berling and Rola-Żymierski.
For several years after the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
ended, the Ukrainian Nationalist insurgency, led mainly by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, continued fighting in the South-East of Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
. This war, largely supported by the local Ukrainian part of the population, continued until 1949, with some sporadic fights taking place as late as 1956. Świerczewski's death was used as direct cause for the forcible expulsion of the Ukrainian civilian population in Operation Vistula from the territories in the South Eastern part of the post-war Poland to the Recovered Territories (Ziemie Odzyskane, areas of western Poland, which before the war had been part of Germany). In the socialist Poland many myths were created around Karol Świerczewski ("The General of Three Armies"), but details of his life and especially his service in the Red Army during Polish-Soviet War as well as the details of his Spanish War record were never mentioned.
Awards
*:
** Order of the Builders of People's Poland (posthumous)
** Virtuti Militari
The War Order of Virtuti Militari ( Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', pl, Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was created in 1792 by Polish King S ...
(Grand Cross) (posthumous)
** Virtuti Militari (Commander)
** Order of the Cross of Grunwald (1st class)
** Gold Cross of Merit
The Cross of Merit () is a Polish civil state decoration established on 23 June 1923, to recognize services to the state.
History
At the time of its establishment in 1923, the Cross of Merit was the highest civilian award in Poland. It was awa ...
** Medal of Victory and Freedom 1945
** Silesian Uprising Cross
** Medal "For Oder, Neisse and the Baltic"
** Medal "For Warsaw 1939-1945"
** Medal "For Your and Our Freedom" (posthumous)
*:
** 2 Orders of Lenin (1937, 1945)
** Order of the Red Banner
The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...
, three times (1928, 1938, 1944)
** Order of Suvorov
The Order of Suvorov () is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honor of Russian Generalissimo Prince Alexander Suvorov (1729–1800).
History
The Order of Suvorov was originally a Soviet award established on July 29, 1942 ...
, 1st class (1945)
** Medal "For the Liberation of Warsaw"
The Medal "For the Liberation of Warsaw" (russian: Медаль «За освобождение Варшавы») was a World War II campaign medal of the Soviet Union established on June 9, 1945 by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet ...
(1945)
** Medal "For the Capture of Berlin"
The Medal "For the Capture of Berlin" (russian: Медаль «За взятие Берлина») was a World War II campaign medal of the Soviet Union established on June 9, 1945 by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to ...
(1945)
** (1945)
** Jubilee Medal "XX Years of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army" (1938)
*Other countries:
** Order of the White Lion, 2nd class (Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
)
** Silver Medal of the Czechoslovak Military Order for Liberty (Czechoslovakia)
** Laureate Plate of Madrid ( Spanish Republic)
** Order of the Liberation of Spain (Spanish Republic)
** Order of Bravery (Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...
)
** Order of the Partisan Star, 1st class (Yugoslavia)
Legacy
In People's Republic of Poland
The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million ne ...
, the Polish communist propaganda made him into a hero, and many controversial aspects of his life such as alcohol abuse and his incompetence during the Battle of Bautzen, as well as postwar Stalinist crimes were hushed up.[ In 1953, a Polish two-part film depicting the life of Świerczewski, '' Żołnierz zwycięstwa'' (''A Soldier of Victory''), was released. Józef Wyszomirski portrayed the General.
In the years 1945-1991 the present ]Miguel de Cervantes Liceum
Miguel de Cervantes Liceum, officially the Miguel de Cervantes XXXIV General Education Liceum with Bilingual Branches in Warsaw, is a public general education liceum ( secondary school) in Warsaw, Poland. In the years 1945-1991 was named the K ...
in Warsaw was named after him.
During the years 1975–1996 Karol Świerczewski's picture was on the popular 50 złoty banknote, initially the equivalent of two bottles of cheap Vodka
Vodka ( pl, wódka , russian: водка , sv, vodka ) is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage. Different varieties originated in Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impuriti ...
.
After 1989 with the end of the Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republi ...
and the coming to power of Solidarity
''Solidarity'' is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. It is based on class collaboration.''Merriam Webster'', http://www.merriam-webster.com/dicti ...
, many of his monuments were removed and streets renamed because of his role in implementing the communist regime in Poland.
On May 21, 2003, the Polish organization of former veterans and independence fighters applied to the Institute of National Remembrance
The Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation ( pl, Instytut Pamięci Narodowej – Komisja Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu, abbreviated IPN) is a Polish state resea ...
(IPN) to investigate 'crimes against the Polish nation' committed by Karol Świerczewski. In a letter, they recall that he was "one of the people who consciously worked towards heenslavement of Polish nation, through enforced communist regime that was vassal towards Moscow". Among crimes that are not subject to expiry and should be investigated by the IPN are 29 death sentences on Polish soldiers and officers, which were signed by Świerczewski during his command of the Soviet-controlled 2nd Polish Army.
Photography
While generally unwilling to let himself be photographed, General Walter was a keen amateur photographer. His daughter donated 333 of his photographs to the ''Asociación de Amigos de las Brigadas Internacionales'' in Albacete
Albacete (, also , ; ar, ﭐَلبَسِيط, Al-Basīṭ) is a city and municipality in the Spanish autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha, and capital of the province of Albacete.
Lying in the south-east of the Iberian Peninsula, t ...
, Spain, to form a permanent part of their archive.Brigadistas
/ref>
Notes
References
*
* Neugass, James ''War is Beautiful. An American Ambulance Driver in the Spanish Civil War'', The New Press, London-New York, 2008
* I. Pidkova, R. M. Shust, K. Bondarenko,
" (A hand-book on the History of Ukraine), 3-Volumes, Article
" (t. 3), Kiev, 1993–1999, (t. 1), (t. 2), (t. 3).
*
in "Совершенно секретно" monthly, Russia.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swierczewski, Karol
1897 births
1947 deaths
Military personnel from Warsaw
People from Warsaw Governorate
Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania politicians
Bolsheviks
Polish Workers' Party politicians
Members of the State National Council
Members of the Polish Sejm 1947–1952
Polish anti-fascists
Polish People's Army generals
Polish military personnel of World War II
Polish people of the Spanish Civil War
Soviet officers in Polish Army 1943-1968
Recipients of the Order of the Builders of People's Poland
Recipients of the Virtuti Militari (1943–1989)
Soviet colonel generals
Spanish generals
Soviet military personnel of World War II
Soviet people of Polish descent
Soviet people of the Spanish Civil War
Frunze Military Academy alumni
Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War
People of the Polish–Soviet War
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner
Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 1st class
Ukrainian Insurgent Army
Deaths by firearm in Poland
Burials at Powązki Military Cemetery
Victims of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists
Polish generals in other armies