Alojzy Wir-Konas (

Maków Podhalański Maków Podhalański (known as ''Maków'' until 1930) is a town in southern Poland, on the Skawa Skawa (german: Schaue) is a river in southern Poland, a right tributary of the Vistula. It originates in the Western Carpathians (Beskids), is lon ...

, 1894 – 1940) was a Polish military commander and the

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

in the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stre ...

. Serving as Divisional Commander during the

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

, he was murdered in the

Katyn massacre The Katyn massacre, "Katyń crime"; russian: link=yes, Катынская резня ''Katynskaya reznya'', "Katyn massacre", or russian: link=no, Катынский расстрел, ''Katynsky rasstrel'', "Katyn execution" was a series of m ...

. Alojzy Konas joined the Polish Legions during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. About that time he adopted the nom de guerre of ''Wir'' (Polish for

whirlwind A whirlwind is a weather phenomenon in which a vortex of wind (a vertically oriented rotating column of air) forms due to instabilities and turbulence created by heating and flow (current) gradients. Whirlwinds occur all over the world and i ...

), which later became a part of his surname. After the

Oath Crisis The Oath crisis ( pl, Kryzys przysięgowy) was a World War I political conflict between the Imperial German Army command and the Józef Piłsudski-led Polish Legions. Initially supporting the Central Powers against Imperial Russia, Piłsudski ...

he was drafted into the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...

and sent to the Italian front, where he fought with distinction in shock battalion near Cortellazzo. After the war, in November 1918 he joined the

and steadily advanced through its ranks. Between 1924 and 1930 he commanded the

Pińsk Pinsk ( be, Пі́нск; russian: Пи́нск ; Polish: Pińsk; ) is a city located in the Brest Region of Belarus, in the Polesia region, at the confluence of the Pina River and the Pripyat River. The region was known as the Marsh of Pins ...

-based Polish 84th Infantry Regiment. Promoted to the rank of Colonel, until August 1939 he commanded the infantry units of the Polish 21st Mountain Infantry Division.K. Banaszek, W. K. Roman, Z. Sawicki
''Kawalerowie Orderu Virtuti Militari w mogiłach katyńskich''
Wyd. Warszawa 2000 r., s. 317.

The 1939 Nazi-Soviet invasion of Poland

During the

in 1939 he was the commanding officer of the Polish 38th Infantry Division, formed of reserve units between

Tarnów Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. From 1975 to 1998, it was the capital of the Tarn� ...

and

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

. Due to the fast pace of the German advance, the division entered combat on September 9, before it could be fully mobilized. From September 11, it was attached to the improvised Małopolska Army and was withdrawing towards the

Romanian Bridgehead __NOTOC__ The Romanian Bridgehead ( pl, Przedmoście rumuńskie; ro, Capul de pod român) was an area in southeastern Poland that is now located in Ukraine. During the invasion of Poland in 1939 at the start of the Second World War), the Polish ...

. Under the leadership of Gen.

Kazimierz Sosnkowski General Kazimierz Sosnkowski (; Warsaw, 19 November 1885 – 11 October 1969, Arundel, Quebec) was a Polish independence fighter, general, diplomat, and architect. He was a major political figure and an accomplished commander, notable in p ...

, Wir-Konas commanded his division in the battle of Sądowa Wisznia, in which he managed to defeat the much stronger German 2nd Mountain Division. However, shortly before reaching Lwów, the unit became bogged down in the battle of Janów of September 17. Despite offering heavy resistance, only a single regiment managed to break through enemy lines and reach the besieged city.

Katyn

After the capitulation of Lwów to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

on September 22, 1939, Alojzy Wir-Konas was arrested by the

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. ...

and imprisoned in the Starobielsk

concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

.Adam Moszyński ''Lista Katyńska'' GRYF, 1989 Page 331 He was murdered in the

List of Polish POWs Executed by Soviet NKVD in Katyn Woods
The Magdeburg Sting, 2013. in April 1940. For his wartime service he was posthumously promoted to the rank of General. Among the Katyn victims were 14 Polish generals including

Leon Billewicz Leon Billewicz (April 25, 1870 in Werbiczna – April 1940) was a Polish officer and a General of the Polish Army. He was murdered during the Katyń massacre. Biography Service Initially serving with the Imperial Russian Army, in November 1 ...

Bronisław Bohatyrewicz Bronisław Bohatyrewicz of Ostoja (1870–1940) was a Polish military commander and a general of the Polish Army. Murdered during the Katyn massacre, Bohatyrewicz was one of the Generals whose bodies were identified by forensic scientists of the ...

Xawery Czernicki Rear Admiral Xawery Stanisław Czernicki (1882–1940) was a Polish engineer, military commander and one of the highest-ranking officers of the Polish Navy. Considered one of the founders of Polish Navy's logistical services, he was murdered by ...

(admiral), Stanisław Haller, Aleksander Kowalewski,

Henryk Minkiewicz Henryk Minkiewicz (19 January 1880 – 9 April 1940) was a Polish socialist politician and a general of the Polish Army. Former commander of the Border Defence Corps, he was among the Polish officers murdered in the Katyń massacre.; ; ; ; ; ; L ...

Kazimierz Orlik-Łukoski Kazimierz Orlik-Łukoski (13 September 1890 – 1940) was a Polish military commander and one of the Generals of the Polish Army murdered by the Soviet Union in the Katyń massacre of 1940. Life He was born Kazimierz Łukoski in 1890, in the vill ...

Konstanty Plisowski Konstanty Plisowski of Odrowąż (8 June 1890 – 1940) was a Polish general and military commander. He was the Commander in the battle of Jazłowiec and the battle of Brześć Litewski. He was murdered on Stalin's orders in the Katyn massacre. ...

Rudolf Prich Rudolf Prich (6 August 1881 – 1940)Indeks Represjonowanych - Rudolf Pri ...

(murdered in

Lwow Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukrain ...

), Franciszek Sikorski, Leonard Skierski, Piotr Skuratowicz, and Mieczysław Smorawiński.; ; ; ; ; ;

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wir-Konas, Alojzy 1894 births 1940 deaths People from Maków Podhalański Polish generals Polish Army officers Katyn massacre victims Polish military personnel killed in World War II Polish people of World War II Polish people who died in Soviet detention Polish people who died in prison custody Polish murder victims Polish prisoners and detainees Polish people executed by the Soviet Union Executed people from Lesser Poland Voivodeship