Jerzy Maria Kirchmayer (1895–1959) was a Polish historian and military commander, a brigadier general of the Polish Army and one of the first historians of the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occurred in the summer of 1944, and it was led ...

of 1944.

Life

Jerzy Kirchmayer was born on 29 August 1895 in

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

, then in

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1 ...

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

. After graduating from a local trade school in

Lwów Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...

(now Lviv,

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

), he attended a notable Jesuit gymnasium in Chyrów. After graduating in 1914 he went for vacations to Russian-held part of Poland, where he was caught by the outbreak of

World War I 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, ...

. Arrested by the Russians as a citizen of Austria-Hungary, Kirchmayer was interned and sent to mainland Russia. There he was allowed to join the Polish 3rd Corps in the East, with which he returned to Poland in December 1918. Together with the remnants of his unit he joined the Polish Army and served with distinction in the 7th Regiment of Artillery during the Polish-Bolshevik War. After the war he remained in the army and graduated from an artillery NCO school in 1921. The following year his military grade was revised to

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army unt ...

and in 1924 he graduated from

Toruń )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...

military academy, receiving the grade of

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

. Simultaneously, between 1921 and 1930 he served at various posts in 3rd and 16th Field Artillery Regiments. Between 1924 and 1926 he also served in the Artillery Bureau of the

French Military Mission to Poland The French Military Mission to Poland was an effort by France to aid the nascent Second Polish Republic after it achieved its independence in November 1918, at the end of the First World War. The aim was to provide aid during the Polish-Soviet Wa ...

. In 1930 he was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and after two years he was attached to the headquarters of the Polish 13th Infantry Division as the deputy commander of artillery. In 1936 he was promoted to

major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

and before the outbreak 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 ...

he was assigned to the

Army Inspectorate. During the Polish Defensive War of 1939, Kirchmayer served as the deputy Chief of Operations of the

Pomorze Army The Pomeranian Army ( pl, Armia Pomorze) was one of the Polish armies defending against the 1939 Invasion of Poland. It was officially created on March 23, 1939. Led by General dywizji Władysław Bortnowski, it consisted of 5 infantry divisions, ...

. After the

battle of Bzura The Battle of the Bzura (or the Battle of Kutno) was the largest Polish counter-attack of the German invasion of Poland and was fought from 9 to 19 September.''The Second World War: An Illustrated History '', Putnam, 1975, Google Print snippet ...

he broke through with his forces to

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 ...

, receiving heavy wounds during the battles in

Kampinos Forest Kampinos Forest () is a large forest complex located in Masovian Voivodeship, west of Warsaw in Poland. It covers a part of the ancient valley of the Vistula basin, between the Vistula and the Bzura rivers. Once a forest covering 670 km2 ...

. He avoided being captured by the Germans and joined the ZWZ resistance organization, later reformed into

Home Army The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) es ...

. In 1942 he was promoted to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...

. During his service as the Chief of Staff of the Warsaw-Voivodship Home Army Area he lost his leg in one of the actions. Transferred to Eastern Poland for recovery, he was caught up by the Soviet offensive and in July 1944 he joined the 1st Polish Army under Gen. Zygmunt Berling. He was accepted as the chief of Military Historical Office, and later he headed the chief of Historical Division of the General Staff of the Polish Army. His grade was verified to

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 ...

in 1945 and in 1947 he also served as a special officer of the Chief of Staff. Later the same year he was promoted to

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointe ...

and assigned to the Academy of General Staff in

, where he served as a tutor and a deacon. However, the following year his service in the

was discovered by his superiors and Kirchmayer was dismissed from the army. In 1950 he was arrested by the Urząd Bezpieczeństwa and the following year he was sentenced to life imprisonment under false accusations of espionage and conspiracy during the so-called Trial of the Generals. He spent four years in various communist prison camps in Poland. During the short political thaw in October 1955 he was released from prison and rehabilitated in April 1956, but his health never fully recovered. He was not allowed to join the army and joined the Historical Institute of the

Polish Academy of Sciences The Polish Academy of Sciences ( pl, Polska Akademia Nauk, PAN) is a Polish state-sponsored institution of higher learning. Headquartered in Warsaw, it is responsible for spearheading the development of science across the country by a society o ...

. He died on 11 April 1959 in Otwock and was buried in Powązki Military Cemetery in Warsaw.

Works

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Life

Works

See also