Stanisław Tatar '' nom de guerre'' "Stanisław Tabor" (October 3, 1896 – December 16, 1980) was a Polish

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

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 interwar period and, during

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, one of the commanders of Armia Krajowa, Polish resistance movement. He was appointed brigade general in 1943 and half-a-year later flew from occupied Poland to London.Radosław "Butryk"" Butryński
Stanisław Tatar
''Polska Podziemna'', 2005-2007. Retrieved January 4, 2013. After the war ended, Tatar betrayed the London-based

Polish government-in-exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...

by organising an illegal handover of its vast reserves of money and gold (donated by the nation and called the Fund of National Defense), to the communist regime. The first batch of money was stolen en route by a consul in 1945, yet Tatar went on with his plan in 1947. He came back to Poland in 1949 on the promise of military leadership with LWP, only to be arrested and falsely accused of conspiracy against the party by the Stalinist secret police (''

Urząd Bezpieczeństwa The Ministry of Public Security ( pl, Ministerstwo Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego), commonly known as UB or later SB, was the secret police, intelligence and counter-espionage agency operating in the Polish People's Republic. From 1945 to 1954 it w ...

''). Subsequently, Tatar was tried and sentenced to life imprisonment in the so-called Trial of the Generals, but released from prison during

Polish October Polish October (), also known as October 1956, Polish thaw, or Gomułka's thaw, marked a change in the politics of Poland in the second half of 1956. Some social scientists term it the Polish October Revolution, which was less dramatic than the ...

of 1956.

Biography

Stanisław Tatar was born October 2, 1896 in Biórków Wielki village in

Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name Małopolska ( la, Polonia Minor), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a ...

. In 1915, 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 ...

, he was conscripted to the tsarist Russian Army. In 1917 he was transferred to the 1st Polish Corps formed in Russia. In November 1918, together with the remnants of his unit, he joined the renascent sovereign

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 ...

. During the interbellum he continued serving in the military. Having finished numerous officer courses, in 1934 he became one of the tutors of artillery tactics at the Higher War School (''Wyższa Szkoła Wojenna'') 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 officia ...

. He held that post until 1938, given the Knight's Cross of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievement ...

. 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 served at various posts, including the command over a military detachment named after him. After the Polish defeat he evaded being captured by the Germans and Soviets and joined the newly formed Związek Walki Zbrojnej (ZWZ), the biggest resistance organisation, that eventually transformed itself into the

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) est ...

. From 1940 to 1943 he served as the head of the 3rd detachment (Operational) of the general staff. After 1943 he also served as the deputy chief of staff of the entire Home Army. Among his most notable achievements was creation of the plans for

Operation Tempest file:Akcja_burza_1944.png, 210px, right Operation Tempest ( pl, akcja „Burza”, sometimes referred to in English as "Operation Storm") was a series of uprisings conducted during World War II against occupying German forces by the Polish Home ...

. In 1944, shortly before 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 ...

, he was transferred to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, where he assumed the post of deputy commander in chief for home matters. After the end of

in 1945 he became the commander of artillery of the 1st Polish Corps in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. After it was disbanded in 1947 he remained in the UK.

Fundusz Obrony Narodowej affair

In July 1947 Tatar organized the secret transfer to Poland from the London-based

of the treasury of the prewar Fund of National Defense (''Fundusz Obrony Narodowej'', FON). The new Polish government promised to use it to help veterans. Already in 1945 on advice of Jerzy Putrament, Tatar gave Polish communists 100,000 dollars and a hundred gold coins stolen en route to Poland by consul Sobolewski who vanished. The 1947 shipment consisted of gold bars (350 kg) and $2.5 million in gold and silver coins. The 10 metal containers were brought to Warsaw on the 3rd and 13 July by Col. Leon Szwajcer i Pola Landau-Leder from the embassy. W WSI znaleziono skarb z FON i afery “Żelazo”, qazeta.pl
Most of it however, was subsequently stolen and split among the Stalinist dignitaries and security forces under

Jakub Berman Jakub Berman (23 December 1901 – 10 April 1984) was a Polish communist politician. Was born in Jewish family, son of Iser and Guta. An activist during the Second Polish Republic, in post-war communist Poland he was a member of the Politburo ...

, without leaving a paper trail.Dr Andrzej Leszek Szcześniak
Historia Funduszu Obrony Narodowej
''Encyklopedia Białych Plam''. Retrieved January 4, 2013.Jarosław Jakimczyk, Grzegorz Indulski
"Skarb tajniaków," Agencja Wydawnicza Wprost, 37/2006 (1239)
/ref> Unlike some of his fellow generals of the

, Stanisław Tatar was not deprived of Polish citizenship by the

Soviet 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 nation ...

-backed communist authorities of Poland and in 1949 was allowed to legally return to his homeland. Upon his arrival to Warsaw, however, he was arrested by the Soviet

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. ...

, imprisoned and charged with espionage. As a victim of the Generals' Trial ( show trial) of 1951 he was sentenced to life imprisonment and imprisoned in Wronki Prison. After

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

's death and the start of a period of liberalisation in Poland in 1956 he was released from prison and rehabilitated. Tatar died in 1980.

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tatar, Stanislaw Polish generals 1896 births 1980 deaths Burials at Powązki Military Cemetery Polish People's Republic rehabilitations Russian military personnel of World War I Military personnel of the Russian Empire Polish People's Army generals Recipients of the Order of St. Anna Polish people detained by the NKVD

Biography

Fundusz Obrony Narodowej affair

See also

Notes and references