Aleksander Błażej Prystor (; 2 January 1874 – 1941) was a Polish politician, activist, soldier and freemason, who served as 23rd

Prime Minister of Poland A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only wa ...

from 1931 to 1933. He was a member of the Combat Organization of the Polish Socialist Party and in 1908 took part in the Bezdany raid. Between 1912 and 1917 he spent in Russian prisons before being released in 1917. In March 1917 he joined Polish Military Organisation. After independence, he became secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare. He fought as a volunteer in the

Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (14 February 1919 – 18 March 1921) was fought primarily between the Second Polish Republic and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, following World War I and the Russian Revolution. After the collapse ...

of 1919–1920. He worked for a few ministries (Labour, Industry and Commerce). Between 1931 and 1933 he served as

. After that, he became the

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...

of the Polish Senate 1935–1938. After the

Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military conflict by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Second Polish Republic, Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Polan ...

in 1939, he fled to neutral

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. After Lithuania was annexed by the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

he was arrested in June 1940 by the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

; he died probably in 1941 (the date is not known) in the prison hospital of the Butyrka prison in Moscow.

Early life

Aleksander Prystor was born in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

, now the capital of

and then called Vilna under the

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 ...

, to a railroad worker Feliks Prystor and Maria (née Olejnik). In 1894 he graduated from the Second High School in Vilna and began studying mathematics and physics at Imperial Moscow University. Lacking financial support from his family, Prystor lived in poverty. After graduation in 1900, he decided to study medicine at the University of Tartu. In the summer of 1902, he returned to Vilna, taking a job in a bank. Between November 1903 and September 1904, Prystor served in the 16th Sapper Battalion of the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

. Sometime in the early 20th century, Prystor joined Polish Socialist Party, and became a close associate of Józef Piłsudski. In September 1903, he left Vilna, and went to Switzerland, to undergo military training, together with Piłsudski and other activists. In 1904 Prystor, together with Jozef Kwiatek,

Walery Sławek Walery Jan Sławek (; 2 November 1879 – 3 April 1939) was a Polish politician, freemason, military officer and activist, who in the early 1930s served three times as Prime Minister of Poland. He was one of the closest aides of Polish lead ...

and Boleslaw Jedrzejowski, organized public protests against the forcible draft of ethnic Poles into the Russian Army to fight in the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

. Also, he constructed bombs which damaged the monument of Tsar Alexander III of Russia. In early 1905, Prystor became one of the leaders of the Combat Organization of the Polish Socialist Party. Using the pseudonym ''Katajama'', he organized groups of activists in Warsaw, and in March of that year, he carried out the assassination of Russian Police Officer Karl Nolken. Later on, he participated in a number of raids of the Combat Organization, including bank robberies, terrorist attacks on soldiers and police officers and acts of sabotage. After the split in the party, he joined Polish Socialist Party – Revolutionary Faction, and in 1906 left

Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of 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. It was established w ...

for

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, located at that time in Austrian Galicia. On June 18, 1906, Prystor married Janina Bakun, a fellow member of the Combat Organization. On September 26, 1908, Prystor was one of the participants of the legendary Bezdany raid. At the same time, he was actively involved in the activities of the Union of Active Struggle. On March 28, 1912, in Warsaw, Prystor was arrested by the Okhrana. After two years of imprisonment in Warsaw Citadel, he was in 1914 sentenced to 7 years of exile, and sent to prison in

Oryol Oryol ( rus, Орёл, , ɐˈrʲɵl, a=ru-Орёл.ogg, links=y, ), also transliterated as Orel or Oriol, is a Classification of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast, Russia, situated on the Oka Rive ...

. Released after the February Revolution (March 17, 1917), he continued working for the Polish Socialist Party. After the capture of

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

by the Imperial German Army (May 1918), Prystor came to Warsaw, to join Polish Military Organisation. Together with other activists, he prepared the assassination of General Hans Hartwig von Beseler, but the attack was cancelled. On November 10, 1918, Prystor was among the officials who welcomed Józef Piłsudski at Warszawa Główna railway station. Prystor was the godfather of Piłsudski's first daughter, Wanda, born on 7 February 1918.

Second Polish Republic

From 1918 to 1919, Prystor worked in the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy. In April 1919, he was the aide of General Lucjan Zeligowski and participated in the Vilna offensive. In June 1920, he volunteered for the army, to fight in the

. In July he was named company leader in the 201st Infantry Regiment of the Volunteer Division, commanded by Adam Koc (see Volunteer Army (Poland)). Prystor distinguished himself during the fighting, and was awarded the Cross of Valour. Before the Battle of Warsaw (1920), he was recalled from the frontline by Józef Piłsudski and became the personal assistant of the Polish Marshal. Prystor remained in the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the Army, land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military histor ...

until 1925. Promoted to major, he was transferred to head the local office of Wojskowa Komenda Uzupelnien (''Army Recruiting Office'') in Wilno, and together with his family, settled in the real estate at the village of Borki near Wilno (May 1925). Even though he remained a close associate of Piłsudski, he did not come to Warsaw for the 1926 May Coup, remaining in Wilno, together with Edward Śmigły-Rydz. After the coup, Prystor was moved by Piłsudski to the office of the Minister of Military Affairs, and for the next three years, he followed Piłsudski, attending all meetings and military councils, including those marked as top secret. On April 30, 1927, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel ( Podpolkovnik), and began working at the Main Office of the General Inspector of the Armed Forces, where he was responsible for the removal of those officers who opposed the Sanacja regime. Prystor was one of the few men in Poland with direct access to Piłsudski, at any time of the day and night. He lived in the Belweder, together with the Marshal. In 1929, he was briefly manager of the Personal Officer of the Ministry of Military Affairs. On April 26, 1929, he was named the Minister of Labour and Social Services in the government of Kazimierz Bartel. Working under very difficult conditions, as Poland was affected by the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, Prystor managed to increase unemployment benefits and increase the program of

Public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and procured by a government body for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, ...

. Furthermore, he dissolved the structures of the government health insurance program, which were in the hands of oppositional Polish Socialist Party. Among others, Prystor introduced government commissars into local offices of health insurance. After the collapse of the government of Kazimierz Świtalski, Prystor once again became the Minister of Labour and Social Services, in the fifth government of Kazimierz Bartel. He remained in this post in the governments of

and Józef Piłsudski. In 1931, he was elected to the

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

, as a member of the pro-government Nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government (BBWR), remaining in the Polish Parliament until 1935. In December 1930, Prystor was appointed the Minister of Trade and Industry, and on May 27, 1931, he became the Prime Minister of Poland. He was regarded as a poor premier, avoiding any reforms. His policies resulted in decrease of investment and deepened recession. Prystor remained in his post until May 1933, when Józef Piłsudski demanded his dismissal. The reason for this most likely was a personal conflict between Prystor's wife Janina, and Piłsudski's wife Aleksandra Piłsudska. In 1934, Prystor went on a private trip to

, during which he talked with main Lithuanian politicians, including President Antanas Smetona. The talks were unsuccessful. After the death of Piłsudski in May 1935, he was associated with the group of

. Prystor took part in the works on the 1935 Polish legislative election, after which he became a senator. On October 4, 1935, he was appointed the speaker of the Polish Senate and remained in this post until November 27, 1938, when President Ignacy Mościcki dissolved Polish parliament. Following the 1938 parliamentary election, he again was elected to the Senate. On March 9, 1939, he gave a speech, harshly criticizing the policies of the government and the Camp of National Unity. Among others, he claimed that a parliament, elected in undemocratic vote, has no moral right to elect a new president in 1940.

Invasion of Poland and death

On September 18, 1939, Prystor fled to neutral

, where he helped Polish refugees. After the annexation of the Baltic States into the Soviet Union (see Soviet annexation of the Baltic states (1940)), he was arrested by the

(June 1940). Despite his age of 66, Prystor was taken to the infamous Lubyanka Building. He was in July 1940 sentenced to death, and in July 1941, his sentence was changed to 10 years in prison. Soon afterwards he fell ill with

dysentery Dysentery ( , ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications may include dehyd ...

, and died in a hospital at Butyrka prison. The exact date of his death is unknown. According to former Polish Prime Minister Leon Kozłowski, who was also kept in Lubyanka, Prystor most likely died in August 1941, while Polish historian Władysław Pobóg-Malinowski claims that the death took place in October 1941. His symbolic grave is located at Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw.

Honours and awards

* Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari * Grand Cross of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

, previously awarded the Commander's Cross *

Cross of Independence Cross of Independence () was the second highest Polish military decoration between World Wars I and II. It was awarded to individuals who had fought actively for the independence of Poland, and was released in three classes. History The Cr ...

with Swords * Cross of Valour * Grand Cross of the Order of Christ (Portugal, 1931)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prystor, Aleksander 1874 births 1941 deaths Politicians from Vilnius People from Vilensky Uyezd Polish Socialist Party – Revolutionary Faction politicians Nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government politicians Camp of National Unity politicians Prime ministers of the Second Polish Republic Government ministers of Poland Labour ministers of Poland Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1930–1935) Senat Marshals of the Second Polish Republic Senators of the Second Polish Republic (1935–1938) Senators of the Second Polish Republic (1938–1939) Combat Organization of the Polish Socialist Party members Polish Military Organisation members Polish Freemasons Polish Army officers Polish military engineers Colonels (military rank) Imperial Moscow University alumni Imperial Russian Army personnel Commanders of the Order of Polonia Restituta Commanders of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Grand Crosses of the Order of Christ (Portugal) Grand Crosses of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Cross of Independence with Swords Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Recipients of the Gold Cross of Merit (Poland) Recipients of the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari Polish people detained by the NKVD Polish people of the Polish–Soviet War Polish people who died in Soviet detention Polish civilians killed in World War II Polish deportees to Soviet Union Polish prisoners sentenced to death Prisoners sentenced to death by the Soviet Union Infectious disease deaths in Russia Deaths from dysentery Inmates of Butyrka prison