Franciszek Alter (22 November 1889 in

Lviv 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 Ukra ...

– 23 January 1945 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen) was a Polish general.

Career

Franciszek Alter began his career as an officer in 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 ...

, reaching the rank of captain. He fought 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 str ...

during the Polish-Soviet War. He was promoted to general in March 1939. During the

German 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 commanded the 25th Infantry Division (part of the

Army Poznań 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 ...

). His division took part in 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 snippe ...

and the defense of Warsaw, where it capitulated on 28 September.

Death

Alter refused to sign the

Volksliste The Deutsche Volksliste (German People's List), a Nazi Party institution, aimed to classify inhabitants of Nazi-occupied territories (1939-1945) into categories of desirability according to criteria systematised by ''Reichsführer-SS'' Heinrich Hi ...

, and was imprisoned in the

Oflag VII-A Murnau Oflag VII-A Murnau was a German Army prisoner-of-war camp for Polish Army officers during World War II. It was located north of the Bavarian town of Murnau am Staffelsee. Camp history The camp was created in September 1939. It consisted of an ...

. In the Oflag, he fell ill, and died in early 1945, on 23 January.

Awards

Alter was awarded with the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari, the Knight's Cross of the Polonia Restituta, the Cross of Valour (four times) and the

Cross of Independence Cross of Independence ( pl, Krzyż Niepodległości) was second highest Polish military decorations 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 cla ...

References

1889 births 1945 deaths Military personnel from Lviv Military personnel from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Polish people of German descent Polish generals Recipients of the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari Knights of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Recipients of the Cross of Independence Polish people who died in prison custody Polish prisoners of war in World War II Prisoners who died in German detention {{Poland-mil-bio-stub World War II prisoners of war held by Germany