Jan Karol Wasiewicz (6 January 1911 – 9 November 1976) was a Polish

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. From 1935 to 1938, he played for the Poland national team. His career started in 1926 in another Lwów team – RKS. In 1929, he moved to

Lechia Lwów Lechia Lwów (full name: ''Lwowski Klub Sportowy "Lechia" Lwów'') was the first former Poland, Polish professional association football club, founded in summer 1903 in Lwów by students of the 3rd and 4th gymnasiums as well as former members of t ...

, and in 1933, to

Pogoń Lwów LKS Pogoń Lwów is a former Polish professional sports club which was located in Lwów, Lwów Voivodeship (now Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the L ...

. With them, he played in the Polish top division from 1933 to 1939, representing Pogoń in 102 games and scoring three goals. For the Poland national team, Wasiewicz took part in 11 games, scoring once. He was part of Poland's squad for the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

. He was also a reserve team player during the

1938 FIFA World Cup The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the 3rd edition of the FIFA World Cup, World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football championship for senior men's national teams. It was held in France from 4 to 19 June 1938. Italy national ...

, but did not go to France due to an injury. Wasiewicz fought in the

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

. After Poland's defeat, he escaped to

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. From there, he moved to France and then to England, where he fought in General

Stanisław Maczek Lieutenant General Stanisław Władysław Maczek (; 31 March 1892 – 11 December 1994) was a Polish tank commander of World War II, whose division was instrumental in the Allied liberation of France, closing the Falaise pocket, resulting in the ...

First Polish Armoured Division The Polish 1st Armoured Division ( Polish ''1 Dywizja Pancerna, Pierwsza Dywizja Pancerna'') was an armoured division of the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II. Created in February 1942 at Duns in Scotland, it was commanded by ...

. In late 1944 and early 1945, he fought in France,

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, in a famous 1st Polish Infantry Battalion "Bloody Shirts". In recognition of extraordinary service, Wasiewicz was honored with highest orders, including the Belgian

Order of Léopold The Order of Leopold (, , ) is one of the three current Belgian national honorary orders of knighthood. It is the oldest and highest order of Belgium and is named in honour of its founder, King Leopold I. It consists of a military, a mari ...

. Until 1946, he served in the occupation forces in Germany. Then he moved to England, and in 1949 to Argentina, where he died.

References

Sources

* 1911 births 1976 deaths Footballers from Lviv Sportspeople from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Polish Austro-Hungarians Men's association football midfielders Polish men's footballers Poland men's international footballers Pogoń Lwów players Hibernian F.C. players Ekstraklasa players Polish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Polish expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Olympic footballers for Poland Footballers at the 1936 Summer Olympics 1938 FIFA World Cup players Polish military personnel of World War II Polish September Campaign participants Polish emigrants to Argentina Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) 20th-century Polish sportsmen {{Poland-footy-midfielder-1910s-stub