Maciej Matthew Szymański (26 February 1926,

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

– 5 May 2015,

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, British Columbia, Canada) was a member of the

Polish Underground Army The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II, resistance movement in Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 fr ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

(''

nom de guerre A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war. In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...

'' 'Kruczkowski'), an officer in the Polish paramilitary organization NSZ, participant in the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from ...

of 1944 at the age of 18, Canadian architect, draughtsman, and author of self-published memoirs and essays in his retirement.

Biography

He was born the second son of Dr. Karol Szymański and his wife Anna Trajdos. His father was a medical superintendent of a psychiatric hospital in

Warta The river Warta ( , ; ; ) rises in central Poland and meanders greatly through the Polish Plain in a north-westerly direction to flow into the Oder at Kostrzyn nad Odrą on Poland's border with Germany. About long, it the second-longest riv ...

near

, Poland. Maciej was educated by the

Congregation of Marian Fathers The Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary () is a Catholic male clerical religious congregation founded, 1670, in Poland. It is also known as Marians of the Immaculate Conception. Its members ...

before the war, and subsequently attended underground classes in the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

occupied capital where he passed his matriculation. His father was murdered by the

Soviets The Soviet people () were the citizens and nationals of the Soviet Union. This demonym was presented in the ideology of the country as the "new historical unity of peoples of different nationalities" (). Nationality policy in the Soviet Union ...

in the

Katyń massacre The Katyn massacre was a series of mass executions of nearly 22,000 Polish military and police officers, border guards, and intelligentsia prisoners of war carried out by the Soviet Union, specifically the NKVD (the Soviet secret police), at ...

of 1940 along with at least 21,768 Polish officers, auxiliary officers, policemen, border guards, prison guards and members of the intelligentsia.Maciej Matthew Szymański (July 2010), pp.153-155 / 163 in PDF at Szymanski.biulpol.net personal webpage. Direct download, 5.62 MB. In 1941, at the age of 15, Maciej joined the Military Organization Lizard Union (''Związek Jaszczurzy'') formed by the underground ''Organizacja Polska'' (OP). By 1944 Szymanski became member of the

National Armed Forces National Armed Forces (; NSZ) was a Polish right-wing underground military organization of the National Democracy (Poland), National Democracy operating from 1942. During World War II, NSZ troops fought against Nazi Germany and Gwardia Ludowa, c ...

(NSZ) allied to the

Home Army The Home Army (, ; 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) established in the ...

(''Armia Krajowa''), and entered the partisan battalion Chrobry II. His unit, called 'Warszawianka', was based in central Warsaw in the railway workers' union building (''Dom Kolejowy''), on the corner of Żelazna and Chmielna streets on an escarpment above the main railway line into the city. The location was of strategic significance, and helped his company hold out till the final capitulation of the

. One of his unit comrades was the decorated hero and tragic figure of captain

Witold Pilecki Witold Pilecki (; 13 May 190125 May 1948), known by the codenames ''Roman Jezierski'', ''Tomasz Serafiński'', ''Druh'' and ''Witold'', was a Polish World War II cavalry officer, intelligence agent, and resistance leader. As a youth, Pilecki ...

who fought as a plain insurgent. He was able to leave the bombed-out capital with the civilian population.

Postwar Poland

After World War II Szymanski enrolled at the

Kraków Polytechnic , 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 ...

to study architecture. He continued to be in the anti-communist NSZ. Because members of the underground were being hunted and persecuted by the Soviet installed government's security services, Szymanski moved back to Warsaw, where his family members had survived. There, in 1949, he completed his studies at the

Warsaw University of Technology The Warsaw University of Technology () is one of the leading institutes of technology in Poland and one of the largest in Central Europe. It employs 2,453 teaching faculty, with 357 professors (including 145 titular professors). The student body ...

. A so-called '

Amnesty Amnesty () is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power officially forgiving certain classes of people who are subject to trial but have not yet be ...

' for partisans, tricked him into revealing his identity, and upon hearing that some of his erstwhile colleagues and friends had been arrested, tortured and murdered by the authorities, he decided to escape from Poland. Along with his new wife, Hanna Kamler, he and two other friends boarded a fishing boat near

Westerplatte Westerplatte (, , ) is a peninsula in Gdańsk, Poland, located on the Baltic Sea coast mouth of the Dead Vistula (one of the Vistula delta estuaries), in the Gdańsk harbour channel. From 1926 to 1939, it was the location of a Polish Military ...

and sailed to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. They stayed there for two years, but when the opportunity arose, they moved on to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in 1951. They reached

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

where he was able to practice as an architect for many years, having become in 1969 a partner of an international practice, ''Dawson and Szymanski – Architects''. Thanks to the firm's designs for the Montreal

Expo 67 pavilions The Expo 67 World's Fair, International and Universal Exposition featured 90 pavilions representing Man and His World, on a theme derived from :fr:Terre des hommes, Terre des Hommes, written by the famous French pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry ...

, their work expanded greatly. Among their projects were the

Royal Bank of Canada Royal Bank of Canada (RBC; ) is a Canadian multinational Financial institution, financial services company and the Big Five (banks), largest bank in Canada by market capitalization. The bank serves over 20 million clients and has more than ...

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

, the Polish embassy in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, the Polish consulate in Montreal, as well as many commercial and social buildings in 9 provinces of Canada. Projects abroad included the airport terminal building in

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

, social housing in

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

and designs in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

Retirement

In 1996 when he retired from professional practice, he and his wife were considering a return to Poland, the Eastern Bloc having long dissolved. They decided, however, to move nearer to one of their two daughters in Vancouver. In retirement he was able to concentrate on veterans' matters and discover a considerable writing skill. With his grandchildren in mind, he wrote up his memoirs in two volumes. Thanks to the gift of a computer from his daughters, he became an

early adopter An early adopter or lighthouse customer is an early customer of a given company, product, or technology. The term originates from Everett M. Rogers' ''Diffusion of Innovations'' (1962). History Typically, early adopters are customers who, in a ...

and

silver surfer The Silver Surfer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character also appears in a number of movies, television, and video game adaptations. The character was created by Jack Kirby and first a ...

on the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

. There he published recollections and polemics about modern Polish society, which was a disappointment to him having turned during the

Soviet 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 ...

era into a much more

homogeneous Homogeneity and heterogeneity are concepts relating to the uniformity of a substance, process or image. A homogeneous feature is uniform in composition or character (i.e., color, shape, size, weight, height, distribution, texture, language, i ...

and, in his eyes, impoverished nation: he railed in his writings about ''

Homo Sovieticus ''Homo Sovieticus'' (Dog Latin, cod Latin for 'Soviet Man') is an Anti-communism, anti-communist pejorative term coined to describe the average conformism, conformist individual in the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries. Popularized by ...

''. Maciej Szymański died after a short illness on 5 May 2015. He left his body to science. His essays, some in English, will soon be available on Amazon.

Awards and Distinctions

* Military Cross for National Armed Combat - Krzyż Narodowego Czynu Zbrojnego (1944) * Military Cross of the

- Krzyż Armii Krajowej (1990) * Warsaw Cross of the Uprising - Warszawski Krzyż Powstańczy (1989) * By order of the Polish Minister of Defence on 23 July 2000, he was promoted to the rank of captain 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 ...

* Member of the

Royal Architectural Institute of Canada The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) is a not-for-profit, national organization that has represented architects and architecture for over 100 years, in existence since 1907. The RAIC is the leading voice for excellence in the built ...

* Membre de l'Ordre des Architectes du Québec

Writings

These include: * Personnel Roll of Platoon 4 - "4 Pluton - Stan Osobowy (Losy uczestników Kompanii "Warszawianki")" * My ABC - "Moje Abecadło" * Families ripped apart by History - "Rodziny rozdzielone przez historię" * Scars of the Uprising - "Powstańcze Blizny" * The lawyer and newspaper editor, Mieczyslaw Trajdos and his sister, Alexandra (his maternal uncle and aunt) - "Mieczysław Trajdos i jego Siostra Aleksandra", an account of an especially brutal end at the hands of the Nazis. * A letter of resignation to the NSZ - "List do Związku NSZ" * Interview with Maciej Szymański in Polish -

Montréal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

1996Archived a
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Wayback Machine

References

External links

* http://vancouver.msz.gov.pl/pl/aktualnosci/bohater_powstania_warszawskiego__budowniczy_kanady; available in English: * http://www.vancouver.msz.gov.pl/en/news/0_treasures_of_warsaw_in_vancouver___heroes_who_never_gave_up__ * {{DEFAULTSORT:Szymanski, Maciej Matthew Warsaw Uprising insurgents Warsaw University of Technology alumni Polish emigrants to Canada 1926 births 2015 deaths Architects from Montreal People from Warsaw