Piotra Sych ( or ) (January 18, 1912 – June 20, 1963), was a Belarusian writer and journalist, born in Baturyna, Western

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

, near

Vileyka Vileyka or Vilyeyka is a town in Minsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vileyka District. It is located on the Viliya River, northwest of Minsk. The first historical record dates from 16 November 1460. As of 2025, the ...

. He started his journalistic career in

Wilno 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 ...

in 1930's, initially writing for the

Polish language Polish (, , or simply , ) is a West Slavic languages, West Slavic language of the Lechitic languages, Lechitic subgroup, within the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family, and is written in the Latin script. It is primarily spo ...

newspapers, and studying philosophy at the

Wilno University Vilnius University ( Lithuanian: ''Vilniaus universitetas'') is a public research university, which is the first and largest university in Lithuania, as well as one of the oldest and most prominent higher education institutions in Central and Ea ...

. In 1939 he was drafted for the Polish army, then arrested 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 ...

, spent some time in a jail in

Polatsk Polotsk () or Polatsk () is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the Western Dvina, Dvina River and serves as the administrative center of Polotsk District. Polotsk is served by Polotsk Airport and Borovitsy air base. As of 2025, it ...

, eventually sentenced to 10 years and sent away to Komi. As a citizen of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, he was released under the terms of Sikorski-Mayski Agreement and travelled to

Samarkand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...

in September 1941. There he joined the Polish Army in the East, being formed under command of General

Władysław Anders Władysław Albert Anders (11 August 1892 – 12 May 1970) was a Polish military officer and politician, and prominent member of the Polish government-in-exile in London. Born in Krośniewice-Błonie, then part of the Russian Empire, he serv ...

, just like hundreds of other Belarusians from Western Belarus (

Kresy Eastern Borderlands (), often simply Borderlands (, ) was a historical region of the eastern part of the Second Polish Republic. The term was coined during the interwar period (1918–1939). Largely agricultural and extensively multi-ethnic with ...

). He spent the rest of the war fighting in General Anders'

Polish II Corps The 2nd Polish Corps (), 1943–1947, was a major tactical and operational unit of the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II. It was commanded by Lieutenant General Władysław Anders and fought with distinction in the Italian Ca ...

. He was wounded four times, and was a participant of the famous

Battle of Monte Cassino The Battle of Monte Cassino, also known as the Battle for Rome, was a series of four military assaults by the Allies of World War II, Allies against Nazi Germany, German forces in Kingdom of Italy, Italy during the Italian Campaign (World War ...

. After the war he spent some time in England before moving to

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in 1951 where he started publishing a magazine in

Belarusian Belarusian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Belarus * Belarusians, people from Belarus, or of Belarusian descent * A citizen of Belarus, see Demographics of Belarus * Belarusian language * Belarusian culture * Belarusian cuisine * Byelor ...

. In 1954 he became one of the first employees of the newly opened Belarus Service of

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

Radio Liberty Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

. He wrote the script of the stations' first radio programme in Belarusian language and was aired on May 20, 1954. The piece; "Azimuth of the Heart" was an exhortation and greeting to Belarusian people under Soviet rule "from the compatriots in the free world." In 1960's several years before his death, he started writing a memoir about the Belarusian soldiers at the

. According to various estimates, there were 1000-2000 Belarusians in this battle and about 200-250 of them were killed in action. The novel was called "Death and nightingales" (''Сьмерць і салаўі''). It was published in installments in the Belarusian magazine in Munich " Backaushchyna" from 1962-1963. The book was not completely finished though by Piotra Sych as he unexpectedly died at the age of 51. His wife Elza helped to prepare and publish it as a separate book several years after his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sych, Piotra 1912 births 1963 deaths People from Vileyka district People from Vileysky Uyezd Members of the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty people Polish military personnel of World War II Belarusian people imprisoned in the Soviet Union 20th-century Belarusian journalists