Witold Józef Dzierżykraj-Morawski (1895–1944) was a Polish military commander, diplomat and a

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

of 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 ...

. Witold Dzierżykraj-Morawski was born in 1895 in his family's manor in Oporowo near Krzemieniewo,

Province of Posen The Province of Posen (; ) was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1848 to 1920, occupying most of the historical Greater Poland. The province was established following the Greater Poland Uprising (1848), Poznań Uprisi ...

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

. At the age of 15 he inherited the manor and the surrounding village. As a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

citizen, after the outbreak of the

Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he was drafted into the

Imperial German army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of Kingdom o ...

. Promoted to officer's grade, in December 1918 he joined the newly reborn

. A field commander during the Greater Poland Uprising, during the Polish-Bolshevik War he became the chief of staff of the Polish 7th Cavalry Brigade. Between 1923 and 1926 he served as the

military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

in the Polish embassy in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

. Upon his return he briefly served as one of the commanding officers of the Prużana-based Polish 17th Uhlans Regiment. In 1928 he resumed his post as a military attaché, this time in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. He held that post until 1932. Until 1937 he was the commanding officer of the Polish 25th Uhlans Regiment and one of the staff officers of the

Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

-based Army Inspectorate. During the Polish mobilization prior to the outbreak of the Polish Defensive War he became the chief of staff of the

Karpaty Army Karpaty Army () was formed on 11 July 1939 under Major General Kazimierz Fabrycy after Nazi Germany created a puppet state of Slovakia and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was proclaimed after the events that lead to the breakup of Czechos ...

. During the campaign he also held the same rank within the

Małopolska Army Karpaty Army () was formed on 11 July 1939 under Major General Kazimierz Fabrycy after Nazi Germany created a puppet state of Slovakia and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was proclaimed after the events that lead to the breakup of Czechoslo ...

. Taken prisoner of war by the Germans, he spent the remainder of

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 ...

in various German POW camps, including

Oflag VII-C Oflag VII-C was a World War II German prisoner-of-war camp for officers located in Laufen Castle, in Laufen in south-eastern Bavaria from 1940 to 1942. Most of the prisoners were British officers captured during the Battle of France in 1940. To ...

in Laufen, Oflag XI-B in Brunswick,

Oflag II-C Oflag II-C Woldenburg was a German World War II prisoner-of-war camp located about from the town of Woldenberg, Brandenburg (now Dobiegniew, western Poland). The camp housed Polish officers and orderlies and had an area of with 25 brick huts fo ...

in Woldenberg and

Oflag II-B An Oflag (from ) was a type of prisoner of war camp for officers which the German Army established in World War I in accordance with the requirements of the 1899 Hague Convention, and in World War II in accordance with the requirements of the G ...

Arnswalde Choszczno () is a town in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 14,831. The town is in a marshy district between the river Stobnica and Klukom lake, southeast of Stargard and ...

. Transferred to the

Oflag II-D Oflag II-D Gross Born (Grossborn-Westfalenhof) was a World War II German prisoner-of-war camp located at Gross Born, Pomerania (now Borne Sulinowo, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland), near Westfalenhof ( Kłomino). It housed Polish and Frenc ...

in Gross-Born, he was the highest-ranking officer there and the informal commander of all the allied prisoners held there. He also became the lead organizer of an underground organization there, intending to prepare an escape of the prisoners. Handed over to the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

, he was imprisoned in the

Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp Mauthausen was a German Nazi concentration camp on a hill above the market town of Mauthausen, Upper Austria, Mauthausen (roughly east of Linz), Upper Austria. It was the main camp of a group with List of subcamps of Mauthausen, nearly 100 f ...

, where he died. In 1964, he was posthumously promoted to the rank of

generał brygady Brigadier general ( Polish: ''generał brygady'' , abbreviated ''gen. bryg.'') is the lowest grade for generals in the Polish Army (both in the land forces and in the Polish Air Force). Depending on the context, it is equivalent to both the moder ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dzierzykraj-Morawski, Witold 1895 births 1944 deaths People from Kutno County Greater Poland Uprising (1918–1919) participants German Army personnel of World War I People from the Province of Posen Polish military personnel killed in World War II Polish generals Polish people of World War I World War II prisoners of war held by Germany Polish prisoners of war People who died in Mauthausen concentration camp Polish people of the Polish–Soviet War Military personnel who died in Nazi concentration camps Military attachés for Poland Prisoners of Oflag II-C