Antoni Dunin (1907–1939) was a Polish nobleman (

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (Polish: endonym, Lithuanian: šlėkta) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who, as a class, had the dominating position in the ...

), a ''

Hrabia The hierarchy of noble titles in Poland was relatively uncommon throughout most of its history. Polish nobility ''szlachta'' enjoyed the principle of political equality of all its members. For this reason the idea of introducing the noble / aristoc ...

'' (

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

), and an army officer who received the

Virtuti Militari The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', pl, Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was created in 1792 by Polish King Stan ...

award. __TOC__

Biography

Dunin was born on June 5, 1907, the youngest child of Lucia (Łucja) Taczanowska (1862–1917) and her second husband Count

Rodryg Dunin Rodryg Dunin (June 26, 1870 – October 26, 1928) was a Polish noble ( szlachta), a hrabia (Count), and an industrialist and agriculturalist.Polski Słownik Biograficzny (the Polish Biographical Dictionary) 1948 - Tome 6, Subtome 1list of tomes) H ...

(1870–1928). He grew up at the Granówko estate near

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

, the youngest of ten children. He had six older siblings by his mother's first marriage to Stanisław Niezychowski, and two full sisters and one full brother, children of his own father Rodryg. The

Dunin The Polish surname Dunin originated in the 12th century with Piotr Włost Dunin. He was Palatine of Poland and the castellan of Wroclaw (Silesia), as well as, Brother in law of Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth (Boleslaw Krzywousty). The coat of arms ...

family crest is the Łabędź (swan). On December 28, 1933, Dunin married Zofia Helena Werner (1910–1939), daughter of Poland's vice-Finance Minister

Edward Werner Edward Henryk Werner (23 May 1878 – 13 November 1945) was an economist, judge, industrialist, and politician. He was best known as Vice-Minister of Finance in the Second Polish Republic. Life Edward Werner was born in 1878 in Warsaw, to Broni ...

, and great-niece of Saint

Raphael Kalinowski Raphael of St. Joseph Kalinowski ( pl, Józef Kalinowski, lt, Rapolas Kalinauskas) (1 September 1835 – 15 November 1907) was a Polish Discalced Carmelite friar inside the Russian partition of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, in the city of V ...

. They had three children: Krystyna,

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

(Stanisław, named after Dunin's older brother), and Magda (Magdelena). Between 1933 and 1934 he served as an NCO 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 stret ...

and graduated from the Cavalry Training Centre, where he was also awarded with the memorial badge of his home unit, the 15th Poznań Uhlan's Regiment. Mobilized prior to the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Dunin was drafted into the ''Wielkopolska'' Cavalry Brigade under Gen.

Roman Abraham Roman Józef Abraham (28 February 1891, Lwów – 26 August 1976, Warsaw) was a Polish cavalry general, commander of the Wielkopolska Cavalry Brigade during the German and Soviet Invasion of Poland in September 1939, and Battle of Bzura comman ...

. Serving in the rank of

Porucznik Porucznik (Por.) is a rank of the Polish Army, roughly equivalent to the military rank of the First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank o ...

(First Lieutenant) he commanded the march squadron of the 15th Poznań Uhlan's Regiment. He joined the regiment with his unit on September 8, 1939, and 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 snippet ...

. Dunin was killed in combat at the age of 32 on September 16, 1939.Jerzy Korczak, "Cóżeś ty za pani", Wydawnictwo Poznańskie, Poznań 1979, non-fiction,
Pani Wojenka (Lady War)
/ref> His wife was killed the next day, at the age of 29. Dunin's descendants were eventually able to escape Poland to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and finally to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in the 1940s.

In popular culture

Dunin is one of the characters in the Italian novel "Il Guardiano dei Sogni" (''The Guardian of Dreams'') by

Paolo Maurensig Paolo Maurensig (26 March 1943 – 29 May 2021) was an Italian novelist, best known for his book ''Canone inverso'' (1996), a complex tale of a violin and its owners. Biography Maurensig was born in Gorizia, northern Italy. Before becoming a n ...

().

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunin, Antoni 1907 births 1939 deaths Counts of Poland Polish Army officers Recipients of the Virtuti Militari

Antoni Antoni is a Catalan, Polish, and Slovene given name and a surname used in the eastern part of Spain, Poland and Slovenia. As a Catalan given name it is a variant of the male names Anton and Antonio. As a Polish given name it is a variant of the fem ...

Polish military personnel killed in World War II

Biography

In popular culture

See also

References