Franciszek Wawrzyniec Kamiński,

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

: „Olsza”, „Kowal”, „Zenon Trawiński” (20 September 1902 – 24 February 2000) was a Polish

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and military leader, commander of the Peasant Battalions during

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 ...

. After war he was a member of the

State National Council Krajowa Rada Narodowa in Polish (translated as State National Council or Homeland National Council, abbreviated to KRN) was a parliament-like political body created during the later stages of World War II in German-occupied Warsaw, Poland. It was ...

and the Legislative Sejm. Imprisoned for political reasons during the

Stalinist Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory o ...

period (from 1950 to 1956).

Biography

He came from a

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...

family. He was active in

scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

. In 1920, during the Polish-Soviet War, he volunteered for 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 ...

. From 1926 to 1929 he studied at the Faculty of Mathematics and Philosophy of the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...

. He received military training, after which he was appointed a

reserve officer A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve f ...

. He was a activist of the

Polish People's Party "Wyzwolenie" Polish Peasant Party "Wyzwolenie" or Polish People's Party "Wyzwolenie"''Wyzwolenie'' is Polish for ''Liberation'', and many sources translate the party's name fully as Polish Peasant Party "Liberation" or Polish People's Party "Liberation" (Poli ...

and People's Party. He participated in the organization of 1937 peasant strike in Poland.

Maciej Rataj Maciej Rataj (19 February 1884 – 21 June 1940) was a Polish politician and writer. Biography Born in the village of Chłopy, near Lwów (now Lviv, Ukraine), on 19 February 1884, he attended a gymnasium in Lwów and studied classical lingu ...

, fearing the delegation of the party by the

Sanation Sanation ( pl, Sanacja, ) was a Polish political movement that was created in the interwar period, prior to Józef Piłsudski's May 1926 ''Coup d'État'', and came to power in the wake of that coup. In 1928 its political activists would go on ...

authorities, entrusted him with securing the property of the People's Party. After the

German invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week afte ...

, he started to create underground structures of the peasant movement. Initially, he was in favor of including peasants in the

Union of Armed Struggle Związek Walki Zbrojnej ( abbreviation: ''ZWZ''; Union of Armed Struggle;Thus rendered in Norman Davies, ''God's Playground: A History of Poland'', vol. II, p. 464. also translated as ''Union for Armed Struggle'', ''Association of Armed Strug ...

. However, the reluctant attitude of the leadership of this formation to the People's Party led to the decision to create a separate organization. Already at the beginning of 1940 he made such a proposal to the Central Leadership of the People's Movement. In August 1940, the Peasant Guard was created (in the spring of 1941 it changed its name to Peasant Battalions). Franciszek Kamiński was appointed commander of this formation and held this function until the end of

. In 1942, during the

ethnic cleansing of Zamojszczyzna by Nazi Germany The ethnic cleansing of Zamojszczyzna by Nazi Germany (german: Aktion Zamosc, also: ''Operation Himmlerstadt'') during World War II was carried out as part of a greater plan of forcible removal of the entire Polish populations from targeted reg ...

organized speeches by peasant guerrilla units against the occupation forces. In March 1943, he merged the Peasant Battalions with the

Home Army The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, 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) esta ...

. In 1944 he became a member of the Home Army Headquarters. He participated in the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occ ...

. After his fall, together with other peasant movement activists he found himself in

Podkowa Leśna Podkowa Leśna (literal meaning – "Forest Horseshoe", in full: ''Miasto-ogród Podkowa Leśna'' – "Garden-City Podkowa Leśna") is a town in Grodzisk Mazowiecki County, Masovian Voivodeship of Poland and located within the territory of the ...

In August 1945 he revealed himself to the

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

Polish authorities as a

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. After the war, he became one of the closest associates of

Stanisław Mikołajczyk Stanisław Mikołajczyk (18 July 1901 – 13 December 1966; ) was a Polish politician. He was a Prime Minister of the Polish government in exile during World War II, and later Deputy Prime Minister in post-war Poland until 1947. Biography Back ...

, then

deputy prime minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

. He was active in the

Polish People's Party The Polish People's Party ( pl, Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe, PSL) is an agrarian political party in Poland. It is currently led by Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. Its history traces back to 1895, when it held the name People's Party, although it ...

. In December 1945, he became a member of the

. In the

1947 Polish legislative election Parliamentary elections were held in Poland on 19 January 1947, Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1491 the first since World War II. According to the official results, the Democratic Bloc (''Blok De ...

, he was elected a member of the Legislative

Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of t ...

. In May 1949 he was expelled from the Polish People's Party because he did not want to make a

self-criticism Self-criticism involves how an individual evaluates oneself. Self-criticism in psychology is typically studied and discussed as a negative personality trait in which a person has a disrupted self-identity. The opposite of self-criticism would be ...

. On 21 July 1950, he was arrested by the Stalinist authorities. In December 1951, by a verdict of the

Military Court A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison and forfeiture of all

property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...

. He was in prison in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. He was released as a result of an

amnesty Amnesty (from the Ancient Greek ἀμνηστία, ''amnestia'', "forgetfulness, passing over") 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 offici ...

in April 1956. In October the same year, the College of Judges of the Supreme Military Court in Warsaw overruled his judgment and discontinued the proceedings. After being released, he started working as an

official An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their ...

. He

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

in 1973. He no longer undertook active political activities. From 1957 to 1959 he presided and managed the work of the Historical Commission of Peasant Battalions established at the United People's Party. In 1970 he initiated the independent celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Warsaw. In October 1980, the

Polish Council of State The Council of State of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Rada Państwa) was introduced by the Small Constitution of 1947 as an organ of executive power. The Council of State consisted of the President of the Republic of Poland as chairman, the Marsh ...

promoted him to the rank of

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

. In 1982 he joined the Social Committee for the Construction of the Monument of

Wincenty Witos Wincenty Witos (; 22 January 1874 – 31 October 1945) was a Polish politician, prominent member and leader of the Polish People's Party (PSL), who served three times as the Prime Minister of Poland in the 1920s. He was a member of the Polish Peo ...

in Warsaw. From 1988 he was a member of the

Council for the Protection of Struggle and Martyrdom Sites The Council for the Protection of Struggle and Martyrdom Sites ( pl, Rada Ochrony Pamięci Walk i Męczeństwa) is a Polish government body charged with the preservation of historical sites of wartime persecution of the Polish nation. It was set ...

. On 5 May 1990, he was elected the honorary president of the reactivated

. In 1992 he became the president of the National Association of Peasant Battalion Soldiers. In 1993

President of Poland The president of Poland ( pl, Prezydent RP), officially the president of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Prezydent Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), is the head of state of Poland. Their rights and obligations are determined in the Constitution of Polan ...

Lech Wałęsa Lech Wałęsa (; ; born 29 September 1943) is a Polish statesman, dissident, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who served as the President of Poland between 1990 and 1995. After winning the 1990 election, Wałęsa became the first democratica ...

promoted him to the rank of

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

. In 1996 he received the Order of the White Eagle, the highest Polish award. He was buried at the

Powązki Military Cemetery Powązki Military Cemetery (; pl, Cmentarz Wojskowy na Powązkach) is an old military cemetery located in the Żoliborz district, western part of Warsaw, Poland. The cemetery is often confused with the older Powązki Cemetery, known colloquiall ...

Awards

* Order of the White Eagle *

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on al ...

Order of the Cross of Grunwald The Order of the Cross of Grunwald (') was a military decoration created in Poland in November 1943 by the High Command of Gwardia Ludowa, a Polish resistance movement in World War II, World War II Polish resistance movement organised by the Polis ...

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 ...

Cross of Merit with Swords The Cross of Merit with Swords () is a Polish military award established October 19, 1942, by the Polish Government in Exile. Criteria The Cross of Merit with Swords is awarded for deeds of bravery and valor during time of war not connected with ...

* Cross of Valour *

Partisan Cross The Partisan Cross () was a Polish military decoration awarded to World War II partisans (part of resistance movement fighting in the countryside). It was introduced by the Council of Ministers on October 26, 1945. It was awarded from 1945 unti ...

Warsaw Uprising Cross The Warsaw Uprising Cross ( pl, Warszawski Krzyż Powstańczy) was a Polish military decoration. It was established by law on July 3, 1981 in order to honor the participants of the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. It was discontinued in 1999. It is distinc ...

* Cross of Peasant Battalions * Honorary citizenship of Warsaw *

Honorary citizenship Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honour usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...

Zamość Zamość (; yi, זאמאשטש, Zamoshtsh; la, Zamoscia) is a historical city in southeastern Poland. It is situated in the southern part of Lublin Voivodeship, about from Lublin, from Warsaw. In 2021, the population of Zamość was 62,021. ...

Legacy

* In August 2003, a monument to general Franciszek Kamiński was unveiled in

Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of t ...

. * In October 2007 the museum and

hall of memory Hall of Memory is a name used for some memorials, including: * The Hall of Memory, Birmingham, a war memorial in Birmingham, United Kingdom, honoring residents killed in World War I. * The octagonal chapel at the heart of the Australian War Memori ...

dedicated to him were opened.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaminski, Franciszek 1902 births 2000 deaths People from Opatów County People from Radom Governorate Polish People's Party "Wyzwolenie" politicians People's Party (Poland) politicians Polish People's Party (1945–1949) politicians Polish People's Party politicians Members of the State National Council Members of the Polish Sejm 1947–1952 Polish generals Home Army officers Commanders of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Grunwald, 2nd class Burials at Powązki Cemetery