Franciszek Jerzy Jaskulski
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Major Franciszek Jerzy Jaskulski (September 16, 1913 – February 19, 1947), aka 'Zagończyk', was a soldier in the
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
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 ...
and a commander in
Freedom and Independence Freedom and Independence Association ( pl, Zrzeszenie Wolność i Niezawisłość, or WiN) was a Polish underground anticommunist organisation founded on September 2, 1945 and active until 1952. Political goals and realities The main purpose of it ...
''ŻOŁNIERZE WYKLĘCI Zapomniani Bohaterowie''
/ref> (a Polish underground anticommunist organization) in the
Radom Radom is a city in east-central Poland, located approximately south of the capital, Warsaw. It is situated on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), having previously been the seat of a separate Radom Voivodeship (1975–1 ...
region of Poland. In 2007 the Polish president
Lech Kaczyński Lech Aleksander Kaczyński (; 18 June 194910 April 2010) was a Polish politician who served as the city mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 2005, and as President of Poland from 2005 until his death in 2010. Before his tenure as president, he prev ...
posthumously awarded Jaskulski the order of
Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievement ...
.


Early life

Jaskulski was born in
Castrop Castrop, since 1 April 1926, is part of Castrop-Rauxel, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The name comes from ''trop/torp'' for village (German ''Dorf'') and ''chasto/kast'' for shed. The oldest mention is from 834 as ''Villa Castrop''. During th ...
- Rauxel in
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, to a family of Polish emigrants. When he was 7 he returned with his parents to Poland. They lived in
Zduny Zduny (german: Zduny, 1943-45 Treustädt) is a town in west-central Poland with 4,551 inhabitants as of 2011. It has been part of the Greater Poland Voivodeship since 1999; it was within Kalisz Voivodeship from 1975 to 1998. Location Zduny ...
in Greater Poland. After finishing his studies in
Krotoszyn Krotoszyn (german: Krotoschin, yi, קראטאשין ''Krotoshin'') is a town in west-central Poland with 30,010 inhabitants . It has been part of the Greater Poland Voivodeship since 1999; it was within Kalisz Voivodeship from 1975 to 1998. ...
he started working at the Borough Office in Zduny. During this time he also studied law. In 1937 he graduated from the Cavalry NCOs School in
Grudziądz Grudziądz ( la, Graudentum, Graudentium, german: Graudenz) is a city in northern Poland, with 92,552 inhabitants (2021). Located on the Vistula River, it lies within the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship and is the fourth-largest city in its prov ...
. In 1939 he volunteered for the Polish Army. During 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 served with distinction in the 68 Regiment of Infantry. He fought during the siege of Warsaw. He was taken captive by the Germans but successfully escaped in October 1939. He returned to Zduny, where from 1940 to 1942 he worked at the railway station. At the same time he organized an underground anti-Nazi unit and edited an illegal newspaper, entitled ''Zagończyk'' ("Raider"). In December 1939 he joined 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 ...
(ZWZ), an underground army formed in Poland during the Nazis and Soviet occupation, which was renamed to 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 ...
(Armia Krajowa) in 1942. In 1943 after deconspiracy of many units of Home Army in the Radom region by the
Gestapo The (), 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 Prussia into one organi ...
, he escaped to
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 ...
where he was the commander of Home Army units in near
Garwolin Garwolin is a town on the Wilga river in eastern Poland, capital of Garwolin County, situated in the southeast part of the Garwolin plateau in Masovian Voivodeship, 62 km southeast of Warsaw, 100 km northwest of Lublin. As of December ...
. At this time he was promoted and transferred to
Puławy Puławy (, also written Pulawy) is a city in eastern Poland, in Lesser Poland's Lublin Voivodeship, at the confluence of the Vistula and Kurówka Rivers. Puławy is the capital of Puławy County. The city's 2019 population was estimated at 47,417 ...
. There he had to fight not only with Germans but also with
Soviet partisans Soviet partisans were members of resistance movements that fought a guerrilla war against Axis forces during World War II in the Soviet Union, the previously Soviet-occupied territories of interwar Poland in 1941–45 and eastern Finland. The ...
. In 1944 he was promoted to
lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
and became the commander of unit called "Pilot".


Imprisonment

Like many other Polish officers and soldiers of the Home Army, Zagończyk was arrested by the
NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...
. He was captured on November 3, 1944 and taken to the prison at
Lublin Castle The Lublin Castle ( pl, Zamek Lubelski) is a medieval castle in Lublin, Poland, adjacent to the Old Town district and close to the city center. It is one of the oldest preserved royal residencies in Poland, initially established by High Duke Casimi ...
. On January 8, 1945 he was sentenced to death. The main reason for this severe sentence was that he was a member of the Home Army, which had fought for independence of Poland from the Soviet Union, which didn't want Poland to be an independent, free country anymore. He wasn't a bandit, but a hero who got
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 ...
Order, the highest Polish military decoration for courage in the face of the enemy, and The Cross of Valour (also a decoration awarded for courage). He got both decorations for fighting against the Germans. Two weeks later the death penalty was annulled and his sentence was commuted to 10 years of imprisonment. In September 1945 he escaped from the prison in
Wronki Wronki (german: Wronke) is a town in the Szamotuły County, western-central Poland, situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. It is located close to the Warta River to the northwest of Poznań on the edge of Noteć Forest, and has a population ...
by taking advantage of the fact that he was working outside of prison grounds.


Fight with communists

After his escape Zagończyk returned to Pulawy. At those times underground army was scattered and divided into many small units, fighting on their own, without one strong aim. Many young people were escaping to forests and becoming guerillas in order to avoid being arrested or killed by NKVD and Red Army. After a few weeks Zagonczyk got an order to move to Kozienice region and take command of units in this region. On October 22, 1945 he took part in unsuccessful try of liberation Home Army's soldiers from communist prison in Dęblin. In the beginning Zagonczyk was commanding of the units in Pulawy region but soon he became the commander of units in the whole Radom region. He was also the commander of organization called Związek Zbrojnej Konspiracji. The main aim of this organization was to fight with Soviets, inform people about real situation of the country. They were issuing many leaflets informing soldiers and people living at the Radom region about situation in Poland and at Europe. This action was to help to win the referendum in 1946. All attempts were useless because the communists had falsified the results of referendum. But Zagonczyk and his soldiers was still fighting with communists and units of Citizen's Militia.


Treason, death and rehabilitation

On July 24, 1946 Zagonczyk liberated prisoners from railway transport near Jedlnia-Letnisko. There was suspicion that the action was inspired by communists in order to arrest Zagonczyk. On July 26, 1946 Zagonczyk was arrested. Communists tried to force him to give names of people who were involved in fight with them. Zagonczyk didn't agree to that. On January 11, 1947 he was sentenced to death. He was executed in secrecy and the location of his grave remains unknown. He was married with three children. After his death underground army was still fighting. Till 1950, was fighting unit of Alexander Młyński "Drągal" and Tadeusz Zieliński "Igła". After Zagonczyk's death, communist propaganda accused him of all sorts of crimes, from crimes against humanity, robbery and common theft to membership in UPA. After the fall of the communism, in 1991, Jaskulski was rehabilitated and declared innocent of the charges of which he had been accused. For his underground activity, Jaskulski was awarded the Knight's Cross of the
Order of 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 ...
and the Cross of Valour. In 2009 he was posthumously awarded him the Officer's Cross of the
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 ...
by Polish President
Lech Kaczyński Lech Aleksander Kaczyński (; 18 June 194910 April 2010) was a Polish politician who served as the city mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 2005, and as President of Poland from 2005 until his death in 2010. Before his tenure as president, he prev ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaskulski, Franciszek Jerzy 1913 births 1947 deaths Knights of the Virtuti Militari Officers of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Executed Polish people Polish murder victims People executed by the Polish People's Republic Cursed soldiers Home Army members People from Castrop-Rauxel Executed people from North Rhine-Westphalia Executed military leaders