Franciszek Przysiężniak (nom de guerre "Ojciec Jan", "Father John") (September 22, 1909 in the village of Krupe, near

Krasnystaw Krasnystaw ( uk, Красностав, Krasnostav) is a town in southeastern Poland with 18 630 inhabitants (31 december 2019). Situated in the Lublin Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Chełm Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is the capital o ...

– September 30, 1975 in

Jarosław Jarosław (; uk, Ярослав, Yaroslav, ; yi, יאַרעסלאָוו, Yareslov; german: Jaroslau) is a town in south-eastern Poland, with 38,970 inhabitants, as of 30 June 2014. Situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (since 1999), previ ...

) - was a lieutenant 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 stre ...

, an officer of anti-communist resistance groups National Military Organization (NOW) and

National Military Union Narodowe Zjednoczenie Wojskowe (National Military Union, NZW) was a Polish anti-Communist organization, founded in November 1944, after collapse of the Warsaw Uprising. It was among the largest and strongest resistance organisations established ...

(NZW). Przysiężniak finished the

Volhynia Volhynia (also spelled Volynia) ( ; uk, Воли́нь, Volyn' pl, Wołyń, russian: Волы́нь, Volýnʹ, ), is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between south-eastern Poland, south-western Belarus, and western Ukraine. The ...

n School for Reserve Cadets of Artillery in Włodzimierz Wołyński in 1938. He then began his military service in the 16th Pomeranian Regiment of Light Artillery 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 ...

. He took part in the

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 aft ...

in 1939, against the Nazi invaders. On September 28, 1939, he was captured by the Germans at

Tomaszów Lubelski Tomaszów Lubelski is a town in south-eastern Poland with 19,365 inhabitants (2017). Situated in the Lublin Voivodeship, near Roztocze National Park, it is the capital of Tomaszów Lubelski County. History The town was founded at the end of t ...

, but on his way to the POW camp he managed to escape. In 1942 he joined the National Military Organization and was made the commander of its units in the

county. He headed a unit that specialized in diversion and

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...

which later the merger 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) est ...

(AK-NOW). Eventually, he was promoted to the rank of major. During World War II, the partisan unit led by "Father John", which operated in the region of Janów Forests was one of the best armed units of the Polish anti-Nazi underground. On June 14, 1944, under his leadership it took part in one of the largest battles between German forces and Polish partisans, at Porytowe Wzgorze which was part of the Sturmwind I operation carried out by the Nazis. After the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

entered Poland he was forced to go into hiding. In April 1945 in

Kuryłówka Kuryłówka is a village in Leżajsk County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Kuryłówka. It lies on the navigable San River, approximately north-east of ...

his wife, Janina Przysiężniak Jaga, who was seven months pregnant was murdered, with a shot to the back of the head, by the communist secret police (UB). As a result, he organized a group of anti-communist fighters in the "San" region. On 7 May this unit fought in one of the largest battles between Soviet

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. ...

and the Polish underground, the Battle of Kuryłówka,IPN, "Wystawa „Żołnierze wyklęci. Antykomunistyczne podziemie na Rzeszowszczyźnie po 1944 roku" (Exhibition: Cursed Soldiers. Anti-communist underground in the Rzeszow region after 1944)

in which 57 NKVD soldiers were killed and their operational group dispersed. In the fall of 1945 he moved to

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

where he was made the commander of all NZW units in

Brodnica Brodnica (german: Strasburg in Westpreußen or Strasburg an der Drewenz) is a town in northern Poland with 28,574 inhabitants . It is the seat of Brodnica County in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. The nearby Brodnica Landscape Park, a pro ...

and Wąbrzeźno counties. He was arrested on May 15, 1946, and sentenced to four years in prison. He was released during the

Amnesty of 1947 The Amnesty of 1947 in Poland was an amnesty directed at soldiers and activists of the Polish anti-communist underground, issued by the authorities of People's Republic of Poland. The law on amnesty was passed by the Polish Sejm on 22 February 194 ...

, but a year later arrested again. This time his sentence was 15 years in prison. He was released again on December 24, 1954. He was a recipient of the Silver Cross of 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 St ...

.Lista nazwisk osób odznaczonych Orderem VIRTUTI MILITARI (List of persons decorated with the Order Virtuti Militari

/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Przysiezniak, Franciszek 1909 births 1975 deaths People from Krasnystaw County People from Lublin Governorate Cursed soldiers Polish soldiers Polish anti-communists Recipients of the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari Polish prisoners and detainees Home Army members Polish prisoners of war People detained by the Polish Ministry of Public Security