Ignacy Skorupka (31 July 1893 – 14 August 1920) was a Polish priest, chaplain of 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 ...

. He died during the battle of Warsaw. He became one of the most famous casualties of the battle.

Biography

Ignacy Jan Skorupka was born on 31 July 1893 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 studied at the seminary in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. In 1916 he took his Holy Orders, and in 1918 he was briefly a parish priest in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. In the chaotic times of the first stages of the

Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (Polish–Bolshevik War, Polish–Soviet War, Polish–Russian War 1919–1921) * russian: Советско-польская война (''Sovetsko-polskaya voyna'', Soviet-Polish War), Польский фронт (' ...

in 1918, he became one of the Polish regional leaders in the

Kresy Eastern Borderlands ( pl, Kresy Wschodnie) or simply Borderlands ( pl, Kresy, ) was a term coined for the eastern part of the Second Polish Republic during the interwar period (1918–1939). Largely agricultural and extensively multi-ethnic, it ...

borderlands. Since the fall of 1918 he practiced his religious profession in

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

, and from the fall of 1919, in the Polish capital of

. He gave several sermons in the St. John's Archcathedral. In early July 1920 he volunteered as a

military chaplain A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases they will also work with local civilians within a military area of operations. Although the term ''cha ...

of the

, and was attached to the 236 Infantry Regiment of the

Volunteer Army The Volunteer Army (russian: Добровольческая армия, translit=Dobrovolcheskaya armiya, abbreviated to russian: Добрармия, translit=Dobrarmiya) was a White Army active in South Russia during the Russian Civil War from ...

(later, part of the 36th Infantry Regiment). On the evening of 14 August he was killed at the

battle of Ossów The Battle of Ossów took place in the fields near Wołomin on 14 August 1920. It was a part of a much larger battle on the outskirts of Warsaw during the Polish-Bolshevist War (February 1919 - March 1921). During the day Soviet units managed ...

during Polish counter-attack, part of the larger battle of Warsaw. Two different accounts of his death have surfaced. One suggest he was in the midst of Anointing of the Sick for a fatally wounded soldier when he, a noncombatant, was hit by an accidental bullet. Another, popularized by a Polish military dispatch from 16 August stated that chaplain Skorupka died while encouraging soldiers to advance, leading a charge in the front lines, with a crucifix in his hands.

Remembrance

A day later his body was transported to a garrison church in Warsaw, and shortly, he was given a state funeral at the prestigious

Powązki Cemetery Powązki Cemetery (; pl, Cmentarz Powązkowski), also known as Stare Powązki ( en, Old Powązki), is a historic necropolis located in Wola district, in the western part of Warsaw, Poland. It is the most famous cemetery in the city and one of t ...

, attended by many government and military authorities; general

Józef Haller Józef Haller von Hallenburg (13 August 1873 – 4 June 1960) was a lieutenant general of the Polish Army, a legionary in the Polish Legions, harcmistrz (the highest Scouting instructor rank in Poland), the president of the Polish Scouti ...

presented him with a posthumous 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 Stan ...

. His death became a political ploy, used by the opponents of Polish military commander and leader

Józef Piłsudski ), Vilna Governorate, Russian Empire (now Lithuania) , death_date = , death_place = Warsaw, Poland , constituency = , party = None (formerly PPS) , spouse = , children = Wan ...

, architect of the Polish strategy that led to the victory at Warsaw. His opponents labelled the battle "miracle of Vistula", and attributed the Polish victory to a number of causes, up to and including divine intervention, and Skorupka's martyr-like death became part of their attempt to minimize Piłsudski's fame. Several monuments, streets and other landmarks were dedicated to him in the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...

; he became a central figure in several books, poems and dramas; and

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...

commissioned a wall painting of him by Jan Henryk de Rosen at the battle at the

Castel Gandolfo Castel Gandolfo (, , ; la, Castrum Gandulphi), colloquially just Castello in the Castelli Romani dialects, is a town located southeast of Rome in the Lazio region of Italy. Occupying a height on the Alban Hills overlooking Lake Albano, Castel Ga ...

. Another popular painting of him was created by

Jerzy Kossak Jerzy Maciej Kossak (Kraków, 11 September 1886 – 11 May 1955, Kraków) was a Polish realist painter specializing in military scenes. He was the son of painter Wojciech Kossak and grandson of painter Juliusz Kossak, a third-generation artist fro ...

. A documentary about him, ''Zwyczajny bohater'', was released in 2005. In 2010 he was posthumously awarded the Order of the White Eagle.

References

External links

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Biography
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Ks. Ignacy Jan Skorupka kapłan, bohater, męczennik
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skorupka 1893 births 1920 deaths Clergy from Warsaw Polish military chaplains Polish people of the Polish–Soviet War Burials at Powązki Cemetery Recipients of the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari Deaths by firearm in Poland Polish military personnel killed in action Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)

Biography

Remembrance

References

Further reading

External links