Jan Wojciech Kiwerski,

nom de guerre 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 ...

Oliwa, also Dyrektor, Kalinowski, Lipinski, Rudzki, Ziomek (23 May 1910 – 18 April 1944) was a colonel 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 ...

and commandant of the 27th Home Army Infantry Division. Kiwerski was killed in action on April 18, 1944, during

Operation Tempest file:Akcja_burza_1944.png, 210px, right Operation Tempest ( pl, akcja „Burza”, sometimes referred to in English as "Operation Storm") was a series of uprisings conducted during World War II against occupying German forces by the Polish Home ...

during World War II. Kiwerski was born on May 23, 1910, in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

. His father was Wladyslaw Kiwerski, a physician, and his mother was Maria Jadwiga née Rogalska. By the age of 14, Kiwerski was an orphan, and in September 1923, he was accepted into Military Cadet School Nr. 2, graduating with honors in June 1928. Since he was among top graduates, Kiwerski had the right to make a choice about his further military career: he decided to join the

sapper A sapper, also called a pioneer (military), pioneer or combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefie ...

s. In June 1928, Kiwerski entered the School of Military Engineers 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 ...

. In August 1931 he graduated, and as a

podporucznik ''Podporuchik'' ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, потпоручник, potporučnik, cs, podporučík, pl, podporucznik, russian: подпору́чик, bg, подпоручик, sk, podporučík) is the most Junior officer in some Slavic armed forces, an ...

(Second Lieutenant) he began service as platoon commandant at 3rd Sapper Battalion in

Wilno Vilnius ( , ; see also #Etymology and other names, other names) is the capital and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the munic ...

. On March 19, 1933, Kiwerski was promoted to the rank of

Poruchik The rank of lieutenant in Eastern Europe ( hr, poručnik, cs, poručík, pl, porucznik, russian: script=latn, poruchik, sr, script=latn, poručnik, sk, poručík) is one used in Slavophone armed forces. Depending on the country, it is either ...

(

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 ...

). In November 1934, Kiwerski was transferred to Bridge Battalion at the

Modlin Fortress Modlin Fortress ( pl, Twierdza Modlin) is one of the largest 19th-century fortresses in Poland. It is located in the town of Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki in district Modlin on the Narew river, approximately 50 kilometers north of Warsaw. It was ori ...

. In July 1937, he was called to

Wyższa Szkoła Wojenna The National Defence University of Warsaw ( – AON) was the civil-military highest defense (military), defence academic institution in Poland, located in Warszawa–Rembertów. In 2016 it was succeeded by the War Studies University. The National ...

(Higher War School). On March 19, 1939, he was promoted to the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, and on August 18, two weeks before

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 ...

, Kiwerski graduated from Higher War School. On August 20, 1939, Kiwerski was sent to

Grodno Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish b ...

, where he was named operating officer of the 33rd Infantry Division. Later, as an officer of the

Independent Operational Group Polesie Independent Operational Group Polesie (''Samodzielna Grupa Operacyjna Polesie'', SGO Polesie) was one of the Polish Army Corps (Operational Groups) that defended Poland during the Invasion of Poland in 1939. It was created on 11 September 1939 and ...

, he fought in the region of

Polesie Polesia, Polesie, or Polesye, uk, Полісся (Polissia), pl, Polesie, russian: Полесье (Polesye) is a natural and historical region that starts from the farthest edge of Central Europe and encompasses Eastern Europe, including East ...

. After the Battle of Kock, General

Franciszek Kleeberg Franciszek Kleeberg (1 February 1888, in Tarnopol – 5 April 1941, near Dresden) was a Polish general. He served in the Austro-Hungarian Army before joining the Polish Legions in World War I and later the Polish Army. During the German Invasion ...

allowed those soldiers who wanted to escape German captivity to disappear. Kiwerski took advantage of this, reaching Warsaw in November 1939. Soon afterwards, he became one of key members of

Service for Poland's Victory Służba Zwycięstwu Polski (''Service for Poland's Victory'', or ''Polish Victory Service'', abbreviated SZP) was the first Polish resistance movement in World War II. It was created by the order of general Juliusz Rómmel on 27 September 1939, w ...

. Since 1942, he commanded a

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 ...

unit of the

Kedyw ''Kedyw'' (, partial acronym of ''Kierownictwo Dywersji'' ("Directorate of Diversion") was a Polish World War II Home Army unit that conducted active and passive sabotage, propaganda and armed operations against Nazi German forces and collaborato ...

, using noms de guerre Ziomek, Rudzki, Kalinowski, Lipinski and Dyrektor. In November 1942 he was promoted a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. In December 1943, the Home Army headquarters sent him to

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. Th ...

, where Ukrainian nationalists had been murdering Polish civilians (see

Massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia The massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia ( pl, rzeź wołyńska, lit=Volhynian slaughter; uk, Волинська трагедія, lit=Volyn tragedy, translit=Volynska trahediia), were carried out in German-occupied Poland by the ...

). Kiwerski was named chief of staff of Volhynian Home Army. In February 1944, he was named commandant of the Home Army in the province, and commandant of the 27th Home Army Infantry Division. Kiwerski was killed in unspecified circumstances on April 18, 1944, near the hamlet of Stezarzyce among Volhynian forests. In September 1989, his body was exhumed and temporarily placed at

Field Cathedral of the Polish Army The Field Cathedral of the Polish Army ( pl, Katedra Polowa Wojska Polskiego, also known as the Church of Our Lady Queen of the Polish Crown) is the main garrison church of Warsaw and the representative cathedral of the entire Polish Army. In the ...

. On April 21, 1990, Kiwerski was laid to rest at Powazki Cemetery, together with two of his Volhynian soldiers. A day before the funeral, the President of Poland promoted Kiwerski 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 ...

. Kiwerski was also awarded 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 ...

and the

Cross of Valour (Poland) The Cross of Valour ( pl, Krzyż Walecznych) is a Polish military decoration. It was first introduced by the Council of National Defense on 11 August 1920. It is awarded to an individual who "has demonstrated deeds of valour and courage on the fi ...

. "Oliwa" had a wife Izabela née Dorozynska, and daughter Barbara. Streets 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 ...

and Kraków are named after him. His bust can be found at Warsaw's Volhynian Square, near the monument of Volhynian Home Army.

Sources

* Michał Fijałka, ''27 Wołyńska Dywizja Piechoty Armii Krajowej'', Wydawnictwo PAX, 1987 s. 164-165 .

Sources

See also