Kazimierz Stanisław Świtalski (; 4 March 1886,

Sanok Sanok (in full the Royal Free City of Sanok — pl, Królewskie Wolne Miasto Sanok, rue, Санок, ''Sanok'', ua, Cянік, ''Sianik'', la, Sanocum, yi, סאניק, ''Sonik'') is a town in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship of south-eastern ...

– 28 December 1962,

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 ...

, Poland) was a Polish politician, diplomat, soldier, military officer in the Polish Legions and 18th

Prime Minister of Poland The President of the Council of Ministers ( pl, Prezes Rady Ministrów, lit=Chairman of the Council of Ministers), colloquially referred to as the prime minister (), is the head of the cabinet and the head of government of Poland. The responsibi ...

between April and December 1929.

Early life and studies

Kazimierz Świtalski was born on 4 March 1886 as the son of Albin Świtalski, governor of Rudki and

, and his second wife Marie Antoinette Veith, whose grandfather, by the order of

Emperor Francis I Francis I (Francis Stephen; french: François Étienne; german: Franz Stefan; 8 December 1708 – 18 August 1765) was Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and Grand Duke of Tuscany. He became the ruler of the Hol ...

, arrived in

Austrian Poland The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria,, ; pl, Królestwo Galicji i Lodomerii, ; uk, Королівство Галичини та Володимирії, Korolivstvo Halychyny ta Volodymyrii; la, Rēgnum Galiciae et Lodomeriae also known as ...

in 1834, together with eight other German families. Between 1897 and 1904 Kazimierz attended the Queen Sofia High School located in Sanok (his classmates included Zdzisław Adamczyk, Witold Fusek, Bolesław Mozołowski and Bronisław Praszałowicz). At that time, the school was led by the Organization called "Radius" (also participating in the organization were brothers Stefan and Włodzimierz Mozołowski and Samuel Herzig). On 21 June 1904 Świtalski received a certificate of maturity with honors and began studying at the Faculty of Philology at the Polish Academy in Lwów. After graduation, he received a doctorate of philosophy in 1910. In the same year he became a professor at a local high school called "gymnasium".

Polish Legions

Even in his youth Świtalski belonged to an organization of socialist independence parties called "Flame" and "Life". Along with

Stanisław Kot Stanisław Kot (22 October 188526 December 1975) was a Polish historian and politician. A native of the Austrian partition of Poland, he was attracted to the cause of Polish independence early in life. As a professor of the Jagiellonian Univer ...

he directed the work of the Representative Commission of Progressive Youth. In 1910 Świtalski joined the ''Związek Walki Czynnej'' (ZWC), an underground organisation formed by future

Marshal of Poland Marshal of Poland ( pl, Marszałek Polski) is the highest rank in the Polish Army. It has been granted to only six officers. At present, Marshal is equivalent to a Field Marshal or General of the Army (OF-10) in other NATO armies. History To ...

and chief-of-state

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

and since October 1912 he was a member of the Rifle Association. In ZWC for the first time he met with Józef Piłsudski. Shortly before the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he was an adjutant for Marian Kukiel at the Headquarters of the Rifle Associations in Eastern Galicia and Lwów. From 24 August until 27 October 1914 he was a soldier in the Polish Legions. On 4 November 1914, he was appointed to the rank of lieutenant. Since February 1915 he served as a military office clerk in the Military Department. From 5 January 1916 he was the head of the office of the Legion Brigade Headquarters. He held this position until the

Oath crisis The Oath crisis ( pl, Kryzys przysięgowy) was a World War I political conflict between the Imperial German Army command and the Józef Piłsudski-led Polish Legions. Initially supporting the Central Powers against Imperial Russia, Piłsudski ...

. On 9 July 1917, he was arrested, and four days later dismissed from service in the Legions. As a result, he went to Lwów, where on 1 September, he joined the Polish Military Organization. During the

Polish–Ukrainian War The Polish–Ukrainian War, from November 1918 to July 1919, was a conflict between the Second Polish Republic and Ukrainian forces (both the West Ukrainian People's Republic and Ukrainian People's Republic). The conflict had its roots in ethn ...

he became a member of the Polish National Committee, which played a major role in the conflict. Then he managed to escape from the besieged city with an aircraft. He went to a nearby city called

Przemyśl Przemyśl (; yi, פשעמישל, Pshemishl; uk, Перемишль, Peremyshl; german: Premissel) is a city in southeastern Poland with 58,721 inhabitants, as of December 2021. In 1999, it became part of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship; it was pr ...

, and later to

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 ...

, where he sought help for Lwów. By mid December 1918 he took part in the work of the Polish Liquidation Committee and the Interim Governing Committee.

Political and diplomatic career

During the 1926 May Coup d'état in Poland, Świtalski supported Marshal Piłsudski, rather than President

Stanisław Wojciechowski Stanisław Wojciechowski (; 15 March 1869 – 9 April 1953) was a Polish politician and scholar who served as President of Poland between 1922 and 1926, during the Second Polish Republic. He was elected president in 1922, following the assassin ...

. Following the Coup, he was given several political posts. In the same year he appointed the Head of the Civil Chancellery of the President and between 1926 and 1928 he was the director of the Political Department of the Ministry of the Interior. In June 1928 Świtalski became Minister of Education and from April to December 1929 he served as

in competition with

Kazimierz Bartel Kazimierz Władysław Bartel (; en, Casimir Bartel; 3 March 1882 – 26 July 1941) was a Polish mathematician, freemason, scholar, diplomat and politician who served as 15th, 17th and 19th Prime Minister of Poland three times between 1926 a ...

. In 1930 he was elected to the

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 ...

and between 1933 and 1935 he was its

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

. He was appointed by the President to the Senate in 1935, where he was also Vice-Marshal. In parallel, he was also the

Voivode of Kraków Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the me ...

from December 1935 until April 1936. After the Polish Defensive War of 1939 Kazimierz Świtalski was taken

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

and taken to Woldenberg camp, where he spent the entirety of

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 ...

. His only child, Jacek Świtalski, was killed on the first day of 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 ...

. In 1945 he returned to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

and was imprisoned by the communist authorities from 1948 to 1956. He died in Warsaw in 1962, following injuries in a tram accident.

Honours and awards

Kazimierz Świtalski was awarded the Silver 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 ...

, 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 ...

Classes I and IV,

Cross of Independence Cross of Independence ( pl, Krzyż Niepodległości) was second highest Polish military decorations between World Wars I and II. It was awarded to individuals who had fought actively for the independence of Poland, and was released in three cl ...

, the War Memorial Medal 1918 – 1921 and the Decade of Independence Medal, as well as the Estonian

Order of the Cross of the Eagle The Order of the Cross of the Eagle ( et, Kotkaristi teenetemärk; french: Ordre de la Croix de l'Aigle) was instituted in 1928 by the Estonian Defence League to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Estonian independence. It was adopted as a sta ...

Class I (1934).

Early life and studies

Polish Legions

Political and diplomatic career

Honours and awards

References

See also