Marian Józef Żegota-Januszajtis (3 April 1889,

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ; german: Tschenstochau, Czenstochau; la, Czanstochova) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta River with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship (admin ...

Piotrków Governorate Piotrków Governorate (russian: Петроковская губерния; pl, Gubernia piotrkowska) was one of the administrative divisions ( ; ) in the Kingdom of Poland, established in 1867 by splitting some areas of the Radom and Warsaw Gover ...

- 24 March 1973,

Royal Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. ...

) was a Polish military commander and politician. One of the founders of Polish paramilitary pro-independence organizations in

Austrian partition The Austrian Partition ( pl, zabór austriacki) comprise the former territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth acquired by the Habsburg monarchy during the Partitions of Poland in the late 18th century. The three partition (politics), p ...

, and last commander of the 1st Brigade of Polish Legions. He was also the organizer of unsuccessful coup in 1919, general 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 ...

and

Polish Armed Forces in the West The Polish Armed Forces in the West () refers to the Polish military formations formed to fight alongside the Western Allies against Nazi Germany and its allies during World War II. Polish forces were also raised within Soviet territories; thes ...

, voivode of the Nowogródek Voivodeship (1924-1926), and member of the

Polish government in Exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...

. Following the

Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military operation by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west. Subse ...

he founded the ''Organization for the Struggle for Freedom'' in Lwów.Stalin and Europe: Imitation and Domination, 1928-1953
Oxford University Press, edited by Timothy Snyder, Ray Brandon, page 149 He was arrested by

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. ...

on 27 October 1939 and imprisoned in

Lwów Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

and then in Moscow

Lubyanka prison The Lubyanka ( rus, Лубянка, p=lʊˈbʲankə) is the popular name for the building which contains the headquarters of the FSB, and its affiliated prison, on Lubyanka Square in the Meshchansky District of Moscow, Russia. It is a large Ne ...

. After the Sikorski-Mayski Agreement of July 1941, he was released. After the war, he remained in exile in the United Kingdom, where he died in March 1973 and was buried in Crawley cemetery next to his wife. In November 1981, his ashes were brought to Poland – resting in the New Cemetery in Zakopane, in legionnaires' quarters.

Honours and awards

* 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 ...

(1921) * Commander'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 ...

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 ...

* Cross of Valour (four times) * Officer's badge "Parasol" * Knight's Cross of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

(France)

References

1889 births 1973 deaths People from Częstochowa People from Piotrków Governorate Polish generals National Party (Poland) politicians Association of the Polish Youth "Zet" members Polish exiles Polish Rifle Squads members Polish legionnaires (World War I) Polnische Wehrmacht personnel Recipients of the Cross of Independence Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari Commanders of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Polish nationalists Polish people of the Polish–Soviet War Polish deportees to Soviet Union Polish people detained by the NKVD Polish people of Lithuanian descent {{Poland-mil-bio-stub