Mikołaj Kunicki (1914–2001) was a Polish soldier, who also served in the German auxiliary units (Kompanieführer in Schutzmannschaft 104), and later became commander of the Polish-Soviet Rally Brigade Partisan (in the rank of captain).

Biography

In 1939 he participated in the

September campaign 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 after ...

. He fought to defend Warsaw. In 1939 he escaped from German captivity and returned to his family home. In 1942 he was called to serve in

Schutzmannschaft The ''Schutzmannschaft'' or Auxiliary Police ( "protective, or guard units"; plural: ''Schutzmannschaften'', abbreviated as ''Schuma'') was the collaborationist auxiliary police of native policemen serving in those areas of the Soviet Union and ...

, in Kobryn. From March to November 1942 he was in training at the German military school in Kobrin (sabotage-diversion). He graduated from the field of Feldwebel. From January 1943, the company commander in the , which liquidated, among others UPA branches near Wysocka. After the attack of Ukrainian militias on Polish villages and then the refusal of the German command to retaliate against the Ukrainians, he and his company (150 soldiers) deserted. In March 1943 he made contact with the

Soviet partisans Soviet partisans were members of resistance movements that fought a guerrilla war against Axis forces during World War II in the Soviet Union, the previously Soviet-occupied territories of interwar Poland in 1941–45 and eastern Finland. The ...

, and then joined them, killing the German commanders. He merged with the group of General Vasily Begma. On August 3, 1943, he took command of the United Polish Partisans unit. Tadeusz Kościuszko in Volhynia, subordinated to the General Staff in Moscow and to General Begma. In July 1944 Kunicki merged his branch near Otryt in the Bieszczady Mountains with the branch of the Polish self-defense of Józef Pawłusiewicz. He also cooperated with the Soviet partisan unit under the command of Leonid Berenstein. Kunicki's unit fought numerous fights with smaller German units, the Ukrainian police, and then with the UPA. Mikołaj Kunicki as a retired colonel lived in Zamość during the

Polish People's Republic The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...

. After the World War 2, Kunicki published his memoirs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kunicki, Mikołaj 1914 births 2001 deaths Polish Auxiliary Police Soviet partisans Polish Army officers Polish collaborators with Nazi Germany Polish resistance members of World War II Polish September Campaign participants