Mirosław "Stanko" Iringh (born 28 February 1914 in Warsaw
[Patrycja Bukalska, "Pytania Mirosława Iringha" (Mirosław Iringh's Question), ]Tygodnik Powszechny
''Tygodnik Powszechny'' (, ''The Common Weekly'') is a Polish Roman Catholic weekly magazine, published in Kraków, which focuses on social, cultural and political issues. It was established in 1945 under the auspices of Cardinal Adam Stefan Sap ...
, 2005-08-07
died 28 May 1985) - was a Polish-Slovak
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 ...
and a commander of a Slovakian unit -
Platoon 535, serving under the command of the
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
Home Army
The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) esta ...
(AK), part of the 1st Company of the Battalion "Tur", "Kryska" Group,
Mokotow region
[Stanisław Podlewski, "Wolność krzyżami się znaczy", Ośrodek Dokumentacji i Studiów Społecznych, 1989, pg. 67, 547]
/ref> - which took part in 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 particular in the heavy fighting in ]Czerniaków
Czerniaków is a neighbourhood of the city of Warsaw, located within the borough of Mokotów, between the escarpment of the Vistula river and the river itself.
Called ''Czerniakowo'' since the Middle Ages, it was then merely a small village loca ...
and in Praga
Praga is a district of Warsaw, Poland. It is on the east bank of the river Vistula. First mentioned in 1432, until 1791 it formed a separate town with its own city charter.
History
The historical Praga was a small settlement located at ...
.[Warsaw Uprising Museum, "WALECZNI SŁOWACY" (Valiant Slovaks)]
/ref>
Background
Mirosław came from a mixed Polish-Slovak family. His father moved to Warsaw from Slovakia, supposedly because of "political reasons" (at the time Slovakia was part of the Austro-Hungarian
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
empire) and married a Polish woman, Helena Perzanowska.[
]
September campaign
In September 1939, after the Nazi 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 ...
, together with his father Stanisław, he took part in the defense of Warsaw in the ranks of the Czech and Slovak Volunteer Legion.[ After his father died in this battle, Mirosław took the conspiratorial name "Stanko" in honor of his father.][
]
Joining the resistance
At the beginning of 1943, together with Adam Chalupec, Mirosław Iringh organized the "Underground Slovak National Committee" (SKN), which made contact with the representatives of the Home Army, and established civilian and military relations.["Udział Słowaków w Powstaniu Warszawskim" (The Participation of Slovaks in the Warsaw Uprising), Polonus]
/ref> At the end of 1943 an agreement was reached between the SKN and the Home Army command, which called for the formation of a separate Slovak military unit within the structure of the Home Army - Platoon 535.[ The unit was to be distinguished by armbands and a regimental standard in Slovak national colors, white-blue-red, as opposed to the red and white colors of the rest of the Home Army soldiers.][ Iringh's armband was made by the wife of one of the Polish members of SKN, Jadwiga Szantarek-Szczudłowska. She sewed it out of a French broad riband ]military decoration
Military awards and decorations are distinctions given as a mark of honor for military heroism, meritorious or outstanding service or achievement. DoD Manual 1348.33, 2010, Vol. 3 A decoration is often a medal consisting of a ribbon and a medal ...
which had been bestowed on her husband (Col. Mieczysław Szczudłowski) by Marshal Foch
Ferdinand Foch ( , ; 2 October 1851 – 20 March 1929) was a French general and military theorist who served as the Supreme Allied Commander during the First World War. An aggressive, even reckless commander at the First Marne, Flanders and Art ...
- the colors of the French flag are the same as that of the Slovak one.[ Because of the similarity in colors, during the Warsaw Uprising, the civilians of Warsaw sometimes mistook the Slovak partisans for Frenchmen.][
During the Nazi occupation Iringh held a Slovak passport which allowed him certain "privileges" unavailable to Poles, which he used for anti-Nazi underground activity. For example, he was allowed to own a radio (ownership of these by Poles was illegal) which he used to monitor Allied news reports from the West][ which he then used as basis for articles in the underground newspapers.][ The Slovak passport also saved him from being taken in so called ]Łapanka
''Łapanka'' () was the Polish name for a World War II practice in German-occupied Poland, whereby the German SS, Wehrmacht and Gestapo rounded up civilians on the streets of Polish cities. The civilians to be arrested were in most cases chosen ...
s (street round up), which made him a natural choice for a smuggler and distributor of the Bibula (Polish underground press).[ According to the memoirs of his wife, Waleria (who was also active in the underground) on one occasion the Łapanka took place on a tram, while Iringh was carrying a brief case full of illegal newspapers. Iringh approached the German policeman in charge and stated that he was a foreigner and in turn he was asked for his documents. Mirosław handed the suitcase full of illegal contraband to the policeman and calmly looked for his passport. Once he had produced it, the suitcase was handed back and he was free to leave.][ Iringh also prepared anti-Nazi pamphlets in Slovak which were distributed to the Slovak communities in Warsaw and ]Lwow
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 ...
, as well as to Hungarian soldiers stationed in Warsaw, who although serving as allies of Germany were often quite sympathetic to the Polish resistance (and many of whom were of Slovak background).[
Iringh was also a photographer of the fighting and civilian everyday life during the insurrection.][ Many of his photographs are part of the collection of the ]National Library of Poland
The National Library ( pl, Biblioteka Narodowa) is the central Polish library, subject directly to the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland.
The library collects books, journals, electronic and audiovisual publicat ...
. Before the war, Iringh was a journalist, a profession which he tried to resume after the war. He wrote for the newspapers Život (the newspaper of the Slovakian Community in Poland, which Iringh helped to organize),Jan Spernoga, Zivot, "550 cislot Zivota"
Gazeta Lubelska,[ and ]Życie Warszawy
''Życie Warszawy'' (meaning ''Life of Warsaw'' in English) is a Polish language newspaper published in Warsaw.
History and profile
''Życie Warszawy'' was founded in 1944 as an initiative of Polish Workers' Party. The paper is published by Grem ...
.[
]
Warsaw Uprising and Platoon 535
During the Warsaw Uprising Mirosław led his platoon in heavy fighting in the Czernakow district (although some soldiers of the platoon got trapped in other parts of Warsaw and were unable to join the main group - instead they fought independently in Praga).[ Iringh's unit was strengthened by a number of foreign, non-Slovak, soldiers who were present in Warsaw and who also wanted to fight the Germans, and additionally by several escaped Soviet POWs.][ According to the memoirs of former platoon members, Iringh was a commander noted for his frankness and directness, he always looked serious and never made jokes, which enabled him to enforce strict discipline in his unit.][ At the same time he cared greatly for his soldiers, took part in direct fighting himself, even though at the time he was sick with ]pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
.[ One of the AK nurses assigned to his unit, Danuta Pietraszak (now Michałowska) remembers him as "Emaciated, in a ]hard hat
A hard hat is a type of helmet predominantly used in workplace environments such as industrial or construction sites to protect the head from injury due to falling objects, impact with other objects, debris, rain, and electric shock. Suspensio ...
instead of a helmet
A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...
, always with a cigarette, constantly coughing. He was in control of everyone, even our Georgians
The Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and indigenous Caucasian ethnic group native to Georgia and the South Caucasus. Georgian diaspora communities are also present throughout Russia, Turkey, G ...
" (the last being a reference to the escaped Soviet POWs who were part of the unit).[
]
After the war
He was persecuted by communist authorities for having been a member of the AK and was refused employment for many years.[ Initially he worked as a freelance writer for various newspapers. However, in 1951 he lost his job due to his past membership in the Home Army.][ His wife was given a choice of either divorcing him, or also losing her job. She refused, and they both became unemployed.][ As a result, Iringh tried to support his family, even though by this time he was quite ill, by taking photographs and selling them on the street to passers-by.][ In 1956 he started to work for the Association of Czechs and Slovaks in Poland although he was soon once again fired on the basis of an absurd accusation that he was plotting to separate the Orava and Polish Spisz regions from Poland and join them to ]Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
.[
He died of lung cancer in 1985 and is buried in Warsaw's ]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 ...
.[
]
Legacy
In June 2005, Mirosław Iringh's daughters transferred a collection of memorabilia about Iringh and Platoon 535 to the Warsaw Uprising Museum
The Warsaw Rising Museum ( pl, Muzeum Powstania Warszawskiego), in the Wola district of Warsaw, Poland, is dedicated to the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. The institution of the museum was established in 1983, but no construction work took place for m ...
in Warsaw where they are currently on display.[ On 31 August 2007 Iringh's daughter, Bogusława Iringh–Nagórska, accepted in her father's name the decoration of the Order of ]Order of Ľudovít Štúr
The Order of Ľudovít Štúr ( sk, Rad Ľudovíta Štúra) is the third highest Slovak state decoration (after the Order of the White Double Cross and the Orders, decorations, and medals of Slovakia#Andrej Hlinka Order, Order of Andrej Hlinka) ...
, 2nd Class, bestowed upon him posthumously by the President of Slovakia
The president of the Slovak Republic ( sk, Prezident Slovenskej republiky) is the head of state of Slovakia and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. The president is directly elected by the people for five years, and can be elected for ...
Ivan Gašparovič
Ivan Gašparovič (; born 27 March 1941) is a Slovak politician and lawyer who was third president of Slovakia from 2004 to 2014. He was also the first and currently the only Slovak president to be re-elected.
Biography
Ivan Gašparovič was ...
.[
For his wartime achievements, he also received the following medals: Warsaw Cross of the Uprising, Partisan Cross, ]Armia Krajowa Cross
The Cross of the Home Army ( pl, Krzyż Armii Krajowej) is a Polish military decoration that was introduced by General Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski on 1 August 1966 to commemorate the efforts of the soldiers of the Polish Secret State between 1939 and ...
, Cross of Valor
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 ...
(four times), Cross of Merit (twice), 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 ...
(Officer's Cross), and 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 ...
(V class).
One of the squares in the Czerniakow part of Warsaw, where his unit engaged in heavy fighting with the Germans
, native_name_lang = de
, region1 =
, pop1 = 72,650,269
, region2 =
, pop2 = 534,000
, region3 =
, pop3 = 157,000
3,322,405
, region4 =
, pop4 = ...
is named after him.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iringh, Miroslaw
1914 births
1985 deaths
Deaths from lung cancer
Home Army members
Burials at Powązki Cemetery
Polish people of Slovak descent
Warsaw Uprising insurgents
Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland)
Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Recipients of the Virtuti Militari
Order of Ľudovít Štúr