Wacław Lipiński (1896–1949) was a

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 ...

historian, military officer and

resistance fighter A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objectives ...

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

in the Polish Army of 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 ...

, recipient of Polish highest military decoration, the Order of Virtuti Militari. Lipiński fought in World War I, the Polish-Ukrainian War and the Polish-Soviet War and became involved with the intelligence service. After the war, he worked as a historian. Lipiński retired from the army 9 months before the joint German-Soviet

invasions of Poland An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...

. He was attached to the propaganda department during the siege of Warsaw, escaping with his family when the city fell. In 1942 he returned to Poland as a resistance leader and was arrested by the Nazis in 1944. After the Russians overran Poland he led the anti-Soviet resistance. Arrested by the communists in 1947 he died in prison 2 years later.

World War I

Born on 28 September 1896 in Łódź, Lipiński was involved in the

scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

movement from 1911 and joined the paramilitary

Polish Rifle Squads The Polish Rifle Squads () was a Polish pro-independence paramilitary organization, founded in 1911 by the Youth Independence Organization in the Austro-Hungarian sector of partitioned Poland. Among its founders were Norwid Neugebauer, Marian ...

in 1912.Wacław Lipiński (1896-1949)
/ref> He was a member of the Polish Legions in World War I, where he fought in the battles of Łowczówek, Konary and battle of Kostiuchnówk.''Piłsudczycy''
footnote 12 He then joined the precursor of the Polish intelligence service, the Polish Military Organisation. In 1918 he joined the regular Polish Army and fought in the battle of Lwów of the Polish-Ukrainian War and then in the Polish-Soviet War (1919-1921), taking part in the

Vilna offensive The Vilna offensive was a campaign of the Polish–Soviet War of 1919–1921. The Polish army launched an offensive on April 16, 1919, to take Vilnius ( pl, Wilno) from the Red Army. After three days of street fighting from April 19–21, the ...

Inter-war years

In 1927 he was promoted to

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 ...

and joined the newly founded Military Bureau of History (''Wojskowe Biuro Historyczne''). In 1932 he become chief editor of the ''Niepodległość'' (Independence) publication of the Józef Piłsudski Institute for Research in Modern History of Poland, and in 1936 director of the institute. From 1937 he lectured on the modern history of Poland at the University of Lwów.

Invasions

Promoted to

he retired in January 1939. After the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

and Soviet invasions in September 1939, he was first attached to the Bureau of Propaganda at the Polish headquarters, and then to the Propaganda Department in Warsaw, during the siege of Warsaw. He was one of the top Polish commanders during that siege, working closely with

Walerian Czuma Walerian Czuma (24 December 1890 – 7 April 1962) was a Polish general and military commander. He is notable for his command over a Polish unit in Siberia during the Russian Civil War, and the commander of the defence of Warsaw during the siege ...

and Stefan Starzyński and . He issued daily radio speeches to the citizens of Warsaw. After the capitulation of the capital, he secured the rich collection of the Piłsudski Institute, transferring them to the Belweder Museum. Avoiding arrest after the Germans captured Warsaw, he and his family escaped first to Zakopane, and in 1940 to Hungary.

Resistance activities

Due to conflict between former followers of Józef Piłsudski (such as Lipiński) and followers of Władysław Sikorski, he was unable to join the Polish Army in the West. Instead, he became active in the Polish resistance. In 1942 he returned to occupied Poland, founding the Konwent Organizacji Niepodległościowych. In 1944 he was arrested by the Nazis. After German forces were pushed back by the Soviets, he joined the anti-Soviet resistance. He founded the Stronnictwo Niezawisłości Narodowej and Komitet Porozumiewawczy Organizacji Demokratycznych Polski Podziemnej anti-communist movements. He was arrested by the communist secret police ( Urząd Bezpieczeństwa) on 7 January 1947. Sentenced to death in a

staged trial A show trial is a public trial in which the judicial authorities have already determined the guilt or innocence of the defendant. The actual trial has as its only goal the presentation of both the accusation and the verdict to the public so ...

in 1948, the sentence was changed to a life sentence. He died in Wronki prison on 4 April 1949.

Awards

* Virtuti Militari, Silver Cross *Commander's Cross with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta ( posthumously, 2010; previously Knight's Cross) *

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 - twice

Works

*''Bajończycy i armja polska we Francji'' (Bayonians and the Polish army in France) (1929) *''Polityka zagraniczna Piłsudskiego i Becka'' (Foreign policy of Piłsudski and

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi music, lo-fi style, and became ...

) (1943) *''Walka zbrojna o niepodległość Polski w latach 1905-1918'' (The armed struggle for the independence of Poland in 1905–1918) (1931) *''Wśród lwowskich orląt'' (Among

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 ...

eaglets) *''Dziennik: wrześniowa obrona Warszawy 1939 r.'' (Diary: September defense of Warsaw of 1939) (1989) *''Wielki Marszalek'' (The Great Marshal)

World War I

Inter-war years

Invasions

Resistance activities

Awards

Works

See also

References

Further reading