Valerian Tevzadze ( ka, ვალერიან თევზაძე, pl, Walerian Tewzadze) (February 10, 1894 – December 13, 1985) was a

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

military officer of the Democratic Republic of Georgia and later

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 ...

, member of the Polish underground resistance movement during the occupation of Poland. He was in the service of the Democratic Republic of Georgia (1918-1921). After the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

forces occupied the country, he left for

and joined the Polish army as a colonel. During the Nazi invasion of 1939, he took part in the northern defense of

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 ...

. He was later awarded with the Silver Cross of the

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 ...

. During the

German occupation of Poland 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 ...

he joined the Polish

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 ...

. As part of the Polish underground resistance movement he used the pseudonym ''Tomasz''. After the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

took control of Poland, Valerian Tevzadze joined the Polish underground against the

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

s until his death in 1985. He lived in Dzierżoniów, where he died. He was buried at the local cemetery. An inscription is carved on his grave: ''„Jako Gruzin chciałbym być pochowany w Gruzji, ale jestem szczęśliwy, że będę pochowany w ziemi szlachetnego i dzielnego Narodu Polskiego”'' (''As a Georgian I would like to be buried in Georgia, but I am happy to be buried in the land of the noble and brave Polish nation.'')

Memory

On the facade of Tevzadze's house in Dzierżoniów, there is a memorial plaque. Tevzadze is one of the people portrayed in the

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

''W rogatywce i tygrysiej skórze'', directed by Jerzy Lubach. In 2009, a monument dedicated to Tevzadze was unveiled in front of the headquarters of the Spółdzielnia Mieszkaniowa (''Housing Cooperative'') in Dzierżoniów in the presence of the Georgian ambassador to Poland

Konstantine Kavtaradze Konstantine is a masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Konstantine Dadeshkeliani (1826–1857), Georgian prince * Konstantine Gamsakhurdia (1893–1975), Georgian writer * Konstantine Gamsakhurdia (politician) (born 1961), ...

. In 2019, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki visited the tomb of Valerian Tevzadze at the Dzierżoniów cemetery. The annual

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

tournament named ''Tewzadze Open'' is organized in Dzierżoniów, to commemorate Tevzadze.

References

External links

Georgian Officers Fighting for Poland

Sources

* Marian Porwit, "Obrona Warszawy 1939 r.", Czytelnik, Warszawa 1979, * Wojciech Borzobohaty, "Jodła", PAX, Warszawa 1984, * Jarosław Kresa, "Dobry człowiek, a jak krzemień twardy", "Twoja Spółdzielnia", Dzierżoniów, kwiecień 2008 * Pro Georgia 2008, Edited by David Kolbaia Military personnel from Georgia (country) People of World War II from Georgia (country) Polish Army officers Recipients of the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari 1894 births 1985 deaths {{Poland-mil-bio-stub