Alfred Biłyk (25 September 1889 in

Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

– 19 September 1939 in Munkacs,

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, then in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

) was a Polish lawyer, military officer, and politician, last Voivode of the

Lwów Voivodeship Lwów Voivodeship () was an administrative unit of interwar Poland (1918–1939). Because of the Nazi invasion of Poland in accordance with the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, it became occupied by both the Wehrmacht and the Red Army in Septem ...

. He committed suicide, when he realized that he would not be able to return to his hometown. Bilyk was a graduate of a high school in

Brzeżany Berezhany ( ; ; ; , ''Bzhezhani''/''Bzhizhani'') is a small city in Ternopil Raion, Ternopil Oblast, western Ukraine. It lies about from the administrative center of the oblast, Ternopil. Berezhany hosts the administration of Berezhany urban hr ...

, where he got to know another student of the school,

Edward Rydz-Śmigły Marshal Edward Śmigły-Rydz also called Edward Rydz-Śmigły, (11 March 1886 – 2 December 1941) was a Polish people, Polish politician, statesman, Marshal of Poland and Commander-in-Chief of Poland's armed forces, as well as a painter and ...

(both went to the same class and shared a bench). They became friends, joining together the

Riflemen's Association The Polish Riflemen's Association, known as ''Związek Strzelecki'' (in the plural, ''Związki Strzeleckie''), was an organization formed in great numbers prior to World War I. One of the better known associations, ''Strzelec'' (Rifleman), was a ...

and later, the Polish Legions. After World War I, Bilyk was nominated to the rank of major of the newly created

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the Army, land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military histor ...

(on June 1, 1919) but following the Polish-Soviet War, he left the army and began studying law at the

Jan Kazimierz University in Lwów Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Num ...

. In 1923 or 1924, he opened a lawyer's office in Lwów. A close associate of Rydz-Śmigły, Biłyk took advantage of the relationship, and was nominated to the post of Voivode of

Tarnopol Voivodeship Tarnopol Voivodeship (; ) was an administrative region of Second Polish Republic, interwar Poland (1918–1939), created on 23 December 1920, with an area of 16,500 km2 and provincial capital in Tarnopol (now ''Ternopil'', Ukraine). The Voi ...

(15 July 1936). A year later, on 16 April 1937, he advanced even further, becoming the Voivode of Lwów Voivodeship.Polish Voivodes
/ref> On 12 September 1939, when first tanks of the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

approached Lwów (see:

Polish September Campaign The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak Republic, and the Soviet ...

Battle of Lvov (1939) A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

), Bilyk gave a famous speech, which was transmitted by the local radio station. He emphasized that Lwów, the city known as Semper Fidelis, would defend itself and that he himself would not abandon his post.Jerzy Janicki - "Czkawka"
/ref> However, three days later, the Prime Minister

Felicjan Slawoj-Skladkowski Felicjan is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Gorzków, within Krasnystaw County, Lublin Voivodeship Lublin Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) of Poland, located in the southeastern part of the ...

ordered Bilyk to leave for

Kuty KUTY (1470 AM, "Hermosa 1470") is a commercial radio station that is licensed to Palmdale, California, United States and serves the Antelope Valley area. The station is owned by High Desert Broadcasting LLC and broadcasts a regional Mexican fo ...

, where the government of Poland was temporarily seated. From Kuty, Bilyk left Poland for Munkacs, which then belonged to Hungary. On 17 September, following the

Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, officially the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and also known as the Hitler–Stalin Pact and the Nazi–Soviet Pact, was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Ge ...

, units of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

, allied with the Nazis, crossed eastern border of Poland. Facing little resistance, as bulk of the Polish Army was engaged in the West, the Soviets quickly moved westwards. Bilyk twice tried to return to his native city, but failed. Upon realizing that fate of Lwów had been settled, he committed suicide on 19 September 1939 in room number 5 of the ''Csillag'' Hotel. Before shooting himself, Bilyk wrote a farewell note, which is now kept in the Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum in London. This is what he wrote:

I could not fight in Lwów, as in compliance with directives of the Prime Minister, I left the city in circumstances which might have contradicted my previous words. My life seems to be of no value to Poland. I do not want to be interned till the end of the war. I want to save my honor. All my thoughts are now concentrated on Poland and on my dear family I am asking that these words were announced, so that my honor would remain untainted. Above all, I want Marshall Rydz-Smigly, General Sosnkowski and inhabitants of my city of Lwów to know about this letter

:Signed :Alfred Bilyk, Voivode of Lwów, :Munkacs, 19 September 1939.

Notes

Further reading