Jarosław Żądło-Dąbrowski (; 13 November 1836 – 23 May 1871), also known as Jaroslav Dombrowski, was a Polish nobleman (szlachta member) and military officer in the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

, a Polish nationalist and radical republican for

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, and general and military commander of the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (, ) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard (France), Nation ...

in its later period. He was a participant in the Polish 1863

January Uprising The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last i ...

and one of the leaders of the " Red" faction among the insurrectionists as a member of the Central National Committee and the Polish Provisional National Government.

Early life

Dąbrowski was born in 1836, after the

Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...

, in Żytomierz, in the

Volhynian Governorate Volhynia Governorate, also known as Volyn Governorate, was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Southwestern Krai of the Russian Empire. It consisted of an area of and a population of 2,989,482 inhabitants. The governorate ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, in what is now Zhytomyr in

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 ...

. He was the offspring of the old

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

family Żądło-Dąbrowski z Dąbrówki. He bore the Radwan coat of arms. His father was Wiktor Żądło-Dąbrowski, his mother was Zofia ''née'' Falkenhagen-Zaleska.

Military career

In 1845 at age 9, Dąbrowski joined the

, enrolling in the officer training corps at the Brest-Litovsk Fortress, where he spent 8 years. He graduated from the St. Petersburg Cadet Corps in 1855. He fought as a Russian officer against uprisings of the local mountain populations in the Caucasian War. In 1859 he enrolled in the General Staff Academy in St. Petersburg. There he was one of the leaders of the secret "Officers' Committee of the First Army". Members included several hundred Russian and Polish officers, cooperating with the revolutionary "Zemlya i Volya" (Land and Liberty) movement. He became involved in the preparation of the

, but was arrested on 14 August 1862, and exiled to

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

for his participation in a plot against the Tsar, Alexander II. In 1865, he escaped and fled to France.

In Paris

In early March 1871, following months of

siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

by the Prussians and the capture of

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

by the Prussian Army, a socialist-anarchist coalition called the

seized power in Paris and declared itself independent of the French government. Dąbrowski was elected to the Council of the Paris Commune, using the spelling Jaroslav Dombrowski. As one of the few Commune soldiers with military experience, he was soon named Commander-in-Chief of the Commune forces. On 21 May 1871, shortly after he was named commander, the French Army attacked and entered Paris. The first reaction of many of the National Guard was to find someone to blame, and Dąbrowski was the first to be accused. Rumors circulated he accepted a million

franc The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th century ...

s to give up the city. He was deeply offended by the rumors. They stopped when he died two days later from wounds received on the barricades. His last reported words were, "Do they still say I was a traitor?" The Commune fell on 28 May 1871.

Misidentification with pianist Henri Dombrowski

A photographic portrait, taken before 1870, of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

pianist Henri Dombrowski was falsely portrayed as depicting General Jarosław Dąbrowski by photographer Pierre Petit. Petit sold 200,000 copies of the photo. Henri Dombrowski demanded damages. The misidentification with pianist Henri Dombrowski can be seen in many monuments and portrayals of Jarosław Dąbrowski as a result of Petit's actions.

Legacy

File:Будинок, в якому народився Ярослав Домбровський.jpg,

Zhytomyr Zhytomyr ( ; see #Names, below for other names) is a city in the north of the western half of Ukraine. It is the Capital city, administrative center of Zhytomyr Oblast (Oblast, province), as well as the administrative center of the surrounding ...

house where Dąbrowski was born File:Житомир. Памятник Ярославу Домбровскому..JPG, Monument dedicated to Dąbrowski in Zhytomyr File:Jaroslaw Dabrowski house Zhytomyr 2008.jpg, Memorial on the

house where Dąbrowski was born Several schools and roads are named after him in Poland; among them most notable is the Military University of Technology in Warsaw. In the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

(1936–1939), the Dabrowski Battalion and various brigade-strength units (known in Polish as the ''Dąbrowszczacy'') – were named in his honour. During the communist era Polish banknotes featured Dąbrowski on the 200 zl bill.

References

Bibliography

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External links

*
The Library of Congress: James Hadley Billington

Banknote, featuring JAROSŁAW DĄBROWSKI
– Denomination: 200 złoty; Country of Issue: Poland; Year Issued: 1986
Theme music from the movie: JAROSŁAW DĄBROWSKI
(1976); Music by Wojciech Kilar
Movie (in Polish): JAROSŁAW DĄBROWSKI
(released: 26 January 1976) directed by Bohdan Poręba (length: 2 hours, 12 minutes)
(SEA VESSEL) S.S. JAROSŁAW DĄBROWSKI
Built: 1950; Gross Tonnage: 3,196; Deadweight Tonnage: 2,667; Builder: Blyth Shipbuilding Company, Blyth, Northumberland county, England, UK; Owner: Polish Ocean Lines,

Gdynia Gdynia is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With an estimated population of 257,000, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in the Pomeranian Voivodeship after Gdańsk ...

, Pomerania province, Poland
(SEA VESSEL) S.S. JAROSŁAW DĄBROWSKI

Rendsburg Rendsburg (, also ''Rensborg'', , also ''Rensborg'') is a town on the Eider (river), River Eider and the Kiel Canal in the central part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) of Rendsburg-Eckernfoerde, Rends ...

, Rendsburg-Eckernförde district, Schleswig-Holstein state,

Kiel Canal The Kiel Canal (, until 1948 called in German the ) is a fresh water canal that links the North Sea () to the Baltic Sea (). It runs through the Germany, German states of Germany, state of Schleswig-Holstein, from Brunsbüttel to the Holtenau di ...

, Germany; 04-September-1966; Built: 1950; Gross Tonnage: 3,196; Deadweight Tonnage: 2,667; Builder: Blyth Shipbuilding Company, Blyth, Northumberland county, England, UK; Owner: Polish Ocean Lines, Gdynia, Pomerania province, Poland
Song "March of Dąbrowski Brigade" (in Polish)
– See: Dąbrowski Brigade and Spanish Civil War (1936–1939)
Photographic Portrait, Taken Before 1870, of Paris Pianist Henri Dombrowski, Falsely Portrayed as Depicting General Jarosław Dąbrowski
by photographer Pierre Petit. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dabrowski, Jaroslaw 1836 births 1871 deaths Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Jaroslaw Military personnel of the Russian Empire Military personnel from Zhytomyr People from Zhitomirsky Uyezd People from the Russian Empire of Polish descent Polish generals Communards Imperial Nikolayev Military Academy alumni