Karol Wacław Świerczewski (; callsign ''Walter''; 22 February 1897 – 28 March 1947) was a
Polish and Soviet
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 ...
general
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry.
In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
and statesman. He was a
Bolshevik Party
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...
member and served in the
Soviet
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
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 ...
during the
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...
and participated in the wars against the
Polish and Ukrainian Republics. He also participated alongside the
Republicans during 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 ...
. At the start of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
In 1939, he participated in the
Soviet invasion of Poland
The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military conflict by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Second Polish Republic, Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Polan ...
. At the end of the war he was installed as one of leaders of the Soviet-sponsored Polish
Provisional Government of National Unity
The Provisional Government of National Unity (, TRJN) was a puppet government formed by the decree of the State National Council (, KRN) on 28 June 1945 as a result of reshuffling the Soviet-backed Provisional Government of the Republic of Pola ...
. Soon later, Świerczewski died in a country-road ambush shot by the militants from
OUN-UPA. He was an icon of communist propaganda for the following several decades.
Life
Born in
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
in
Congress Poland
Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...
, Karol Świerczewski grew up in a poor working-class family and began working at age 12 in a local Warsaw factory. During the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, at the age of 18 he was evacuated in 1915 to
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
by the
Russian Imperial 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 ...
. According to his official biography in the
Polish People's Republic
The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...
he was a member of the
Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania.
In 1918 he joined the
Bolshevik Party
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...
, and fought in the
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...
as a soldier of the Red Army. In 1919 during the
Polish-Soviet War he fought on the Soviet side against the
Polish Second Republic
The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I. ...
and was wounded. He remained in Russia and in 1928 on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of establishment of the Red Army he was awarded the
Order of the Red Banner
The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...
(no. 146), his first military award. From 1921, Świerczewski taught in the Soviet School for the Red
Commissar
Commissar (or sometimes ''Kommissar'') is an English transliteration of the Russian (''komissar''), which means ' commissary'. In English, the transliteration ''commissar'' often refers specifically to the political commissars of Soviet and ...
s. In 1927 he graduated from
Frunze Military Academy
The M. V. Frunze Military Academy (), or in full the Military Order of Lenin and the October Revolution, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Academy in the name of M. V. Frunze (), was a military academy of the Soviet and later the Russian Armed Forces ...
in Moscow and worked in the Red Army
General Staff
A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...
.
Spain
In 1931-1933 and maybe later Świerczewski was heavily involved in armed insurrection trainings, delivered by Comintern to Spanish communists in Moscow. His direct role is inclear, though he later produced highly detailed reports on the classes given; he suggested a number of measures to improve their quality. Already at the time he used the nick-name ''Walter''. In late 1935, when officer ranks were introduced in the Soviet Army, Świerczewski was classified as colonel.
In 1936, under the name ''General Walter'', he was sent to Spain during 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 ...
, where he initially led the
XIV International Brigade in the
Battle of Lopera, and later the
35th International Division in the
Segovia offensive, and the battles of
Brunete,
Belchite,
Teruel
Teruel () is a city in Aragon, located in eastern Spain, and is also the capital of Teruel (province), Teruel Province. It had a population of 35,900 as of 2022, making it the least populated provincial capital in Spain. It is noted for its har ...
, and the
Aragon Offensive. By April 1938 Spanish communist leaders wanted the replacement of many International Brigade commanders due to poor performance, and although
André Marty disagreed, he had to compromise and General Walter and
Vladimir Ćopić were replaced.
General in the Red Army
In June 1940 Świerczewski was promoted from colonel to the lowest general rank, general major. Following the outbreak of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and the
Soviet invasion of Poland
The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military conflict by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Second Polish Republic, Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Polan ...
, Świerczewski served as general in the Soviet Army. On June 27, 1941 he was given command of the
248th Rifle Division as it began forming at
Vyazma
Vyazma () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Vyazemsky District, Smolensk Oblast, Vyazemsky District in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vyazma River, about halfway between Smolensk, the ...
. He led the division until it was largely encircled and destroyed during
Operation Typhoon
The Battle of Moscow was a military campaign that consisted of two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front during World War II, between October 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive effort frustrated H ...
in the first weeks of October, although he remained in nominal command until late December. His Russian commanders, seeing Świerczewski's apparent incompetence and worsening
alcoholism
Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...
, moved him to a reserve command away from the front lines—the decision was made by General
Georgi Zhukov himself.
[Piotr Lipiński: Towarzysze Niejasnego. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Prószyński i Spółka, 2003, s. 48. .] The fact that Świerczewski gave most of his orders under influence of alcohol had tragic consequences for his soldiers, described in General
Zygmunt Berling
Zygmunt Henryk Berling (27 April 1896 – 11 July 1980) was a Polish general and politician. He fought for the independence of Poland in the early 20th century. Berling was a co-founder and commander of the First Polish Army (1944–1945), First ...
's book ''Wspomnienia'' (Memories).

In 1943 he became one of the generals charged with the creation of the Soviet-controlled
Polish Armed Forces in the East, the
1st Polish Army
First most commonly refers to:
* First, the ordinal form of the number 1
First or 1st may also refer to:
Acronyms
* Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array
* Far Infrared a ...
. His alcoholism and disregard for the life and health of his soldiers stirred conflict with Zygmunt Berling, and led to his removal from command on several occasions. Świerczewski's alcoholism-related orders gained criticism from other Polish generals as well, including General
Aleksander Waszkiewicz
Major General Aleksander Waszkiewicz (, , often transliterated as Vashkevich; 1901–1945) was a Soviet Union, Soviet military officer of Polish descent. He served in the Red Army as commander of the 793rd Rifle Regiment during 1942–1944 a ...
.
In 1944 he became one of the leaders of the
Polish Workers' Party
The Polish Workers' Party (, PPR) was a communist party in Poland from 1942 to 1948. It was founded as a reconstitution of the Communist Party of Poland (KPP) and merged with the Polish Socialist Party (PPS) in 1948 to form the Polish United W ...
and the government of
People's Republic of Poland
The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...
.
In the winter of 1944 and the spring of 1945 he led the
Polish Second Army during the fighting for western Poland and the
Battle of Berlin
The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II.
After the Vistula–Od ...
. His leadership in the
Battle of Bautzen (Budziszyn) has been severely criticized by modern historians, and he is held responsible for the Second Army's very heavy casualties in that engagement.
While commanding, he might have been drunk, and was temporarily relieved of his command.
However, due to important backing in the Soviet political apparatus ( Main Intelligence Directorate or NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...
), not only did he retain his command, but his mistakes were hushed up, and after the war he was glorified as a hero.[
In February 1946 Świerczewski became the Deputy Defense Minister of Poland. He was involved in the persecution of the anti-communist underground movement in Poland, and signed many death sentences, while establishing the communist regime.
]
Death
Świerczewski was heavily wounded in a skirmish near Baligród
Baligród is a village in Lesko County, in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (Administrative divisions of Poland, province) of south-eastern Poland. It is also the seat of the municipality (''gmina'') called Gmina Baligród. Location: 49°21' width, ...
in March 1947 while driving in a car without escort for the inspection of Polish troops fighting Ukrainian insurgents. He was ambushed by a unit of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army
The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (, abbreviated UPA) was a Ukrainian nationalist partisan formation founded by the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) on 14 October 1942. The UPA launched guerrilla warfare against Nazi Germany, the S ...
and died from his wounds within hours. There were several conspiracy theories claiming that the ambush was arranged by Soviet Intelligence due to his insubordination. According to one theory, the information about the general's arrival to the area was passed to Ukrainians by the NKVD and his escort prevented from leaving by mechanical problems with both trucks that were to have transported the escort's soldiers. Most other hypotheses also suggest Soviet or even direct orders from Stalin. The general, a Pole by ethnicity but essentially a Soviet officer with a military record from the Spanish Civil War and a long Red Army war record, had been previously placed lower in the command structure than prewar Polish officers Berling and Rola-Żymierski.
For several years after the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
ended, the Ukrainian Nationalist insurgency, led mainly by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army
The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (, abbreviated UPA) was a Ukrainian nationalist partisan formation founded by the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) on 14 October 1942. The UPA launched guerrilla warfare against Nazi Germany, the S ...
, continued fighting in the South-East of 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 ...
. This war, largely supported by the local Ukrainian part of the population, continued until 1949, with some sporadic fights taking place as late as 1956. Świerczewski's death was used as direct cause for the forcible expulsion of the Ukrainian civilian population in Operation Vistula
Operation Vistula (; ) was the codename for the 1947 forced resettlement of close to 150,000 Ukrainians in Poland, Ukrainians (including Rusyns, Boykos, and Lemkos) from the southeastern provinces of People's Republic of Poland, postwar Poland to ...
from the territories in the South Eastern part of the post-war Poland to the Recovered Territories
The Recovered Territories or Regained Lands () are the lands east of the Oder–Neisse line, Oder-Neisse line that over the centuries were gradually lost by Poland and colonized by the Germans, and that returned to Poland after World War II. T ...
(Ziemie Odzyskane, areas of western Poland, which before the war had been part of Germany). In the socialist Poland many myths were created around Karol Świerczewski ("The General of Three Armies"), but details of his life and especially his service in the Red Army during Polish-Soviet War as well as the details of his Spanish War record were never mentioned.
Awards
*:
**
(posthumous)
**
Virtuti Militari
The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', ) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was established in 1792 by the last King of Poland Stanislaus II of Poland, ...
(Grand Cross) (posthumous)
**
Virtuti Militari (Commander)
** Order of the Cross of Grunwald (1st class)
** Gold Cross of Merit
** Medal of Victory and Freedom 1945
** Silesian Uprising Cross
** Medal "For Oder, Neisse and the Baltic"
** Medal "For Warsaw 1939-1945"
** Medal "For Your and Our Freedom" (posthumous)
*:
** 2 Orders of Lenin
The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...
(1937, 1945)
**
Order of the Red Banner
The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...
, three times (1928, 1938, 1944)
**
Order of Suvorov
The Order of Suvorov () is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honor of Russian Generalissimo Prince Alexander Suvorov (1729–1800).
History
The Order of Suvorov was originally a Soviet Union, Soviet award established on ...
, 1st class (1945)
**
Medal "For the Liberation of Warsaw" (1945)
**
Medal "For the Capture of Berlin" (1945)
**
Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (1945)
**
Jubilee Medal "XX Years of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army" (1938)
*Other countries:
** Order of the White Lion, 2nd class (Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
)
**
Silver Medal of the Czechoslovak Military Order for Liberty (Czechoslovakia)
**
Laureate Plate of Madrid ( Spanish Republic)
**
Order of the Liberation of Spain (Spanish Republic)
**
Order of Bravery (Yugoslavia
, common_name = Yugoslavia
, life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation
, p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia
, flag_p ...
)
**
Order of the Partisan Star, 1st class (Yugoslavia)
Legacy
In People's Republic of Poland
The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...
, the Polish communist propaganda
Communist propaganda is the artistic and social promotion of the ideology of communism, communist worldview, communist society, and interests of the communist movement. While it tends to carry a negative connotation in the Western world, the te ...
made him into a hero, and many controversial aspects of his life such as alcohol abuse and his incompetence during the Battle of Bautzen, as well as postwar Stalinist crimes were hushed up.[ In 1953, a Polish two-part film depicting the life of Świerczewski, '' Żołnierz zwycięstwa'' (''A Soldier of Victory''), was released. Józef Wyszomirski portrayed the General.
In the years 1945-1991 the present Miguel de Cervantes Liceum in Warsaw was named after him as well as the Polish General Staff Academy.
During the years 1975–1996 Karol Świerczewski's picture was on the popular 50 złoty banknote, initially the equivalent of two bottles of cheap ]Vodka
Vodka ( ; is a clear distilled beverage, distilled alcoholic beverage. Its varieties originated in Poland and Russia. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impurities and flavourings. Traditionally, it is ...
.
After 1989 with the end of the Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...
and the coming to power of Solidarity
Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...
, many of his monuments were removed and streets renamed because of his role in implementing the communist regime in Poland.
On May 21, 2003, the Polish organization of former veterans and independence fighters applied to the Institute of National Remembrance
The Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation (, abbreviated IPN) is a Polish state research institute in charge of education and archives which also includes two public prosecutio ...
(IPN) to investigate 'crimes against the Polish nation' committed by Karol Świerczewski. In a letter, they recall that he was "one of the people who consciously worked towards heenslavement of Polish nation, through enforced communist regime that was vassal towards Moscow". Among crimes that are not subject to expiry and should be investigated by the IPN are 29 death sentences on Polish soldiers and officers, which were signed by Świerczewski during his command of the Soviet-controlled 2nd Polish Army.
Photography
While generally unwilling to let himself be photographed, General Walter was a keen amateur photographer. His daughter donated 333 of his photographs to the ''Asociación de Amigos de las Brigadas Internacionales'' in Albacete
Albacete ( , , ) is a city and municipality in the Spanish autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha, and capital of the province of Albacete.
Lying in the south-east of the Iberian Peninsula, the area around the city is known as Los Llan ...
, Spain, to form a permanent part of their archive.Brigadistas
/ref>
Notes
References
*
* Neugass, James ''War is Beautiful. An American Ambulance Driver in the Spanish Civil War'', The New Press, London-New York, 2008
* I. Pidkova, R. M. Shust, K. Bondarenko,
" (A hand-book on the History of Ukraine), 3-Volumes, Article
" (t. 3), Kiev, 1993–1999, (t. 1), (t. 2), (t. 3).
*
in "Совершенно секретно" monthly, Russia.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swierczewski, Karol
1897 births
1947 deaths
Military personnel from Warsaw
People from Warsaw Governorate
Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania politicians
Bolsheviks
Polish Workers' Party politicians
Members of the State National Council
Members of the Polish Sejm 1947–1952
Polish anti-fascists
Polish People's Army generals
Polish military personnel of World War II
Polish people of the Spanish Civil War
Soviet officers in Polish Army 1943-1968
Recipients of the Order of the Builders of People's Poland
Recipients of the Virtuti Militari (1943–1989)
Soviet colonel generals
Spanish generals
Soviet military personnel of World War II
Soviet people of Polish descent
Soviet people of the Spanish Civil War
Frunze Military Academy alumni
Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War
People of the Polish–Soviet War
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner
Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 1st class
People killed by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army
Deaths by firearm in Poland
Burials at Powązki Military Cemetery
People killed by the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists
Polish generals
Polish military personnel killed in action