Leon Tadeusz Kozłowski (; 6 June 1892 – 11 May 1944) was a Polish archaeologist,

freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, and politician who served as

Prime Minister of Poland A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only wa ...

from 1934 to 1935.

Life

Leon Kozłowski was born in 1892 in the village of Rembieszyce near

Małogoszcz Małogoszcz is a town in the Jędrzejów County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in southern Poland. The Battle of Małogoszcz. one of the biggest battles of the 1863 January Uprising, took place there. Małogoszcz belongs to Lesser Poland; the nam ...

. Prior to 1914 he moved with his family to

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 ...

in Galicia (now

Lviv 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 ...

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 ...

), where he joined the local university. He also joined the Riflemen Union and ''Association of Progressive Youth''. After the outbreak of the

Great 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 ...

he joined

Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Chief of State (Poland), Chief of State (1918–1922) and first Marshal of Poland (from 1920). In the aftermath of World War I, he beca ...

's Polish Legions, where he served in the 1st Uhlans Regiment. After the

Oath Crisis The Oath crisis (; German language, German: ''Eidkrise'') was a World War I political conflict between the Imperial German Army command and the Józef Piłsudski-led Polish Legions in World War I, Polish Legions. Initially supporting the Central P ...

of 1917 he joined the

Polish Military Organization The Polish Military Organisation, PMO (, POW) was a secret military organization that was formed during World War I (1914–1918). Józef Piłsudski founded the group in August 1914. It adopted the name ''POW'' in November 1914 and aimed to gathe ...

and organized the cadres of the future

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 ...

. When Poland regained her independence in 1918, Kozłowski volunteered for the Polish Army and served with distinction during the Polish-Soviet War. Afterwards he was demobilized and returned to

, where he completed his studies at the University of Jan Kazimierz. In 1921 he became a professor there and the head of the ''Faculty of Pre-history''. He held that post between 1921 and 1931 and then again between 1935 and 1939. He was also active in various social and political organizations, including the ''Society for the Repair of the

Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

''. As such, following a military coup in 1928 he got involved in the BBWR movement and the same year he was elected to the

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

. He held the post of a Member of Parliament until 1935, when he was chosen to the

Senate of Poland The Senate () is the upper house of the Parliament of Poland, Polish parliament, the lower house being the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, Sejm. The history of the Polish Senate stretches back over 500 years; it was one of the first constituent ...

. During his political career he held various posts in several governments led by the

Sanacja Sanation (, ) was a Polish political movement that emerged in the interwar period, prior to Józef Piłsudski's May Coup (Poland), May 1926 ''Coup d'État'', and gained influence following the coup. In 1928, its political activists went on to fo ...

movement. He was responsible for the establishment of the prison camp at Bereza Kartuska. Between 1930 and 1935 he was the minister of agrarian reforms. At the same time, between 1932 and 1933 he was a sub-secretary of state in the Ministry of Treasury. Finally, on 15 May 1934, Kozłowski became the

. He held that post until 28 March 1935, when he was replaced by

Walery Sławek Walery Jan Sławek (; 2 November 1879 – 3 April 1939) was a Polish politician, freemason, military officer and activist, who in the early 1930s served three times as Prime Minister of Poland. He was one of the closest aides of Polish lead ...

. On the insistence of Piłsudski, all of the ministers of Kozłowski's government were included in the new government. After death of

Marshal of Poland Marshal of Poland () is the highest rank in the Polish Army. It has been granted to only six officers. At present, Marshal is equivalent to a field marshal or general of the army (OF-10) in other NATO armies. History Today there are no living ...

, Kozłowski remained an active politician for some time. He was seen as a representative of the leftist part of the

movement and a supporter of

. However, the latter lost the race to Piłsudski's heritage and Kozłowski returned to Lwów, where he reassumed his posts at the university. In 1937 he also briefly got involved in the Obóz Zjednoczenia Narodowego movement, but without much success. After the Polish Defensive War of 1939 and the outbreak of the World War II, Leon Kozłowski remained in

, where he was arrested by the

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 ...

. He spent almost two years in various Soviet prisons, and finally was sentenced to death for "anti-Soviet behaviour". However, after the Sikorski–Mayski agreement of 1941 he was released and travelled to Buzuluk, where he tried joined up with the Polish Army formed there by general

Władysław Anders Władysław Albert Anders (11 August 1892 – 12 May 1970) was a Polish military officer and politician, and prominent member of the Polish government-in-exile in London. Born in Krośniewice-Błonie, then part of the Russian Empire, he serv ...

. Due to his political past, he was refused. He then left the military camp and started his 1000-mile long trip westwards, accompanied by one officer, intending to join the Germans. He crossed the Soviet-German frontline, for which he was sentenced to death in absentia by a Polish court. German authorities sent him on to Berlin. Whilst there he took part in talks with the Nazi authorities, which saw him as a possible collaborationist, and an ally in winning the Poles over to the German cause. It is certain however, that in May 1943 he was sent to the site of the

Katyn Massacre The Katyn massacre was a series of mass killings under Communist regimes, mass executions of nearly 22,000 Polish people, Polish military officer, military and police officers, border guards, and intelligentsia prisoners of war carried out by t ...

as one of the experts brought to the site by the German authorities. Though he had expressed doubts of the version of the events as presented by the Reich Ministry for Propaganda under

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and philologist who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief Propaganda in Nazi Germany, propagandist for the Nazi Party, and ...

, he became convinced of the Soviet guilt after having seen the mass graves and conversed with the members of the expert commission of the Polish Red Cross under forensic doctor Marian WodzińskiTomasz Wolsza: ''"To co wiedziałem przekracza swją grozą najśmielsze fantazje". Wojenne i powojenne losy Polaków wizytujących Katyń w 1943 roku.'' Warszawa 2015, s. 40. The pro-German Polish language daily Goniec Krakowski cited Kozłowski as saying that he had recognized acquaintances among the dead bodies, among them professors from Lwów and ministerial officials from Warsaw.Gdzie występuje bolszewizm – tam leje się krew, in: ''Goniec Krakowski'', 30/31 May 1943, p. 2. - http://dlibra.kul.pl/Content/39177/42907.pdf Interned in Berlin (at the Hotel Alemannia), Leon Kozłowski found work at an ethnographic museum and could pursue scientific research. He was also awarded a considerable monthly pension. He was wounded in an Allied air raid on the German capital and died of his wounds on 11 May 1944.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kozlowski, Leon 1892 births 1944 deaths People from Jędrzejów County People from Kielce Governorate Polish Socialist Party – Revolutionary Faction politicians Nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government politicians Camp of National Unity politicians Prime ministers of the Second Polish Republic Government ministers of Poland Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1928–1930) Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1930–1935) Senators of the Second Polish Republic (1935–1938) Polish Freemasons Polish Military Organisation members Polish legionnaires (World War I) 20th-century Polish archaeologists Members of the Lwów Scientific Society Nazis sentenced to death in absentia Heads of government who were later imprisoned People convicted of treason against Poland Polish collaborators with Nazi Germany Polish civilians killed in World War II Polish Nazis Polish people detained by the NKVD Polish prisoners sentenced to death Prisoners sentenced to death by the Soviet Union Deaths by airstrike during World War II Burials at Powązki Cemetery

Life

See also

References