Michał Grażyński (12 May 1890 in

Gdów Gdów is a village in Wieliczka County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Gdów. It lies approximately south-east of Wieliczka and south-east of the regional ca ...

as Michał Tadeusz Kurzydło – 10 December 1965 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

) was a Polish military leader, social and political activist,

doctor of philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

and law,

voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

of the

Silesian Voivodeship Silesian Voivodeship ( ) is an administrative province in southern Poland. With over 4.2 million residents and an area of 12,300 square kilometers, it is the second-most populous, and the most-densely populated and most-urbanized region of Poland ...

, Scouting activist and president of Związek Harcerstwa Polskiego. Born to a teacher's family in Gdów, in Austrian-ruled Polish Galicia, he attended Gimnazjum Św. Anny (St.Anna-Gymnasium) in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

and

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...

, where he graduated in 1913, receiving the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

for a dissertation about the history of the Polish monetary system. In 1914 he started work as teacher in Stanisławów (now Ivano-Frankivs'k, Ukraine), but after the 1st World War broke out he was mobilized into the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...

in the rank of Sub-Lieutenant, served on the Eastern Front and was wounded. In 1918, following Poland's independence he joined the

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 ...

and served in the intelligence and propaganda branch with the rank of

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

. In 1919 during the Polish- Czechoslovakian border dispute he was involved in preparations for a

plebiscite A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a direct vote by the electorate (rather than their representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either binding (resulting in the adoption of a new policy) or adv ...

in Spisz (

Spiš Spiš ( ; or ; ) is a region in north-eastern Slovakia, with a very small area in south-eastern Poland (more specifically encompassing 14 former Slovak villages). Spiš is an informal designation of the territory, but it is also the name of one ...

) and Orawa ( Orava). In 1920 Grażyński was engaged in preparations for a

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( ; ; ; ; Silesian German: ; ) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located today mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic. The area is predominantly known for its heav ...

and the Silesian Uprising. He served under the ''nom de guerre'' "Borelowski" in the underground staff of Dowództwo Ochrony Plebiscytu (Plebiscite Protection Command), moving quickly to the staff of the

Polish Military Organisation 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 ...

of Upper Silesia (Polska Organizacja Wojskowa, POW). He took part in the Third Silesian Uprising as Chief of Staff of Grupa "Wschód" (Combat Group "East"). After the uprising he retired from military service with the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. Between 1921 and 1926 Grażyński worked in state administration, studied law at the Jagiellonian University and graduated with the degree of Doctor of Law. During this time he also joined the "Zet" association, an elite political society with historical roots in the National League ( Narodowa Demokracja), but after 1914 linked rather with

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 ...

and future

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 ...

. In 1926, when Piłsudski came to power (by a coup d'état of a part of the Polish army), Grażyński was appointed voivode of the

. He served in this post till 1939. Grażyński was one of the prominent leaders of the Związek Naprawy Rzeczypospolitej (Union for Improvement of the Republic), which was the left wing of Sanacja. From 1930 to 1939 Grażyński was also President of Związek Harcerstwa Polskiego. He was awarded an honorary highest scout rank Honorowy Harcerz Rzeczypospolitej (Honorary Scout of the Republic), but never had been a Scoutmaster. In 1939 Grażyński fled to exile. Between 1943 and 1946 he served in the Polish Army and was promoted to the ranks of

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

and Lieutenant-Colonel. From 1946 until 1960 he was President of Związek Harcerstwa Polskiego poza granicami Kraju (Polish Scouting Association in Exile). He died in London in 1965 of a traffic accident and buried at the Putney Vale Cemetery.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grazynski, Michal 1890 births 1965 deaths People from Wieliczka County Sanacja politicians Association of the Polish Youth "Zet" members Politicians of the Silesian Voivodeship (1920–1939) Polish people of World War I Polish Scouts and Guides 20th-century Polish lawyers Jagiellonian University alumni