Wacław Lipiński (1896–1949) was a Polish historian, military officer and resistance fighter, lieutenant colonel in 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 ...

of the

Second Polish 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 ...

, recipient of Polish highest military decoration, the Order of

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, ...

. Lipiński fought in

World War I 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 ...

, the Polish-Ukrainian War and the Polish-Soviet War and became involved with the intelligence service. After the war, he worked as a historian. Lipiński retired from the army 9 months before the joint German-Soviet invasions of Poland. He was attached to the propaganda department during the siege of Warsaw, escaping with his family when the city fell. In 1942 he returned to Poland as a resistance leader and was arrested by the Nazis in 1944. After the Russians overran Poland he led the anti-Soviet resistance. Arrested by the communists in 1947 he died in prison 2 years later.

World War I

Born on 28 September 1896 in

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

, Lipiński was involved in the

scouting Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

movement from 1911 and joined the paramilitary Polish Rifle Squads in 1912.Wacław Lipiński (1896-1949)
/ref> He was a member of the

Polish Legions in World War I The Polish Legions () was a name of the Polish military force (the first active Polish army in generations) established in August 1914 in Galicia (Central Europe), Galicia soon after World War I erupted between the opposing alliances of the Trip ...

, where he fought in the battles of Łowczówek, Konary and battle of Kostiuchnówk.''Piłsudczycy''
footnote 12 He then joined the precursor of the Polish intelligence service, the Polish Military Organisation. In 1918 he joined the regular

and fought in the battle of Lwów of the Polish-Ukrainian War and then in the Polish-Soviet War (1919-1921), taking part in the Vilna offensive.

Inter-war years

In 1927 he was promoted to

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 joined the newly founded Military Bureau of History (''Wojskowe Biuro Historyczne''). In 1932 he become chief editor of the ''Niepodległość'' (Independence) publication of the Józef Piłsudski Institute for Research in Modern History of Poland, and in 1936 director of the institute. From 1937 he lectured on the modern history of Poland at the University of Lwów.

Invasions

Promoted to lieutenant colonel he retired in January 1939. After the German and

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 ...

invasions in September 1939, he was first attached to the Bureau of Propaganda at the Polish headquarters, and then to the Propaganda Department 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 ...

, during the siege of Warsaw. He was one of the top Polish commanders during that siege, working closely with Walerian Czuma and Stefan Starzyński and . He issued daily radio speeches to the citizens of Warsaw. After the capitulation of the capital, he secured the rich collection of the Piłsudski Institute, transferring them to the Belweder Museum. Avoiding arrest after the Germans captured Warsaw, he and his family escaped first to

Zakopane Zakopane (Gorals#Language, Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has ...

, and in 1940 to

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 ...

Resistance activities

Due to conflict between former followers of

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 ...

(such as Lipiński) and followers of

Władysław Sikorski Władysław Eugeniusz Sikorski (; 20 May 18814 July 1943) was a Polish military and political leader. Before World War I, Sikorski established and participated in several underground organizations that promoted the cause of Polish independenc ...

, he was unable to join the Polish Army in the West. Instead, he became active in the Polish resistance. In 1942 he returned to

occupied Poland ' (Norwegian language, Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV 2 (Norway), TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. ...

, founding the Konwent Organizacji Niepodległościowych. In 1944 he was arrested by the Nazis. After German forces were pushed back by the Soviets, he joined the anti-Soviet resistance. He founded the Stronnictwo Niezawisłości Narodowej and Komitet Porozumiewawczy Organizacji Demokratycznych Polski Podziemnej anti-communist movements. He was arrested by the communist secret police (

Urząd Bezpieczeństwa The Ministry of Public Security (), was the secret police, intelligence and counter-espionage agency operating in the Polish People's Republic. From 1945 to 1954 it was known as the Security Office (, UB), and from 1956 to 1990 as the Security ...

) on 7 January 1947. Sentenced to death in a staged trial in 1948, the sentence was changed to a

life sentence Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life imprisonment are c ...

. He died in

Wronki Wronki () is a town in the Szamotuły County, western-central Poland, situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. It is located close to the Warta River to the northwest of Poznań on the edge of Noteć Forest, and has a population of approximat ...

prison on 4 April 1949.

Awards and decorations

Silver Cross of

POL Polonia Restituta Komandorski ZG BAR

Commander's Cross with Star of Polonia Restituta (posthumously, 10 November 2010) *

Cross of Independence Cross of Independence () was the second highest Polish military decoration between World Wars I and II. It was awarded to individuals who had fought actively for the independence of Poland, and was released in three classes. History The Cr ...

(20 January 1931) * POL Polonia Restituta Kawalerski BAR

Knight's Cross of Polonia Restituta * Cross of Valour * Golden Cross of Merit (twice 19 March 1937, 18 February 1939) * Commemorative Medal for the War of 1918-1921 * Silver Academic Laurel M.P. z 1935 r. nr 257, poz. 306 „za szerzenie zamiłowania do literatury polskiej i krzewienie czytelnictwa w wojsku”. * Medal of the 10th Anniversary of Regaining Independence * Wound Decoration

Works

*''Bajończycy i armja polska we Francji'' (Bayonians and the Polish army in France) (1929) *''Polityka zagraniczna Piłsudskiego i Becka'' (Foreign policy of Piłsudski and

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi mus ...

) (1943) *''Walka zbrojna o niepodległość Polski w latach 1905-1918'' (The armed struggle for the independence of Poland in 1905–1918) (1931) *''Wśród lwowskich orląt'' (Among

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 ...

eaglets) *''Dziennik: wrześniowa obrona Warszawy 1939 r.'' (Diary: September defense of Warsaw of 1939) (1989) *''Wielki Marszalek'' (The Great Marshal)

World War I

Inter-war years

Invasions

Resistance activities

Awards and decorations

Works

See also

References

Further reading