Jan Piwnik
Encyclopedia
Jan Piwnik was a Polish
World War II
soldier, a cichociemny and a notable leader of the Home Army in the Świętokrzyskie Mountains
. He used the noms de guerre Ponury ("Gloomy" or "Grim") and Donat.
. In 1933, he graduated from a reserve NCO
artillery school in Włodzimierz Wołyński. In 1935, he joined the Polish police, where he served as an officer.
Mobilized in 1939, during the invasion of Poland by Germany
, he commanded a motorized unit of the police. When the Soviets also attacked, on September 23, he and his unit crossed the Hungarian
border and were interned
.
Piwnik managed to escape from the internment camp. In November 1939, he reported to the Polish Government in Exile
in Paris
. He joined the Polish Army, reconstituted in France at that time and was assigned to the 4th Rifle Brigade (en cadre
). After evacuation to Great Britain
following the fall of France
, he joined the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade
under General Stanisław Sosabowski.
Piwnik was informed of creation of the Cichociemni
formation, which he joined. After receiving extensive training, he was transported to Poland on November 7, 1941. There he joined the Home Army and served at various posts. In the summer of 1942, he was assigned to head one of the Wachlarz
units operating from Równe
in eastern Poland. Arrested by the Gestapo
, he managed to escape from the German prison and reached Warsaw
. There he was ordered to prepare a mission to rescue his fellow Wachlarz members from the prison in Pińsk
. On January 18, 1943, he and his men successfully stormed the German prison, liberated all the prisoners and hostages, and transported them safely to Warsaw.
For his action, he was promoted to ensign
and in March was assigned to the Radom
-Kielce
Home Army Area as the commanding officer of all Kedyw
forces there. As the hilly and densely forested terrain was ideal for partisan warfare, Piwnik started to organise a large partisan unit out of many smaller, pre-existing groups. His unit, based in the forests around Wykus, was named the Home Army Partisan Group "Ponury". One of the most successful units in the area, it disrupted German transport and harassed German garrisons. However, a German counter-attack caused heavy losses to his unit and it was forced to move eastwards, towards the forests near Jeleniów.
In November 1943, Piwnik was married to Emilia Malessa
(Marcysia).
In December 1943, Piwnik was dismissed from command of the partisan units and in February of the following year, he was assigned to the Nowogródek Home Army Area, where he formed a small partisan unit. After the start of the Operation Tempest
, his unit was reformed into the VII battalion of the 77th Home Army Infantry Regiment and took part in many successful actions behind German lines. He was killed in action
in a successful attack against German troops near the village of Jewłasze near Vilnius
on June 16, 1944. He had been shot in the back while retrieving a wounded comrade by a German deserter.
Piwnik was posthumously promoted to the rank of major.
After the war, his life became part of the popular culture of the Świętokrzyskie area. In July 1988, his body was exhumed and transferred to a crypt in the Cistercian monastery in Wąchock
.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
soldier, a cichociemny and a notable leader of the Home Army in the Świętokrzyskie Mountains
Swietokrzyskie Mountains
Świętokrzyskie Mountains , are a mountain range in central Poland, in the vicinity of the city of Kielce. The mountain range consists of a number of separate ranges, the highest of which is Łysogóry . The two highest peaks are Łysica at 612 meters and Łysa Góra at 593 meters...
. He used the noms de guerre Ponury ("Gloomy" or "Grim") and Donat.
Biography
Jan Piwnik was born August 12, 1912 in the village of Janowice near Ostrowiec ŚwiętokrzyskiOstrowiec Swietokrzyski
Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski is a town in south-central Poland with 74,211 inhabitants .Main industry is metallurgy. Ostrowiec is the capital city of Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski County, part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship , previously it belonged to Kielce Voivodeship .- History:The oldest testimonies of...
. In 1933, he graduated from a reserve NCO
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
artillery school in Włodzimierz Wołyński. In 1935, he joined the Polish police, where he served as an officer.
Mobilized in 1939, during the invasion of Poland by Germany
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
, he commanded a motorized unit of the police. When the Soviets also attacked, on September 23, he and his unit crossed the Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
border and were interned
Internment
Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...
.
Piwnik managed to escape from the internment camp. In November 1939, he reported to the Polish Government in Exile
Polish government in Exile
The Polish government-in-exile, formally known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in Exile , was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Poland of September 1939, and the subsequent occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, which...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. He joined the Polish Army, reconstituted in France at that time and was assigned to the 4th Rifle Brigade (en cadre
En cadre
En cadre or cadre is a French expression originally denoting either the complement of commissioned officers of a regiment or the permanent skeleton establishment of a unit, around which the unit could be built if needed...
). After evacuation to Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
following the fall of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
, he joined the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade
Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade
The 1st Independent Parachute Brigade was a parachute brigade under command of Maj.Gen. Stanisław Sosabowski, created in Scotland in September 1941, with the exclusive mission to drop into occupied Poland in order to help liberate the country. The British government, however, pressured the Polish...
under General Stanisław Sosabowski.
Piwnik was informed of creation of the Cichociemni
Cichociemni
Cichociemni were elite special-operations paratroops of the Polish Home Army of the Polish Army in exile, created in Great Britain during World War II to operate in occupied Poland.-The name:...
formation, which he joined. After receiving extensive training, he was transported to Poland on November 7, 1941. There he joined the Home Army and served at various posts. In the summer of 1942, he was assigned to head one of the Wachlarz
Wachlarz
Wachlarz |folding fan]]) was a Polish World War II resistance organization formed by the Armia Krajowa for sabotage duties behind the German Eastern Front, outside of the Polish borders. Its commanders were Lt.Col. Jan Włodarkiewicz and Lt.Col...
units operating from Równe
Równe
Równe may refer to:*Polish name for Rivne in Ukraine*Równe, Masovian Voivodeship *Równe, Opole Voivodeship *Równe, Pomeranian Voivodeship *Równe, Subcarpathian Voivodeship...
in eastern Poland. Arrested by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
, he managed to escape from the German prison and reached Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
. There he was ordered to prepare a mission to rescue his fellow Wachlarz members from the prison in Pińsk
Pinsk
Pinsk , a town in Belarus, in the Polesia region, traversed by the river Pripyat, at the confluence of the Strumen and Pina rivers. The region was known as the Marsh of Pinsk. It is a fertile agricultural center. It lies south-west of Minsk. The population is about 130,000...
. On January 18, 1943, he and his men successfully stormed the German prison, liberated all the prisoners and hostages, and transported them safely to Warsaw.
For his action, he was promoted to ensign
Ensign (rank)
Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....
and in March was assigned to the Radom
Radom
Radom is a city in central Poland with 223,397 inhabitants . It is located on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship , having previously been the capital of Radom Voivodeship ; 100 km south of Poland's capital, Warsaw.It is home to the biennial Radom Air Show, the largest and...
-Kielce
Kielce
Kielce ) is a city in central Poland with 204,891 inhabitants . It is also the capital city of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship since 1999, previously in Kielce Voivodeship...
Home Army Area as the commanding officer of all Kedyw
Kedyw
Kedyw , was an underground movement - Armia Krajowa organization during World War II, which specialized in active and passive sabotage, propaganda and armed action against Nazi German forces and collaborators.-Operations:...
forces there. As the hilly and densely forested terrain was ideal for partisan warfare, Piwnik started to organise a large partisan unit out of many smaller, pre-existing groups. His unit, based in the forests around Wykus, was named the Home Army Partisan Group "Ponury". One of the most successful units in the area, it disrupted German transport and harassed German garrisons. However, a German counter-attack caused heavy losses to his unit and it was forced to move eastwards, towards the forests near Jeleniów.
In November 1943, Piwnik was married to Emilia Malessa
Emilia Malessa
Emilia Malessa, neé Izdebska , was a Polish soldier, member of the Home Army with the rank of Captain, participant in the Warsaw Uprising, member of the underground anti-communist organization Freedom and Independence , and a "cavalier" of the Order of Virtuti...
(Marcysia).
In December 1943, Piwnik was dismissed from command of the partisan units and in February of the following year, he was assigned to the Nowogródek Home Army Area, where he formed a small partisan unit. After the start of the Operation Tempest
Operation Tempest
Operation Tempest was a series of uprisings conducted during World War II by the Polish Home Army , the dominant force in the Polish resistance....
, his unit was reformed into the VII battalion of the 77th Home Army Infantry Regiment and took part in many successful actions behind German lines. He was killed in action
Killed in action
Killed in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to...
in a successful attack against German troops near the village of Jewłasze near Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
on June 16, 1944. He had been shot in the back while retrieving a wounded comrade by a German deserter.
Piwnik was posthumously promoted to the rank of major.
After the war, his life became part of the popular culture of the Świętokrzyskie area. In July 1988, his body was exhumed and transferred to a crypt in the Cistercian monastery in Wąchock
Wachock
Wąchock is a town in Starachowice County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, Poland, near Starachowice. In 2006, it had 2,777 inhabitants.- History :...
.
Honours and awards
- Gold Cross of the Virtuti MilitariVirtuti MilitariThe Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war...
, previously awarded the Silver Cross - Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (posthumously, 2010)
- Cross of Valour (twice)
Family
Barbara Piwnik, a notable Polish judge and former Minister of Justice, is Jan Piwnik's niece.See also
- Armia KrajowaArmia KrajowaThe Armia Krajowa , or Home Army, was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej . Over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces...
- Emilia MalessaEmilia MalessaEmilia Malessa, neé Izdebska , was a Polish soldier, member of the Home Army with the rank of Captain, participant in the Warsaw Uprising, member of the underground anti-communist organization Freedom and Independence , and a "cavalier" of the Order of Virtuti...