Aquila Polonica - Poland WW2

06/30/2025

June 30, 1940: Following the French’s surrender to Germany, the Polish Independent Carpathian Rifle Brigade relocates from French Syria to British Palestine. General Wlayslaw Sikorski orders the brigade to British territory, after French forces in the Mid-East refuse to continue the fight against Hi**er.

The Polish brigade, commanded by General Stanislaw Kopanski, was originally formed in French Syria in late 1939. The brigade was trained in mountain warfare, and intended for combat against Germany in Greece and the Balkans.

After the Independent Carpathian Rifle Brigade joined British forces in July 1940, they fought against Erwin Rommel’s infamous Afrika Korps at the Siege of Tobruk. They later joined up with Wladyslaw Anders’ Polish II Corps, and saw action in Italy at the Battle of Monte Cassino. They remained in frontline duty until the end of WWII.

06/27/2025

"The remains of at least 10 people have been uncovered by Polish researchers at a former prison used by both the N***s and communists to execute political prisoners.

"The grim discovery was made in the courtyard of the former Warsaw-Mokotów detention facility in the Polish capital and are thought to belong to Polish fighters in the doomed Warsaw Uprising of 1944."

May they be given dignity and rest in peace. Full story at TVP World:

The remains were discovered in the former Warsaw detention facility on Rakowiecka Street.

06/26/2025

"Poland’s government has asked Germany to return a ring that once belonged to 16th-century Polish King Sigismund I. The item is one of hundreds of thousands of artworks and other artefacts looted during the German and Soviet occupation of World War Two that remain unaccounted for.

"Speaking to the Rzeczpospolita daily, Piotr Jędrzejowski, spokesman for the Polish ministry of culture and national heritage, confirmed that Poland had in March 2023 submitted a restitution request to the Pforzheim Jewellery Museum, where the ring is held."

It would be the right thing to do. Full story at Notes From Poland:

Poland calls on German museum to return Polish royal ring looted in WWII Jun 23, 2025 | Culture, History, Law Keep our news free from ads and paywalls by making a donation to support our work! Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundatio...

06/25/2025

"A mass grave containing the remains of 20 people and a site where German troops burned the remains of civilians killed at the start of World War II have been uncovered in northern Poland.

"Researchers from Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), which investigates WWII-era crimes, made the discovery during excavation work close to the village of Borówno."

Poland continues to give dignity to its citizens who became victims. Full Story at TVP World:

Up to 40,000 Polish civilians were killed by the Germans in the ‘Pomeranian Crime’ massacre.

06/24/2025

June 24, 1914: Polish intelligence officer Jan Karski (originally Jan Kozielewski) is born in Łódź, Poland. He is best known for bringing the earliest comprehensive evidence of Hi**er’s Final Solution to the Western Allies during World War II.

Once Germany’s Blitzkrieg began, couriers who could travel between the Allied west and Axis-occupied Europe were needed. Karski, with experience in both military and diplomatic matters, volunteered for this dangerous duty. Twice he narrowly escaped ex*****on: first in 1939 at the hands of the Soviet NKVD, and second in 1940 after capture by Germany’s Gestapo.

In 1942 he was given a special assignment by Polish Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief Władysław Sikorski to investigate N**i Germany’s large-scale atrocities. This mission included Karski infiltrating the Warsaw Ghetto twice and disguising himself as a guard of Bełżec extermination camp. The Karski Report was one of the earliest and most accurate accounts of the German Holocaust.

After the war, Jan Karski settled in the United States. He graduated from Georgetown University in 1952, acquired a position there, and taught Easter European affairs for 40 years. He lived to see Poland freed of communist regime and died peacefully on July 13, 2000.

06/23/2025

June 23, 1914: 303 Squadron ace John Kent is born in Winnipeg, Canada.

When Polish 303 Squadron was formed in August 1940, John Kent was assigned command of Flight A. Though he knew no Polish, and his pilots knew little English, 303 Squadron quickly became the highest scoring RAF squadron during the Battle of Britain.

By the end of WWII, Kent had shot down 12 confirmed enemy aircraft, with 3 more probable. He served with the RAF until 1956, when he retired at the rank of Group Captain. He remained active in the aviation business and wrote his memoirs, “One of the Few.” He was honored with the British Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Polish Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari.

He passed away on 7 October 1985, at the age of 71.

“I cannot say how proud I am to have been privileged to help form and lead No. 303 squadron and later to lead such a magnificent fighting force as the Polish Wing... We who were privileged to fly and fight with them will never forget and Britain must never forget how much she owes to the loyalty indomitable spirit and sacrifice of those Polish fliers. They were our staunchest Allies in our darkest days; may they always be remembered as such!” – John Kent

Information from our book "303 Squadron: The Legendary Battle of Britain Fighter Squadron", written by Arkady Fiedler during World War II and available here:
https://www.amazon.com/303-Squadron-Legendary-Britain-Fighter/dp/1607720051

06/20/2025

June 20, 1942: A daring escape out of Auschwitz by prisoners Kazimierz Piechowski, Stanislaw Gustaw Jaster, Jozef Lempart and Eugeniusz Bendera.

They sneaked into a warehouse for the Auschwitz guards and stole SS uniforms and weapons, and then made off with the Camp Commandant’s personal Steyr 220 sedan. At a locked gate, Piechowski (the only escapee who knew German) yelled, “Wake up, you buggers! Open up or I'll open you up!” The guards on duty rushed the car through, thinking the four escapees were angry SS officers.

None of the runaways were ever recaptured, and escapee Jaster smuggled one of Witold Pilecki’s intelligence reports with him to the Polish resistance.

“I venture to suggest that the escape of four inmates from Auschwitz in the finest car there, the Camp Commandant’s, dressed in SS uniforms, against the background of that hell, could make a truly fine subject for a film,” wrote Witold Pilecki in his report of his undercover mission inside Auschwitz. Published in English as our book ‘The Auschwitz Volunteer: Beyond Bravery’, available here:
https://www.amazon.com/Auschwitz-Volunteer-Beyond-Bravery/dp/1607720108

06/19/2025

"The United Kingdom has rehabilitated the name of General Stanisław Sosabowski, the Pole who became the fall guy for the failure of Operation Market Garden, one of the largest airborne operations of WWII.

"The general, who commanded the 1st Polish Independent Parachute Brigade during the operation, which culminated with the Battle of Arnhem, was jointly commemorated by Poland and Britain at a ceremony held earlier on Wednesday at Warsaw’s Wilanów Palace."

A wrong finally righted. Full story at TVP World:

Sosabowski was scapegoated by the Brits following the failure of Market Garden.

06/18/2025

"Archeologists in the southern Polish city of Wrocław were alerted to a haul of helmets from both world wars by roadworkers renovating the same street their institute is on.

"The Institute of Archaeology of the University of Wrocław said over 50 helmets dating from the First and Second World Wars turned up on the city’s Koszarowa street just yards away from one of their buildings."

Quite an interesting find! Story at TVP World:

The helmets were discovered during renovation works on the same street.

06/17/2025

June 17, 1915: 303 Squadron fighter ace Miroslaw Feric is born. He joined the Polish Air Force Cadet Officer’s School in 1935, and was one of the original pilots assigned to 303 Squadron. The Polish fighter squadron quickly proved itself as an elite aerial combat unit, becoming the highest-scoring Allied fighter squadron of the Battle of Britain.

Feric is credited with 9 confirmed kills, 1 probable kill, and 1 shared kill. He also founded the ‘303 Squadron Chronicle,’ an informal diary which all the squadron pilots contributed to. Tragically, Feric died in an accident during aerial exercises on February 14, 1942.

He was awarded the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari, the Cross of Valour and two bars, and the British Distinguished Flying Cross. A primary school in his home town of Ostrow Wielkopolski is named after him, and he is buried at Northwood Cemetery, Middlesex, United Kingdom.

Information from our book "303 Squadron: The Legendary Battle of Britain Fighter Squadron", written by Arkady Fiedler with the help of 303 Squadron's ace pilots. Available here:
https://www.amazon.com/303-Squadron-Legendary-Britain-Fighter/dp/1607720051

06/16/2025

June 16, 1895: Warsaw Uprising commander Antoni “Monter” Chrusciel is born in Gniewczyna Lancucka, Poland.

Chrusciel fought in World War I and the Polish-Bolsehvik War. During the interwar period, he became the head of the Tactics Department at the Higher War School in Warsaw. Chrusciel commanded of the 82nd Siberian Infantry Regiment during the 1939 Invasion of Poland. He and his men held out until September 29 at Modlin Fortress—one of the last Polish strongholds to fall after the Soviet-German invasion.

After the invasion, Chrusciel became a German POW but was abruptly released. He joined the Polish Underground, and became deputy commander of the Warsaw region with the codename “Monter”. Chrusciel commanded all Polish forces during the Warsaw Uprising under General Bor-Komorowski, but became a German POW again once the uprising failed.

He was liberated by the Western allies after WWII, but was banned from returning to Poland by the postwar communist authorities. He lived in Washington DC, until his death in 1960. He was finally laid to rest in his homeland in 2004, when he was given a state funeral at the Powazki Military Cemetery, Warsaw.

06/13/2025

"A large crowd assembled on Sunday to remember the soldiers who died at Camp Kościuszko in NOTL more than 100 years ago.

"Twenty-six soldiers who died of influenza while in training are buried at the Haller Army Cemetery. This year was the site’s 106th pilgrimage in their honour, and the 108th year since the first volunteers arrived at the training camp.

"Members of the Polish community, including those in NOTL and beyond, gathered to honour the Polish and Canadian volunteers who left home to train at Camp Kościuszko before heading to Europe to fight for Poland’s independence."

Poland and Canada working together to remember the fallen! Full story at Niagara Now:

Members of the Polish community, including those in NOTL and beyond, gathered to honour the Polish and Canadian volunteers who left home to train at Camp Kościuszko before heading to Europe to fight for Poland’s independence. "This place is very dear to me personally,” said Witold Dzielski, amb...