Aquila Polonica

"Antrim and Newtownabbey Mayor Jim Montgomery has led tributes at a special service to unveil a memorial to one of the many Polish airmen who lost their lives here during the Second World War. "The memorial, for Flight Sergeant Wladyslaw Kolek, located at Boghill Road, Mallusk, is part of a council project in partnership with For Your Freedom and Ours, who are behind the Polish Wings Heritage Trail in Northern Ireland, which assists in locating civilian graves, crash sites, m...emorials and exhibitions." Read the full article here: https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk//memorial-tribute-to-po

"Polish President Andrzej Sebastian Duda has inaugurated a monument erected in the Latin Catholic Cemetery in Istanbul’s ili district in honor of Wojciech Rychlewicz, a Polish diplomat who served as the mission chief in his country’s consulate-general to Istanbul during World War II. "Rychlewicz had helped save at least 5,000 Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazis by issuing them false certificates that identified them as Catholic Christians when he was stationed in Istanbul bet...ween 1936 and 1941." Read the full story about Wojciech Rychlewicz and the new monument remembering him here: https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/polish-leader-visits-ista

May 27, 1941: An Allied fleet sinks the infamous German Battleship Bismarck, after a week-long chase in the waters of the Atlantic. On the evening of May 26/27, the Polish destroyer ORP Piorun (Thunderbolt) was the first ship to spot the German flagship Bismarck. The Polish ship is reported to have transmitted a message to the Bismarck saying "I am a Pole" before charging into gun range. ORP Piorun fired her 4.7 inch guns at Bismarck, which returned fire with massive 15 inch shells. Despite being incredibly outgunned, ORP Piorun fought against Bismarck for half an hour before obeying orders to retreat.

"A petition has been launched to save the home of the former secretary to Poland’s WWII Prime Minister from demolition. "The house in the Elmhurst neighbourhood of Queens in New York had been home to Walentyna Janta-Poczyska, secretary to General Wadysaw Sikorski’s government-in-exile, and the first person to translate and type up Jan Karski’s harrowing report about the atrocities being committed against Jews by German troops during WWII." Sign the petition here:... https://hdc.org//send-a-letter-to-lpc-in-support-of-the-w/ And read more about Walentyna Janta-Poczyska and her life story at The First News: https://www.thefirstnews.com//race-on-to-save-house-of-gen

"Officials and historians have paid tribute to Witold Pilecki, a Polish World War II resistance fighter and Auschwitz survivor who died at the hands of the communists 73 years ago. "Pilecki, who was born on May 13, 1901 and died on May 25, 1948, is remembered as 'the Auschwitz volunteer' and a victim of two totalitarian systems. "In 1940, he volunteered to be captured and sent to the Auschwitz Nazi German concentration camp on an intelligence mission.... "His reports from Auschwitz provided an insight into the conditions at the camp and warned the world about German plans to exterminate European Jews." Read the full article about Captain Witold Pilecki and the commemorations here: https://www.polskieradio.pl//2740684,Poland%E2%80%99s-%E2% Captain Witold Pilecki's book is currently published in English as our book "The Auschwitz Volunteer: Beyond Bravery", which you can find here: https://www.amazon.com/Auschwitz-Volunteer-Beyond-Bravery//

"English Heritage issues plea for memories of elite Polish unit that trained at UK stately home during WWII "An appeal for wartime memories has been launched on the 80th anniversary of the first mission of the Cichociemni, the elite Polish commandos who trained in Britain to lead the resistance against the Germans in occupied Poland. "English Heritage, an organisation dedicated to the preservation of British cultural heritage, has appealed to descendants of the Cichociemni, ...to share their family stories. "The Cichociemni, or the Silent Unseen, were elite special-operations paratroopers trained in the UK to carry out covert operations, sabotage and intelligence-gathering in occupied Poland." Read the full story here: https://www.thefirstnews.com//english-heritage-issues-plea

February 15, 1941: A covert infiltration occurs when Cichociemni commandos Major Stanisaw ‘Kostka’ Krzymowski, Captain of Cavalry Józef ‘bik’ Zabielski, and courierBombardier Czesaw ‘Orkan’ Raczkowski parachute out of an RAF Whitley bomber into German-occupied Poland. This mission, named Operation Adolphus, is the first covert infiltration of Allied SOE personnel into Axis-occupied Europe during World War 2. The Special Operations Executive was a secret British agency set up during the war to launch irregular warfare behind enemy lines. As a nation that already had a large and organized resistance movement, Poland cooperated extensively with the SOE. This includes the creation of the 605-soldier strong Cichociemni unit and many Poles serving in the secretive ranks of the SOE.

February 14, 1942: The Armia Krajowa, or Home Army, was formed in Nazi-occupied Poland. The Home Army was a non-political armed resistance in occupied Poland that took orders from the Polish government-in-exile, located in Great Britain. It was first created out of the Union of Armed Struggle, but over time merged with numerous other Polish resistance movements that had formed independently after the German-Soviet 1939 invasion of Poland. The Home Army was the largest Polish... resistance movement, and one of the largest resistance organizations in all of Europe. During WWII, the Home Army was responsible for many acts of sabotage and resistance against German forces moving through Poland to the war with Russia. They also fought several conventional battles against German forces during Operation Tempest, most notably the 1944 Warsaw Uprising. Tragically, the Home Army was defeated during the Warsaw uprising, since Stalin saw them as an obstacle in the future Cold War. Home Army veterans after WWII either fled out of reach of the Iron Curtain, or were persecuted in their home country of Poland. It was not until 1956 that the communist government in Poland granted Home Army veterans ‘amnesty’ for protecting their country.

"Facebook has unblocked the English-language page of Poland's Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), a national organisation set up to investigate Nazi and communist crimes against the Polish people. "Facebook disabled the page on Saturday over a post from May on German plans to Germanise Polish children during World War Two. At the time, Facebook said that the content had "fallen foul of Facebook’s algorithms." "The decision evoked hefty criticism from the Polish governmen...t, media and numerous public institutions. The Polish Culture Ministry demanded action in the matter." Full article at the First News: https://www.thefirstnews.com//facebook-unblocks-ipn-page-1

"President Andrzej Duda posthumously awarded Henryk Jerzy Chmielewski - known as Papcio Chmiel - the Order of the White Eagle. He died on January 21 at the age of 97. "The head of the President's Chancellery, Grayna Ignaczak-Bandych, will present the highest state decoration to the family of the deceased during the funeral ceremony at Powzki Military Cemetery. 'Papcio Chmiel' will later be laid to rest at the family grave at Bródno Cemetery in Warsaw. "Papcio Chmiel served... in the Home Army (AK) and fought during the Warsaw Uprising. Then, from 1947, he worked as a cartoonist for the 'World of Adventures' (wiat Przygód) magazine. The first black and white picture story about Tytus, who became one of the most popular characters in Polish comic books, was printed in October 1957." Full story at PolandIn: https://polandin.com//papcio-chmiel-posthumously-awarded-o

Great article about the 12,000 ton World War II "Tallboy" bomb that was safely detonated the other week by the Polish Navy! Author and former US Navy diver trained in bomb disposal John Ismay talks shop with Polish officer in charge of the dangerous operation Lieutenant Piotr Nowak. "For about a year, Piotr’s team surveyed the 12,000-pound bomb underwater and found 400 other unexploded munitions within a 600-foot radius of it. Those smaller weapons had to be disposed of first before his divers could turn their attention to the main problem the 21-foot long British 'Tallboy' bomb partially buried in the muck." https://www.nytimes.com//10/14/wo/europe/poland-bomb.html

October 23, 1942: The British 8th Army clashes with Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Korps and his Italian Allies at the Second Battle of El Alamein, a decisive Allied victory achieved with the help of a new Polish device. Winston Churchill later stated Before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein we never had a defeat. Though no Polish Army units participated in the battle (Polish II Corps had not yet been created and the Independent Carpathian Rifle Brigade was fighting in ...Tobruk), Polish forces aided the 8th Army through a new invention: a handheld portable mine detector. The mine detector was in development before WWII, but was not finished by the 1939 invasion of Poland. However, Lieutenant Jozef Kosacki finished work on the detector in England near the end of 1941. 500 mine detectors were built and rushed to El Alamein just in time for the battle, where they doubled the speed at which British engineers could clear German minefields. Over the course of the war, several hundred thousand Polish mine detectors were built and deployed with Allied forces. This type of mine detector was still used by the British Army as late as 1995.

October 21, 1907: 303 Squadron Ace Ludwik Paszkiewicz is born in Wola Galezowska, Poland. By 1939, Paszkiewicz was a career officer in the Polish Air Force. He was not able to see combat during the Russo-German invasion of Poland, as he had been sent on a mission to France in August of 1939. He fought during the Fall of France in 1940, and afterwards was evacuated to Great Britain along with many other Polish airmen. Once he arrived in Britain, Pazkiewicz was posted as one... of the original pilots to 303 Squadron. Pazkiewicz was appointed commander of B Flight of the squadron, and scored the squadron’s first kill, even before the squadron became active (the Poles stumbled upon German planes during a training exercise on August 30). Over the month of September 1940, during the Battle of Britain, Pazkiewicz shot down five more German planes and achieved the status of ace. However, on September 27, Paszkiewicz was shot down and killed. He was honored with the Silver Cross of Virtuti Militari, and is buried at Northwood Cemetery, Middlesex.

"Memorial events are scheduled to be held in Poland on Monday to pay tribute to Jerzy Popieuszko, a Roman Catholic priest who was killed by communist secret police in the 1980s. "October 19 marks 36 years since Popieuszko, a staunch supporter of Poland’s Solidarity freedom movement, was brutally murdered at the age of 37. "Popieuszko strongly supported Poland’s Solidarity trade union in the 1980s, serving as chaplain to workers at a Warsaw steel mill in 1980 and 1981."... Read the full story here: https://www.polskieradio.pl//2604093,Poland-remembers-Soli

October 7, 1914: Josef Frantisek, Czech national and 303 Squadron ace, was born. Frantisek joined the Polish Air Force after Czechoslovakia was occupied by Nazi Germany in 1939. After the invasion of Poland and the evacuation to France, Josef Frantisek chose to continue service with the Polish Air Force rather than join a new unit of Czechoslovakian exiles. It is rumored that Frantisek saw extensive combat during the Battle of France, but no official records of his actions d...uring the campaign have been recovered. During the Battle of Britain, Frantisek was one of the original pilots of 303 Squadron. In September 1940, he shot down a staggering 17 confirmed German aircraft in just one month. He was one of the highest scoring aces of the Battle of Britain, but died on October 8, 1940 in an aerial accident. He is buried at Northwood Cemetery, Middlesex. Frantisk was honored with the Polish Silver Cross, the Virtuti Militari, the Polish Cross of Valor with two bars, the Czechoslovak War Cross, and the British Distinguished Flying Medal for his heroic service. A biography of Frantisek by Jiri Rajlich was published in English in 2010 under the title Hurricane Ace Josef Frantisek-The True Story.

Great article about one of the many Polish heroes of World War 2 from the BBC! August "Ali" Browne was an Armia Krajowa resistance soldier during the German occupation and took part in the 1944 Warsaw Uprising.

October 2, 1914: Jan Nowak-Jezioranski, known as the Courier from Warsaw, is born. Nowak wanted to pursue a career in economics, but was mobilized as a non-commissioned officer during the invasion of Poland. He was captured by the Germans, but escaped and joined the Polish Underground. His primary duty with the Underground was delivering messages between the Polish government-in-exile and the Polish Underground. His frequent trips between Poland and Allied territories (fi...rst France, and later Great Britain) earned him the nickname Courier from Warsaw. He fought during the Warsaw Rising, but was ordered by General Bor-Komorowski to escape the city before the Polish surrender. He escaped the battlefield and eventually reached London with many precious documents from the Polish Underground. After the war, Nowak became a frequent personality on Radio Free Europe until 1976. He headed the Polish American Congress, and was also a national security advisor to both Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter. He also wrote many books, including an account of his wartime experiences titled Courier from Warsaw. He lived to see his homeland free of communist rule, and passed away in 2005, in Warsaw.

September 30, 1939: Wladyslaw Sikorski is appointed as first prime minister of the Polish-government-in-exile. The Siege of Warsaw has just ended after 4 weeks of bitter combat between Polish defenders and the German army. Though the city could have held out longer, the Russian invasion and civilian suffering within the city convinced the Poles to lay down their arms. On the Hel peninsula, Polish troops continued fighting. The 3,000-strong garrison of the Hel Peninsula had b...een besieged by German forces on September 9, and were still resisting by the end of September. The Independent Operational Group Polesie under General Franciszek Kleeberg also refused to surrender, breaking through Soviet positions near the town of Milanow. They are eventually the last Polish army unit to surrender in Poland, after the Battle of Kock.