During the period of People's Poland, General Karol Świerczewski was 1 of the most crucial heroes. A associate in the October Revolution, a associate in the fight in Spain for the defence of a democratic republic, yet a commander of the 2nd Army of the Polish Army, who died tragically after the war in a fight with the OUN-UPA gang.
His bloody uniform was exhibited in the Museum of the Polish Army in Warsaw, in a memorial of the general of the hall. On first-class footings, in times erstwhile portraits of russian and Polish leaders and another well-deserved dignitaries were carried, the image of the general could not miss. In many cities there were streets of his name, he was a patron of many schools and workplaces. His likeness was on a commemorative 10-gold coin and on a 50-gold banknote. The general was a hero of poems and books, the most celebrated of which was the book Janina Broniewski "About a man who did not bow to bullets." The title of the occupation was that the general allegedly on the front never sought to hide and always straightened out led the soldiers to fight. The book Broniewski for years was a school reading. In 1953, a movie entitled "The Soldier of Victory" was besides shot.
General Świerczewski's assessment changed radically after the turn of 1989. abruptly it turned out that he was no hero, but a traitor, due to the fact that in 1920 he fought against Poland in the ranks of the Red Army. His alias Walter allegedly came from the name of a German Walther pistol, and it was due to the fact that he personally murdered political opponents in Spain from specified a gun. It besides turned out that he was not a good commander, for he was inactive in a state of drinking and sent thousands of soldiers to a meaningless death. An example was given to the conflict of the Red Army under the Wazima, in which, as a consequence of its expected fatal command, from around 10,000 soldiers of the 214th firearm Division, only 2 men and he came out of the lap. However, with Stalin’s favor, the general suffered no consequences. Another example of supposedly fatal command was the conflict of Budziszyn in April 1945, in which as a consequence of the incompetence of General Świerczewski 2nd Army of the Polish Army was amazed by the counter-trading of German troops of the Army Group measurement of General-feld Marshal Ferdinand Schőrner And she suffered dense losses.
How different the image of General Świerczewski emerges from a book published in 2023 Leszka Kani entitled "Budziszyn 1945". For the sake of clarity, the author does not hide the hostility to the forming People's Poland, the USSR or the Red Army, but nevertheless tries to give justice to Świerczewski. Of course, he besides calls him a traitor for his engagement in the 1920 war on the side of the Bolshevik Russia and condemns him for approving death sentences issued by him as soldiers of the 2nd AWP, mainly for his earlier, undisclosed membership of the AK. However, on the another hand, he points out that it is not actual that it was General Świerczewski who led to the demolition of 214 DS under Wiązma. Stalin was liable for the demolition of the russian group, who issued the celebrated order “no step back.” In this boiler, the Red Army lost 673,000 soldiers, 32 shooting divisions of 11 tank brigades and 37 artillery regiments. Only 85,000 soldiers escaped from the lap. It was the largest Red Army defeat in planet War II. Against false legend Świerczewski thanks to conscious command brought out any of his soldiers, including many wounded. This was due, among others, to the fact that Świerczewski was a comprehensively educated soldier. He graduated from the Frunze Military Academy and was a lecturer at the Moscow Military Academy for respective years. Western European researchers of the past of the Second planet War besides attribute sole blame for the defeat under Stalin.
The cania besides deals with a story saying that Świerczewski was always drunk. According to the author, he drank alcohol, of course, but in this respect he did not deviate from another Red Army soldiers and the Polish Army.. Certainly, alcohol did not hinder him from giving rational orders, and his puffy eyes were caused by chronic deficiency of sleep, not by alcohol abuse.
Kania besides draws attention to the general's language skills, who were fluent in Russian, Spanish and French. However, his main language was Polish, which he perfectly managed without any east raids. Moreover, he forced russian officers serving in the Polish army to learn this language.
Kania besides emphasizes the general's kind attitude towards private soldiers. In conversations with them he was mostly smiling and talking, unlike russian officers. He was besides able to personally calm them, especially young soldiers, in critical moments, to warm them up to conflict and personally lead to assault. He was remembered by them as a man of large courage. He had quite a few courage and assurance that had a affirmative effect on his subjects.
The author besides deals with the story that Świerczewski was liable for not predicting a German counter-attack under Budziszyn, on the left wing of the 2nd AWP. On the contrary, the general was aware of the danger of which he reported to his direct superior – commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front marshal Ivan Koniev. However, the horse did not take these warnings for announcement and repeated the orders of the 2nd AWP march on Dresden, alternatively of stopping the march and urge turning the army into a defensive front south. These unthinkable orders resulted in the success of the German impact on the unsecured left wing of the 2nd AWP. It was only at this point that Koniew understood his mistake and ordered the withdrawal of Polish units brought to Dresden and the transition to defence. The command of General Świerczewski 1st Ukrainian Front is due to the fact that although the Germans broke into the Polish group, there was no breach of the front and at the price of large losses the 2nd AWP stopped the German controversy. The Germans failed to come to aid Berlin. For many years, besides during the period of People's Poland, it was forbidden to criticize Marshal Konev the hero of the russian Union and the first commander of the Warsaw Pact Army. The dead and incapable to defend Świerczewski was a simple scapegoat. In his work, Kania returns honor to him, showing that he is not liable for defeating the conflict of Budziszyn, as well as General Stanisław Sosabowski, Contrary to the claims of Marshal Montgomery, he is not liable for the defeat at Arnhem. As Cania rightly points out, the weak never have a voice. How hard it is to compose something affirmative about General Świerczewski today, as the author of Budziszyn 1945 says: “Today it is hard to show him in a better light without being exposed to slander and hate. For he who will defend the renegade and the Bolshevik.”
While trying to measure the book itself, it should be admitted that it accurately described the struggles of both sides in the conflict of Lusatia in 1945. The author did not hide the mistakes made by the russian and Polish side, he showed how good Germans were. Here he exposed another myth, due to the fact that in Poland German soldiers were frequently presented as morons and cowards, which was completely different from the reality. The Germans had a highly trained army, which, in 1945, put hard opposition on the east Front. However, the author does not hide the terrible crimes committed in the Lusatia by the Wehrmacht soldiers, especially those of the Brandenburg Armoured Grenadiers Division. They murdered both Polish prisoners of war and prisoners of war, as well as wounded soldiers along with medical personnel taking care of them. They have committed a cruel execution on the captured commander of the 5th Infantry Division General Alexander WaszkiewiczWho was tortured and pierced before he died. Born in Bialowieża in the Orthodox family, the general was the patron of many streets in Poland, including the household of Bialowieża. Unfortunately, the Hunwabins of the IPN had all these streets renamed. I wonder what they were disturbed by the general in charge of the Polish division, brutally murdered by the Germans. May we not live to see the time erstwhile any zealous propagandist from the IPN will find it good that the Germans murdered the Bolshevik.
It is besides worth noting that in the work of the German author Franza Kurowski, devoted to the past of the Brandenburg unit has no opinion of the cruel crimes committed by the soldiers of this division. Of course, it is the law of the German author, but the Polish publisher (Rebis Publishing House) should include appropriate comments in the Polish edition. Unfortunately, he didn't.
Returning to Kani's book, 1 cannot agree, with the statements that during the Second planet War russian losses were in proportion to the German ones 10:1. The author cites the work of a Russian investigator Boris Sokolov, who claims that the Red Army lost about 26 million soldiers. It's hard to agree with that position. During the full war, about 27 million russian soldiers fought on the front, so if 26 million were lost, the Red Army would have had 1 million soldiers at the end of the war. Even if we took Sokolov as a actual calculation, given the German losses – about 5.3 million soldiers, this ratio would be 1:5 alternatively of 1:10. The actual russian losses are about 9 million soldiers and about 18 million civilians, so the actual failure ratio is about 1:2. Of course, there were battles, specified as the senseless attacks of russian soldiers on Rzew, where in fact these proportions could be akin to those given by Kania (c. 1:6).
In conclusion, despite the slight errors shown above, it is worth reaching for the position of Budziszyn 1945. The publication of specified an nonsubjective book on the effort of Polish soldiers coming from the East present deserves respect. It is worth mentioning any final tasks of the author in the book Budziszyn 1945: “An exchangeable illustration of the tragic and complicated fates of Poles on the east front is the case of uncovering the remains of respective soldiers of the 8th DP close Budziszyn. The hats had hub eagles on them, but in the pocket of a uniform 1 of them had an eagle in the crown. most likely this soldier had previously belonged to the AK and could not wear it on the cap after being incarnated to the 2nd AWP. Even by memory for this soldier, I do not share the opinion of those colleagues according to whom there are communists who have fallen in the service of the russian empire in Zgorzelec. Most of the victims are our people who died fighting Germany. Many of them were late for Anders' army or were forced into the 2nd AWP. They were the same as those who died in September 1939, died in the fields of France, Belgium and the Netherlands in Italy over Europe, in the seas and oceans, in Gestapo and NKVD execution stations, in guerrilla battles, in conspiracy, in an unfortunate attack on Vilnius, in fierce battles over the Vistula River, in the Pomeranian Wall or in the insurgent Warsaw.” From myself I would add that they were the same as guerrillas and soldiers died in the fight against the OUN-UPA gangs.
Jacek Marczyński
Leszek Kania, “Budziszyn 1945. Last counteroffensive of the Wehrmacht. Facts and Myths”, POMOST, Poznań 2023, p. 573.
Think Poland, No. 23-24 (7-14.06.2026)
