Professor Stanisław Ilnicki, 1 of the creators of the national intellectual assistance strategy for soldiers, was said goodbye present at Warsaw Military Powązki. He was the 1 at the Military Medical Institute who founded the Clinic of Psychiatry and Combat Stress and was its first manager. The doctor for helping people suffering from PTSD was awarded the Buzdigan Prize, the “Polish Armed Forces”.
Prof. Stanisław Ilnicki, military psychiatrist, pioneer of PTSD treatment and creator of the Combat Stress Clinic.
"Excellent military psychiatrist, scientist, academic teacher, precursor to combat stress investigation and psychotraumatology. In his technological and teaching activities, he combined the experience of a doctor's practice with deep humanism and concern for the soldier" – said about Colonel in St. Military Medical Institute in Warsaw, where a psychiatrist worked for many years.
As stressed, doctors were characterized by extraordinary kindness, professionalism and deep empathy toward patients and colleagues. "He is simply a man who has entered the past of WIM and Polish military psychiatry with his knowledge, attitude and commitment permanently. His technological achievements, organizational activity and attitude towards soldiers will stay a permanent component of Polish military psychiatry" - he noted.
The Renaissance Man
Prof. Ilnicki was born in 1942 in Klesów, Volyn. After planet War II, his household moved to Pomerania, which is why he passed his advanced school graduation in Wejherów. He then graduated as a elder medical faculty of the Military Medical Academy in Łódź. He was educated abroad in Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands and the USA.
In 1968, the doctor connected with a military infirmary at Szaserów Street in Warsaw, where he was, among others, the manager of intellectual wellness Advice. For 37 years he sought to establish a posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) centre in Poland. It is simply a syndrome of symptoms that can happen in humans after endurance or witnessing a traumatic event.
Prof. Stanisław Ilnicki (left) with wetrans in Orzysz, February 2011. Photo: Jarosław Wiśniewski
He succeeded in 2005, erstwhile the Clinic of Psychiatry and Combat Stress opened in WIM (now it is Clinic of Psychiatry, Combat Stress and Psychotraumatology) and he became her first manager. “Klinka was the first comprehensive centre in Poland to diagnose, treat and rehabilitate soldiers affected by post-traumatic stress,” WIM informs. It was in this facility that veterans of abroad missions, among others, in Iraq and Afghanistan and their families, as well as civilians facing specified problems, received assistance.
– The prof. was a warm, empathic and wise doctor – says 1 of the veterans of the Polish mission, a patient of the clinic. As he adds, Prof. Ilnicki helped soldiers suffering from PTSD with dedication and large commitment. This is confirmed by Jarosław Rybak, PR and journalist, erstwhile spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence and WIM associate. – prof. Ilnicki was highly devoted to his work and always had time for patients, he besides acted as a helper for families of fallen soldiers, so many said he was “a prof. of the patch of soldier souls” – says Rybak. He adds that Stanisław Ilnicki was a uncommon example of the Renaissance man. “He played piano, knew Greek and Latin, in addition to medicine he besides completed philosophy,” says Jarosław Rybak.
Positive Work
The prof. besides acted on the publicist line. He was the author of many papers on military psychiatry and psychotraumatology, the technological editor of the book “The conflict Stress. Theories, research, prevention and therapy", he sat on the editorial committee of the magazine “Military Doctor”. He besides served in the Polish Judicial Psychiatry Society and Polish Traumatic Stress investigation Society and was a longtime consultant to the Military wellness Service in the field of psychiatry.
In his work, it is impossible to ignore the past of military medicine, whose investigation he devoted much of his life to. According to Jarosław Rybak, for 15 years he worked on a Polish translation of the oldest modern military hygiene manual written by Antoni Schneeberger in Latin in 1564. He published this work in 2008 under the name “The Book on Maintaining the Good wellness of Soldiers”.
Prof. Stanisław Ilnicki in 2011 was honored with a Buzdigan, the award of the magazine "Army Poland". photograph by Krzysztof Wojciewski
For his achievements Prof. Ilnicki was awarded many times. In 2011, he was honored with a Buzdigan, the award of the magazine "Army Poland". As stated in the message of reasons, he received the award for “the affirmative work he has made the clinic for injured soldiers a quiet haven in which they not only smile, but besides start laughing with their full mouth, and their intellectual problems are no longer a substance of shame.”
In addition, prof. in 2020 received Pro Publico Bono Award for Ujazdowski Hospital, awarded to people whose passions extend beyond medicine and devote their time to those in need. "The Passion of Psychiatry, the Army, the past of psychiatry and the past of military wellness services" – those words were said during the award. He was besides awarded 3 times by the manager of WIM for organizational, scientific, method and teaching achievements.
In military wellness service, he operated for over 60 years, remaining active until the end. After retiring, he inactive worked as a consultant at his clinic. He made his last public appearance on 30 September 2025 at a technological conference on contemporary intellectual wellness crises in the Polish Army. Prof. Ilnicki died after a severe illness on October 24 at the age of 83.
