Karol Świerczewski
Karol Wacław Świerczewski (pronounced [ˈkarɔl ɕfjɛrˈt͡ʂɛfskʲi]; callsign Walter; 22 February 1897 – 28 March 1947) was a Polish and Soviet Red Army general and statesman. He was a Bolshevik Party member during the Russian Civil War and a Soviet officer in the wars fought abroad by the Soviet Union including the one against Polish as well as Ukrainian Republics and in Republican Spain. In 1939 he participated in the Soviet invasion of Poland again. At the end of World War II in Europe he was installed as one of leaders of the Soviet-sponsored Polish Provisional Government of National Unity. Soon later, Świerczewski died in a country-road ambush shot by the militants from OUN-UPA. He was an icon of communist propaganda for the following several decades.
Karol Świerczewski | |
|---|---|
Karol Świerczewski in 1946. | |
| Nickname(s) | General Walter |
| Born | 22 February 1897 Warsaw, Congress Poland, Russian Empire |
| Died | 28 March 1947 (aged 50) Bieszczady, Polish People’s Republic |
| Allegiance | Soviet Union Second Spanish Republic Polish People's Republic |
| Years of service | 1918–1947 |
| Rank | Colonel General |
| Commands held | XIV International Brigade 35th International Division 248th Rifle Division Second Army (Poland) |
| Battles/wars | Russian Civil War Polish-Soviet War Spanish Civil War World War II |
| Awards | Virtuti Militari Order of the Cross of Grunwald Cross of Merit (Poland) Medal of Victory and Freedom 1945 |
| Other work | Politician |