Gruzini – oficerowie kontraktowi Wojska Polskiego w kampanii wrześniowej 1939 r.

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Gruzini – oficerowie kontraktowi Wojska Polskiego w kampanii wrześniowej 1939 r.

Journal Title: Pro Georgia. Journal of Kartvelological Studies - Year 2016, Vol 0, Issue 26

Abstract

The Georgian Contract Offi cers in the Polish Army in the September Campaign 1939 After the fall of the Georgian Republic (March 1921) numerous members of its political and military elite emigrated, fi rst to Turkey and then to Greece, France and other countries. A substantial group of about 300 persons including 42 offi cers and 48 offi cer cadets, some of them accompanied by their families, found themselves in the II Republic of Poland as in April 1920 Poland and the independent Republic of Georgia signed a military treaty. Being Polish allies they were offered by Marshal Joseph Pilsudski himself a possibility to train and then serve in the Polish Army as contract offi cers without having to renounce their Georgian citizenship. They were famous for their zeal and determination as they believed that one day they would come back to their homeland. The Georgian contract offi cers trained in Polish military schools and offi cer schools and many graduated from Higher War School in Warsaw (Wyższa Szkoła Wojenna). They served primarily in land forces, cavalry and artillery. Their names can also be found in the Polish marine forces, engineering and geographical sections. Generally speaking in the years 1922-1939 over one hundred of Georgian contract offi cers and cadet offi cers served in the Polish army. They were the biggest national minority in the army of the II Republic of Poland. Their service and their training might be considered putting into practice the Promethean ideas the two countries shared, just like in the case of Georgian civilian youths receiving their education in the Eastern Institute (Instytut Wschodni) in Warsaw. In September 1939 when Hitler invaded Poland the Georgian contract offi cers were not obliged to fi ght but they volunteered to join the Polish Army. This paper is devoted to them and the part they took in the Polish war with the Germans and later, against the Soviets. Some of the Georgian contract offi cers were killed in the September campaign and some were taken as hostages. No research concerning their fate is available which from the point of view of statistics is quite understandable as they were few in comparison with the Polish soldiers. Yet the symbolic meaning of their fi ght is enormous which is emphasized by the monument commemorating the Georgian- -Polish brotherhood in arms erected in the grounds of the Museum of Warsaw Uprising and opened by president Lech Kaczynski and president Michel Saakaszwili in May 2007.

Authors and Affiliations

Wojciech Materski

EP ID EP310274
DOI -
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