|
Wacław Micuta (pseudonym ''Wacek''; Petrograd, Russia, December 6, 1915 – September 21, 2008, Geneva, Switzerland) was a Polish economist, World War II veteran, and United Nations functionary. He took part in the September 1939 defense of Poland and, in the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, commanded one of two tanks that had been captured from the Germans. ==Life== Micuta was born to a Polish ''Kresy'' family in Petrograd, Russia. In 1922 his family moved to Poznań, in western Poland, where he completed secondary school and studied economics.〔Daniel Tollet, Marie-France Baron, "Les vérités des uns et celles des autres", Les Editions du Cerf/University of Michigan, 1995, pp. 19-20, 226. ()〕 He was also active in the scouting movement. He finished his military enlistment at Włodzimierz Wołyński, in eastern Poland, in the rank of second lieutenant. After completing his studies in June 1939, he became secretary to the Governor of Silesia Province, Michał Grażyński, but he held this position only briefly due to the outbreak of World War II.〔(Odznaczenie dla Wacława Micuty, Prezydent RP, 2007-04-10 )〕 Mobilized, he took part in the September Campaign of 1939, fighting, among others, at the Battle of the Bzura. On 19 September, during an attack on German positions at Laski, he suffered a serious wound to his right hand. Captured and sent to a German prisoner-of-war camp, he escaped in 1940 and made his way to Warsaw.〔 There he was brought into the Armed Resistance by Jan Nowak-Jeziorański. At first he was adjutant to Major Jan Włodarkiewicz. However, in September 1940 he became a ''Szare Szeregi'' (boy-scout soldiers) instructor. After 1941 he served as an instructor in Lwów until July 1942, when he was arrested by the Gestapo. Under interrogation and torture he confessed to nothing and gave up none of his underground comrades. Thanks to friends' efforts on his behalf, after several months he was freed. He resumed underground activity and was promoted to first lieutenant.〔 In summer 1944, Micuta returned to Warsaw, where he became a special-assignments officer for the Home Army's Scouting ''Batalion Zośka''. During the Warsaw Uprising the battalion captured two German Panther tanks, and Micuta was made commander of a newly formed armored platoon (unique in its kind on the insurgent side) which fought in Warsaw's Wola district.〔 Micuta was the actual commander of one of the captured tanks, which was nicknamed ''Magda'', and used it in an operation which liberated the Gęsiówka concentration camp.〔, CNN Documentary, accessed on 3/30/09〕〔(Red Runs the Vistula, The Warsaw Uprising of 1944, radio transcript )〕 The operation freed some 350 Polish, Greek, Hungarian and French Jews.〔Wojciech Rostafinski. How the Last Jews in Warsaw Were Saved. Courtesy of Heralds of Truth, Michigan. ()〕 One of the freed inmates, Henryk Lederman, organized a battalion from the liberated Jews, which he presented to Micuta. This unit fought under Micuta for the remainder of the uprising, according to Micuta "() like mad... I think only three of them survived."〔 On 11 August 1944 the Polish insurgents had to abandon the captured tanks, which had been heavily damaged, and evacuated Wola via the sewer system for Warsaw's Old Town.〔Waclaw Micuta. ''From Old Town to Zoliborz''. In: Andrzej M. Kobos, "Kanaly w Powstaniu Warszawskim" (Sewers in the Warsaw Uprising). Zeszyty Historyczne, No. 109, Instytut Literacki, Paris, 1994.()〕 In subsequent fighting Micuta was wounded in his left lung, but after a short stay at an insurgent hospital he returned to battle, later taking part in fighting in the Czerniaków and Śródmieście districts. During the Uprising he was promoted to captain.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Wacław Micuta」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|