NIEŻYCHOWSKI Kazimierz

1892

1987

Organiser of the insurgent artillery and major in the Polish Army. Born on 24 July 1892 in Granówek (Kościan poviat), to the family of Stanisław - the owner of Granówek, and Łucja née Taczanowska. He received his secondary education certificate in 1913. On 8 November 1914, he was conscripted into the 50th Infantry Regiment in Rawicz as a recruit. In 1917, he was promoted to the rank of vice sergeant major (German: wachtmeister). Upon a telephone call from M. Paluch (on 28 December 1918) he went to Poznań. On 29 December, at a meeting of the commanders of the Poznań insurgent troops, he submitted a project for the establishment of artillery. The proposal was accepted. The temporary command of the artillery was located in "Białe Koszary” (on Solna Street). On 4 January 1919, the insurgent artillery already comprised 5 two-gun half-batteries (450 people). One of the half-batteries was sent by him to the Northern Front and the other to the Western Front. On 6 January he supported the insurgents' attack on the Ławica military airbase, forcing the Germans to capitulate with accurate bombardment. On 8 January 1919 he turned over the artillery command and went to the area near Kcynia leading the half-batteries. He participated in the seizure of Szubin (11 January) Rynarzewo (13 January) and Kcynia (2 February), where he captured 8 guns. On 7 February 1919, he was promoted to second lieutenant. On 8 March 1919, he was assigned to the Group of General D. Konarzewski as battery commander. He took part in the battles of Lviv until the seizure of Stryi when he returned to Poznań for a short period of time and left again for the Galician Front (in July 1919). In January 1920, he participated with his regiment in the repossession of Bydgoszcz. At the beginning of February 1920, he left for the Eastern Front. On 10 November 1921, he was promoted to the rank of colonel, but because of the bad condition of his health, on 20 December, he was dismissed and transferred to the reserves. In 1921, he leased the Chlewo estate (Ostrzeszów poviat). He was active in cooperative and insurgent organisations. On 8 February 1924, he was promoted to the rank of reserve captain. From 5 September 1939, he volunteered to serve in the army as deputy commandant of the “Kalisz” guard battalion of the “Poznań” Army. After the battalion was defeated near Podzamcze, together with other survivors he got through to Warsaw. On 26 September, he got captured in Falenica, but he escaped at night and on 2 October arrived in Chlewo. Next day he was arrested by the gendarmerie and transferred to the prison in Ostrzeszów, to the same cell as Colonel S. Thiel. For health-related reasons, he was released shortly afterwards (28 November 1939), however on 5 December, he was transported with his family to the camp in Kępno and exiled to the General Government. In 1945, he returned to Greater Poland. In May 1945, he organised the agricultural and food cooperatives in the Syców poviat. In Autumn 1958, he retired. He lived in Gliwice. In 1973, he was promoted to the rank of major. He died on 12 June 1987 in Gliwice and was buried in the Rakowicki Cemetery in Cracow. He received the Order of Virtuti Militari of the 5th class, the Cross of Independence, the Order of Polonia Restituta of the 4th and 5th class, the Cross of Valour, the Golden Cross of Merit, the Greater Poland Insurgent Cross and a number of other medals and badges. From his marriage to Aleksandra Sieradzka he had three children: Barbara (1921), Anna (1921) and Jacek (1924).

B. Polak, Nieżychowski Kazimierz (1892-1987) (in:)Słownik biograficzny powstańców wielkopolskich 1918-1919, ed. A. Czubiński, B.Polak, Poznań 2002, pp. 248-249.

Michał Polak