Antoni Heda
Antoni Heda (born October 11, 1916 in Małomierzyce in what was then the municipality of Iłża ; † February 14, 2008 in Warsaw ) was a Polish resistance fighter in World War II .
Life
Pre-war period
Heda was the son of the farmer Jan Heda and his wife Antonina and had a total of eight siblings. After graduating from technical high school, he worked in the Polish defense industry.
Second World War
As a lieutenant in the Polish army , Heda took part in the September War. After the defeat of the Polish army, he and his cousin Antoni Dziura went to Soviet-occupied eastern Poland to find his family there. He was arrested by the Soviets for illegally crossing the border and imprisoned in the Brest fortress . After the German invasion of the Soviet Union , he was liberated. Shortly afterwards, the German military police arrested him . Since he had no ID and spoke no German, he was taken to a prison camp run by the Soviet soldiers, from which he was later able to escape.
With the help of a teacher who had lent him money, he was able to return to his hometown in central Poland. There he joined the Home Army and worked actively against the German occupation of Poland over the next few years . In August 1943 he liberated 80 prisoners from the prison in Starachowice , most of the liberated prisoners strengthened his partisan group . Then other successful actions followed.
post war period
After the occupation of Poland by the Red Army , he continued his fight this time against the communists . During the night of August 4th to 5th, 1945, the partisan group under his leadership freed approx. 300 prisoners from the prison in Kielce , including many political prisoners who had previously been sentenced to death or long imprisonment.
After his illegal activity ended, he was arrested alive in Gdynia in 1948 under an assumed name and sentenced to death. Thanks to the support of many prominent people who campaigned for his pardon, his death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. In 1956, like many other political prisoners, he was released. In 2006 Antoni Heda was promoted to Brigadier General.
Awards
- Virtuti Militari (2 ×)
- Cross of the Brave
- Order of Polonia Restituta
literature
- Antoni Heda, Wspomnienia "Szarego", Oficyna Wydawnicza RYTM, Warszawa, 2009, ISBN 978-83-7399-412-6 (Polish)
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Heda, Antoni |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Polish resistance fighter in World War II |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 11, 1916 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Małomierzyce |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 14, 2008 |
| Place of death | Warsaw |