Henryk Dobrzański

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Henryk Dobrzański, "Hubal"
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Henryk Dobrzański , called Hubal (born June 22, 1897 in Jasło , Austria-Hungary ; † April 30, 1940 with Anielin ) was a Polish athlete, major in the Polish cavalry and one of the first commanders of a partisan unit (Hubalczycy) in World War II .

Before World War II

Henryk Dobrzański and his troops in the winter of 1940
German soldiers with the body of Henryk Dobrzański on April 30, 1940

During the First World War Dobrzański served in the 2nd Uhlan Regiment under the command of Józef Piłsudski . From 1919 to 1921 he fought against the troops of the Bolsheviks in the Polish-Soviet War . As a jockey , he won numerous horse races and took part in the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam . In the course of his athletic career, he won a total of 22 gold, 3 silver and 4 bronze medals.

Hubalczycy

After the Soviet invasion of Poland on September 17, 1939 and the capture of Grodno , Major Dobrzański decided to make his way to Warsaw with 180 men from his 110th Uhlan Reserve Regiment . However, on September 27, Warsaw capitulated. Major Dobrzański had the choice of disbanding his unit, moving to Romania with his soldiers , or continuing the fight. With around 50 of his men, he decided to make his way to Romania. On October 1, 1939, they crossed the Vistula near Dęblin . On the same day there was a battle with units of the Wehrmacht and Major Dobrzański decided to find refuge with his unit in the Kielce area and to hold out until the allied offensive. On October 2nd, a unit of the Wehrmacht was defeated near Wola Chodkowska. However, since the Germans responded to the Hubalczycy's actions with reprisals against the civilian population, the Polish government in exile ordered the unit to be disbanded. Major Dobrzański, however, defied this order and continued his fight with 72 of his men. On March 30, 1940, a unit of the German police was repulsed. On April 30, 1940, Major Dobrzański and some of his men were surprised by units of the 372nd Infantry Division while resting at Anielin . Major Dobrzański fell in this fight, his unit disbanded. The last scattered soldiers of his unit fought until June 25, 1940.

In 1973 his fight was filmed under the title Major Hubal . A cargo ship was also given this name. In Końskie there is a memorial to Dobrzański.

literature

In the novel

  • Romain Gary : General Nightingale. Diana, Constance 1962

Web links

Commons : Henryk Dobrzański  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ^ Krannhals, Hanns von .: The Warsaw Uprising in 1944 . Ars Una, 2000, ISBN 3-89391-931-7 ( worldcat.org [accessed April 24, 2020]).
  2. ↑ The German translation is based on the amended version that Gary created in French in 1961. David Bellos assumes that the heroic figure named “General Nachtigall” was Hubal; At the end of 1944, when Gary wrote the first version of the novel (published in Engl. 1945) there were already several publications about him in the Soviet Union and in London, where Gary served, with David Bellos: Romain Gary. A tall story. P. 465, note 6, 7
personal data
SURNAME Dobrzański, Henryk
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hubal (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Polish athlete, major, partisan leader
DATE OF BIRTH June 22, 1897
PLACE OF BIRTH Jasło , Austria-Hungary
DATE OF DEATH April 30, 1940
Place of death with Anielin