Michał Gutowski

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Michal Gutowski (born September 14, 1910 in Maciszewice in the Kalisz district , † August 23, 2006 in Warsaw ) was a Polish brigadier general . He was a member of the Polish show jumping team at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, and a member of General Karasiewicz-Tokarzewski's Polish underground organization during World War II . After the war he became the national trainer of the Canadian show jumpers, who won the gold medal of show jumpers at the Olympic Games in Mexico under his leadership .

biography

childhood

Gutowski was born as the son of Maria. Jazdzewska and Bronislaw, a professional officer and owner of the villages of Jasionna, Cienia, Golkow, Wollen, Gaj, Sudoly and Maciszewice. He grew up in a patriotic family atmosphere and after finishing his studies at the K. Marcinkowski High School in Poznań , he started to learn the soldier's trade.

Military career

In the years from 1923 to 1928 he graduated from the Academy of Cadets, "Corpus No. 1." of the Polish Army in Lwow (Lemberg in Galicia). From 1928 to 1930 he successfully completed his training at the officers' school in Grudziądz (Graudenz). As an ensign he was assigned to King Boleslaw Chrobry - 17th regiment of the Uhlans in Leszno Großpl. In the city of Grudziadz, in the "Training Center of the Polish Cavalry", he spent a long time, as he was a member of the Polish Equestrian Representation for the X Olympic Games in 1936 in Berlin. He also took part in many other sporting events outside and inside Poland.

Even before the outbreak of the Second World War, Michal Gutowski received twice, namely on January 1, 1932, the nomination as first lieutenant and on January 1, 1939, the nomination as Rittmeister and command of a squadron (one company approx. 120 men strong). The outbreak of the Second World War interrupted the sporting career of Rittmeister Michal Gutowski. After many battles against the German Wehrmacht , the cavalrymen were forced to stop fighting and take off their uniforms on October 19, 1939.

Sporting successes

Michal Gutowski's sports career from 1933 to 1939 was rich in awards in national and international tournaments.

  • In 1934 he won the International Show Jumping Tournament in Warsaw.
  • During the X. Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936, the Polish show jumping representation, to which Michal Gutowski belonged, won the silver medal .
  • In 1938 he won the Polish Grand Prix.

Allied in World War II

Michal Gutowski returned to Wielkopolska (Greater Poland) and continued to fight the Germans in the underground organization of General Karasiewicz - Tokarzewski in the Jarocin region. In December 1939 he was arrested and sentenced to death by shooting . Michals Gutowski's luck was that the German officer was also a nobleman and a cavalryman and had therefore released him from prison. In 1940 Michal Gutowski arrived in France as a courier, and there he was assigned to the 10th Motorized Mounted Rifle Regiment. He was later evacuated to England, where he worked in Scotland, on the training in the Armored Division of General Maczek participated. In July 1944 he took part in the Normandy invasion as head of the tank squadron. He distinguished himself in the fight for Falaise and for this he was awarded the Fighter's Cross. Later he was appointed deputy regimental commander of the Mounted Rifle Regiment. In 1944 he was promoted to major and on January 1, 1946 to lieutenant colonel. By 1945 he took part in the liberation of France, Belgium, Holland and Germany from the fascist regime. After the end of the war, he commanded two British regiments in Germany and was also the commander of a military camp with six thousand soldiers.

Trainer of the show jumping

After the war he was unable to return to Poland for political reasons. In 1947 he emigrated to England and on to Canada. In Canada he worked as the national trainer of show jumpers , officers of the Canadian army. In 1950 he won the Canadian Championship in Military / Concours Complet Riding. The work done by the gene. Michal Gutowski as the official national trainer of the Canadian show jumping team, brought the Canadian equestrian sport excellent results. The national team of Canadian show jumpers with Michal Gutowski as coach won the gold medal at the Olympics in Mexico in 1968 .

Gutowski has been made an Honorary Life Member of the Canadian Chamber of Equestrianism. During a visit to his fatherland Poland in 1986 Michal Gutowski was appointed Colonel in the Polish Army.

Awards

In 1999 the Polish President Aleksander Kwaśniewski nominated Colonel Michał Gutowski as Brigadier General of the Polish Army. On June 6, 2004 Gutowski was invited to France to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Normandy landing. Gutowski was made a Knight of the Legion of Honor and he accepted the award from the hands of French President Jacques Chirac . Despite his advanced age, he still enjoyed riding at the age of 94 and served young equestrians with advice and help.

Gutowski died on August 23, 2006; the funeral ceremonies took place in Warsaw on September 16, 2006. General Gutowski said goodbye to his family, friends, delegations from the Polish government and the Polish army, foreign guests and cavalry units. Gutowski was buried in the celebrity cemetery "Powaski" in Warsaw.

literature

  • Gustav Rau: The Art of Riding in the World at the Olympic Games 1936 , page 16 - Published by Georg Olms Verlag, 1978

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.beepworld.de/members62/gutowski-slepowron/meine_vorfahren.htm
personal data
SURNAME Gutowski, Michał
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gutowski, Michal
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Polish officer and brigadier general
DATE OF BIRTH September 14, 1910
PLACE OF BIRTH Maciszewice, Kalisz district
DATE OF DEATH August 23, 2006
Place of death Warsaw