Grób wojenny Fryderyka Szulca – żołnierza 15. pułku piechoty „Wilków” i jeńca wojennego we wrześniu 1939 r. oraz jego poszukiwania na wrocławskich cmentarzach
The war grave of Fryderyk Szulc – a soldier of the „Wilków” 15th Infantry Regiment and prisoner of war in September 1939, and the search for it in cemeteries of Wrocław

Summary/Abstract: The article presents the life of Fryderyk Szulc and circumstances of his death, and the search for his burial place undertaken by his family. This story is one example of the many tragic fates of Polish soldiers fighting in September 1939 who died in German captivity and were buried in unknown graves. Szulc, a descendant of 18th century German colonists from the Lublin region, a soldier from the “Wilno” brigade of Border Protection Corps, was mobilized in August 1939 to the “Wilków” 15th Infantry Regiment, and was wounded on 5 September during the retreat of the Polish army in the Wieluń region. He died four days later in a Wrocław field hospital. He was buried in Wrocław, probably in the military cemetery at Wiśniowa and Ślężna Streets. Information about the location of his grave was recorded only in the records of the German Red Cross in 1940. This information was never passed on to the family, which for various reasons undertook their search only in the 1990s. In 2001, the Polish Red Cross Information and Search Bureau indicated for the first time that it was a grave 248 in the field of the 7th Grabiszyn necropolis in Wrocław. In 2019, thanks to the discovery of the original file of the German Red Cross located in its resources, it was established that Fryderyk was buried in a military cemetery which was liquidated in the 1970s, and since then has been systematically built on. The last construction works in 2000–2001 were preceded by an exhumation of the remains of the deceased. They were transferred to the German military cemetery in Nadolice Wielkie, in the Wrocław region. The question of where Fryderyk’s war grave was located within the former military necropolis and the subsequent course of events requires further analysis of available archival sources and detailed research. The families of the deceased soldiers continue their search. They also propose that their loved ones be commemorated in a dignified and lasting manner. These expectations remain very current in connection with the 100th anniversary of the restoration of Polish independence and the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II.

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