It all Started with Scouting. Contribution to a Biography of Brig. Gen. Jan Kąkolewski (1893–1977) Cover Image

Zaczęło się od skautingu. Przyczynek do biografii gen. bryg. Jana Kąkolewskiego (1893–1977)
It all Started with Scouting. Contribution to a Biography of Brig. Gen. Jan Kąkolewski (1893–1977)

Author(s): Elżbieta Wojcieszyk
Subject(s): Political history, Social history, Recent History (1900 till today)
Published by: Instytut Pamięci Narodowej
Keywords: conspirator; independence; struggle; fight; war; soldier; general; order; defiance

Summary/Abstract: Since young age, Jan Kąkolewski was fascinated with scouting; he was among the chief conspirators in the region of Wielkopolska at the end of the partitions of Poland. He was raised in the spirit of solidarity, devotion to the mother country, armed struggle for Poland’s independence and hope for a better future. When the Wielkopolska uprising broke out on 27 December 1918, he was at the epicentre of events, fought against Germans to liberate the city of Poznań and subsequently led troops which were part of the northern front of the Wielkopolska uprising, fighting in the vicinity of Kcynia. Since 18 October 1919, he fought in the 6th infantry regiment of the Legions in the Lithuanian-Belarus Front where he was in command of 2nd Company. He also took part in the Polish-Soviet War of 1919–1920. In the Second Polish Republic, by 1933 he served as a professional soldier. During WWII he was member of the armed independence conspiracy around Warsaw, Białystok and Kraków. After 1945 he strived to survive communism and support his family, working for example as a farmer. During the Polish October of 1956, he embraced another cause, namely securing the interests of the veterans of the Wielkopolska uprising. On 3 May 1976, during the jubilee celebrations of 600 years of the monastery of the Order of Saint Paul (1382–1982) and the presence of the image of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa he was among the generals who deposited their most precious medals as a symbol of their gratitude to Our Lady for her presence in Poland’s struggle for independence.

  • Issue Year: 31/2018
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 280-295
  • Page Count: 16
  • Language: Polish
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