Język Polski
English
Polish Army Officers of Jewish Origin Who Fell in the War with Germany in 1939: On the Issue of Casualties Suffered by the Polish Social Elite During World War II
Przegląd Archiwalny Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej, Vol. 18 (2025), pages: 321-268
Publication date: 2025-12-30
https://doi.org/10.48261/PAIPN251813
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Abstract
The study presented concerns the number of Polish Army officers of Jewish origin who died in the war with Germany in September and early October 1939, in the context of the human losses suffered by the elites of the multi-nation and multi-religious society of the Second Polish Republic. In the text an analysis is made of the information currently available in Polish historiography on fallen officers and it is pointed out that there are serious errors in the estimates made up to this time, proving them to be unsubstantiated. Next, a critical assessment is made of the list compiled by Benjamin Meirtchak, who made the first attempt to name the Polish Army officers of Jewish origin who died in September 1939. It showed that most of the information contained in this treatise had to be rejected and new findings on the subject had to be presented. The appendix to the article contains biographical notes on the fallen officers – representatives of the Polish intellectual elite. Incorrect information has been corrected, including details concerning the circumstances of some of their deaths, and occasionally also the spelling of their names. The article arose from an extensive body of sources, primarily using the personal files of the officers mentioned in the text, not yet included in the Polish literature, from the collection of the General Kazimierz Sosnkowski Military Historical Bureau, as well as other sources, including the Warsaw University Archives, the Stanisław Konopka Main Medical Library, and the Polish Red Cross.
Keywords
Wojsko Polskie • oficerowie • Żydzi • kampania polska 1939 r. • lekarze • straty osobowe • elity polskie • obrona Warszawy • Armia „Łódź” • Beniamin Meirtchak Polish Army • officers • Jews • 1939 Polish campaign • doctors • personal losses • Polish elite • defence of Warsaw • Łódź Army • Benjamin Meirtchak
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