Ryszard Piotrowski
| Ryszard Feliks Piotrowski | |
|---|---|
 Ryszard "Piorun" Piotrowski | |
| Born | February 6, 1924 |
| Nationality | Poland |
| Citizenship | Polish |
| Home town | Warsaw |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Spouse(s) | Teodora "Tonia" Piotrowska (née Starostka) - deceased |
| Children | Aleksandra, Nina |
| Call-sign | Piorun, in English - Lightning |
| Awards | Order of the White Eagle |
Ryszard Feliks Piotrowski (English: Richard Felix Piotrowski) (born February 6, 1924 in Warsaw, Poland), is a retired Polish military officer and was a member of the Polish resistance / Home Army (Armia Krajowa or "AK") under his wartime code name Piorun - "Lightning".
Piotrowski took a part in the Warsaw Uprising (Polish: powstanie warszawskie), which was a major World War II operation by the Home Army (Polish: Armia Krajowa) to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The Uprising was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces. However, the Soviet advance stopped short, enabling the Germans to regroup and demolish the city while defeating the Polish resistance, which Piotrowski fought in for 63 days with little outside support. The Uprising was the largest single military effort taken by any European resistance movement during World War II.[1]
After a 63 day fight, Piotrowski was captured and sent to Stalag VIII-F, a German prisoner of war camp for Soviet Red Army and Polish Home Army prisoners during World War II. Nearly 40,000 POW's died of starvation, mistreatment and disease at the Camp.[2] It was located at the northern end of a Germany Army training area at Lamsdorf, Silesia, (now Łambinowice, Poland) just to the north of Stalag VIII-B.[3]
In 1948, Piotrowski married Teodora "Tonia" Starostka. Tonia died at age 56 from breast cancer. She is survived by their two daughters, Aleksandra and Nina and their four grandchildren.
In 2011, Piotrowski was awarded the Order of the White Eagle (Polish: Order Orła Białego), Poland's highest decoration, awarded only to the most distinguished Poles and the highest-ranking representatives of foreign countries.
References
- ↑ Duraczyński, Eugeniusz; Terej, Jerzy Janusz (1974). Europa podziemna: 1939-1945 [Europe underground: 1939-1945] (in Polish). Warszawa: Wiedza Powszechna. OCLC 463203458.
- ↑ http://www.cmjw.pl/en/
- ↑ ": Kriegsgefangenenlager (Liste)". Moosburg Online. 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.