Henryk Toruńczyk
Polish soldier (1909–1966)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Col. Henryk Torunczyk, born in Włocławek, (1909–1966) was a Polish soldier. He later volunteered to fight with the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. He was sometime commander of the Naftali Botwin Company; Chief of Staff[1] of XIII International Brigade and leader of an International Unit[2] formed in January 1939 from a rump of Brigade veterans who remained in Spain after demoblisation.[3] They crossed the border in Spain on about 9 January 1939[4] He later became a partisan.[5] From 1943 he was instrumental in forming the Samodzielny Batalion Szturmowy.[6] In 1945 he was briefly commanding officer of the Polish Internal Security Corps.
Henryk Toruńczyk | |
|---|---|
Roman Toruńczyk's grave at the Powązki Military Cemetery | |
| Born | 8 February 1909 |
| Died | 18 January 1966 (aged 56) |
| Buried | Powązki Military Cemetery, Warsaw |
| Allegiance | Polish People's Republic |
Branch | International Brigades Polish People's Army |
Rank |  Pułkownik (Colonel) |
| Unit | XIII International Brigade Polish Independent Special Battalion Internal Security Corps |
| Commands | Commander of the XIII International Brigade Commander of the Internal Security Corps |
Conflicts | Spanish Civil War Second World War |
| Awards | |
He is also called: Henrik Torunczyk and Henrik Tourunczyk.
Awards and decorations
Order of the Banner of Labour]], 1st Class
Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (13 July 1955)
Order of the Cross of Grunwald, 3rd Class
Gold Cross of Virtuti Militari- Partisan Cross
Medal "For Your Freedom and Ours"
Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd Class (USSR)
See also
- Hugh Thomas, The Spanish Civil War, 4th Rev. Ed. 2001.
- Antony Beevor, The Battle for Spain, 2007.
- Cecil Eby, Comrades and Commissars, 2007.
