Kazimierz Sosnkowski
| General Kazimierz Sosnkowski |
|
|---|---|
General Sosnkowski in the 1930s
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| General Inspector of the Armed Forces | |
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In office 1943–1944 |
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| Preceded by | Władysław Sikorski |
| Succeeded by | Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
19 November 1885 Warsaw, partitioned Poland |
| Died | 11 October 1969 (aged 83) Arundel, Quebec |
| Profession | Architect and professional officer |
| Military service | |
| Nickname(s) | Baca, Godziemba, Józek |
| Years of service | 1914 - 1944 |
| Rank | Generał broni LTG |
| Commands | Polish Armed Forces |
| Battles/wars |
Polish-Soviet War World War II |
General Kazimierz Sosnkowski (Polish: [kaˈʑimjɛʂ sɔsŋˈkɔfskʲi]; Warsaw, 19 November 1885 – Arundel, Quebec, 11 October 1969) was a Polish nobleman, independence fighter, diplomat, architect, politician and a Polish Army general. An outstanding commander, an intellectual and an artist; Sosnkowski was a key figure in Poland’s twentieth century history. A lover of art, literature and philosophy, a linguist who knew Latin, Greek, English, French, German, Italian and Russian, Sosnkowski was a man of wide ranging interests and talents.
Born in Warsaw, Sosnkowski grew up in partitioned Poland, which at that time was under Russian control. His father, Józef Sosnkowski of the Godziemba Coat of Arms, was a wealthy nobleman and owner of several villages. His mother was Zofia Drabińska. In 1896 he attended the V Gimnazjum (high school) in Warsaw where he participated in a secret organization of progressive youth. To avoid persecution he moved in 1904 to St.Petersburg where he finished, in 1905, the XII Gimnazjum. The same year he passed the entrance exam to the Department of Architecture at Warsaw Polytechnic he also joined the P.P.S (Polish Socialist Party) attracted by its program of fighting for independent Poland and for social equality. In 1906 the boycott of the school by the students was declared thus not allowing Sosnkowski to study there. In February 1906 he participated in the VIII Congress of P.P.S in Lwów. Following this he became the commandant of the Fighting Unit of P.P.S on the right shore of the Vistula river. As such he led a series of attacks on Russian police posts. In 1907 he enrolled into Lwów Polytechnic and simultaneously he led the military works of P.P.S-Frakcja Rewolucyjna where he was close to the future Marshal of Poland Józef Piłsudski. He was criticized in P.P.S for his risky tactics which would lead him to being pursued by Czar's secret police. He hid in Radom and then in the Dąbrowski Basin (Zagłębie Dąbrowskie) where he led the P.P.S Fighting Unit. In Lwów his studies were interrupted by his fierce political work. In 1908 he suggested the creation of Zwiazek Walki Czynnej (Active Combat Union). Piłsudski wanted to remove the socially radical elements from the program of the new organization that were implemented by Sosnkowski. In 1910 the Association created paramilitary units Zwiazek Strzelecki (Lwów) and Strzelec (Kraków). After the Riflemen's Association was formed as a legal front, Sosnkowski became its Chief of Staff. In 1914 he finished his studies of architecture but the war prevented him sitting for his final exams.
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