Kazimierz Moczarski
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Kazimierz Damazy Moczarski (Pseudonyms: Borsuk, Grawer, Maurycy, Rafal) (July 21, 1907 - September 27, 1975) was an officer of the Polish Home Army. He was a Lieutenant (1944), Captain (1945), and a journalist. He is primarily known for his book Conversations with an Executioner, a series of interviews with a fellow prisoner, the Nazi war criminal Jürgen Stroop.
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[edit] Early life
Born on July 21, 1907 in Warsaw, Moczarski was the son of Jan Damazy, a teacher and principal of a middle school, and Michalina Franciszka (nee Wodzinowska), also a teacher. In October 1926, he began studying law at Warsaw University. During his studies, he was called up to the Reserve Infantry Battalion at Bereza Kartuska. This lasted between August 1929 and June 1930. In December of 1932, following his graduation, he continued his studies at the Journalism College at Warsaw, and in 1933 he took up studies at Institut des Hautes Études Internationales at Paris University. In 1935, he returned to Warsaw, becoming an adviser to the Ministry of Labor and Social Services, where his specialty was Polish and International Law regulations.
Active in several fields, he was also a member of the “Youth Legion,” and a member of the radical organization “Labor Club Maurycy Mochnacki.” In 1937, he took part in the organization of the Democratic Club at Warsaw (the first meeting took place at his Warsaw apartment).
[edit] World War II
During the 1939 Polish-German September campaign, Moczarski was commander of a platoon which was part of 30th Infantry Division, and also participated in the defence of Warsaw.
Later, in German-occupied Warsaw, Moczarski was an active member of the secret Democratic Party, while also participating in anti-German activity in the Home Army. In the Home Army, Moczarski (then an Ensign) was a member of the Information Department under the pseudonym “Rafal.” Up until late fall 1943, he concentrated his efforts on the military intelligence and propaganda (BiP) department of Warsaw’s Home Army District. From May 1944 on, Moczarski (under the new pseudonym “Maurycy”) took the post of the Head of Department of Personnel Sabotage. Its task was to fight Polish traitors and German informers, and Moczarski was regarded as a highly qualified in this field. It was his idea to recapture Polish prisoners, who were incarcerated by Germans at the Jan Bozy Hospital in Warsaw (June 11, 1944).
[edit] Warsaw Uprising
Shortly before the Warsaw Uprising, he was given a new post as the head of the radio and telegraph services of Home Army’s headquarters. During the uprising, Moczarski was directing one of the radio stations, “Rafal,” located in Warsaw’s district Srodmiescie-Polnoc. In September 1944, he moved to another station, “Danuta,” located at 16 Widok street. At the same time, he was editor-in-chief of “Wiadomości Powstancze” (“Uprising News”), which was a daily regional addition to the Home Army’s “Biuletyn Informacyjny” (“Information Bulletin”). On September 14, 1944, he was promoted to the post of reserve Lieutenant.
After the collapse of the Warsaw Uprising on October 7, 1944, he left the city together with a group of coworkers from BiP, but returned shortly afterwards, to help with the escape of Jan Stanisław Jankowski, the delegate of Polish Government in exile. Later on, he continued his underground activities, changing his nickname to “Grawer” in late fall of 1944. Starting in mid-October, he was the head of the Home Army’s BiP (Information and Propaganda) office. He was trying to restore the BiP, as the office was destroyed during the uprising.
[edit] After WWII
In the first months of 1945, using the nickname “Borsuk,” Moczarski was still the head of the BiP, which was part of the headquarters of the Home Army, now know as the Delegature of the Polish Forces at Home (DSZ). Moczarski, together with Wlodzimierz Lechowicz and Zygmunt Kapitaniak, was the co-author of a memorial which stipulated that former Home Army soldiers should disclose. On July 24, 1945, together with Colonel Jan Rzepecki (head of DSZ) he issued an order entitled “To former soldiers of Home Army,” which stated:
“Do not listen to those who incite you to destruction, to creation of underground armed forces, to political burglary (...) Start up a public reconstruction of Poland, on all fields.”
[edit] Arrest
On August 11, 1945, five days after the disbanding of DSZ, Moczarski was arrested by Communist authorities. On January 18, 1946, he was sentenced by a military court to 10 years in prison, but in February of 1947, the sentence was shortened to five years. In spite of his sentence’s fulfillment, Moczarski was not released from Warsaw’s Mokotów Prison. In his ward, he stayed for some time with two German SS-men: SS-Sturmbannführer of BdS Krakau Gustaw Schielke and SS-Brigadeführer Jürgen Stroop. Several years later he wrote the book Rozmowy z katem (Conversations with an Executioner), which is composed of the conversations with Stroop, who was responsible for the destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto following the uprising of 1943.
In 1952, a new trial was opened and, by the decision of Warsaw’s District Court, Moczarski was sentenced to death on (November 18, 1952). Almost one year later (November 8, 1953) the sentence was changed to life in prison. Moczarski, who was staying in death row, was not informed of this decision until January of 1955.
[edit] Late life
Moczarski was released from prison on June 24, 1956, and in December of the same year, he was cleared of all previous charges. After his release, he joined the Democratic Party of Poland. He also worked as a journalist at the Kurier Polski (Polish Courier) newspaper, being responsible for contacts with readers. He was also active in the anti-alcohol movement, and for some time he was editor-in-chief of a Problemy Alkoholizmu magazine.
In April 1972, the first part of Conversations with an Executioner was published in Odra monthly. The story continued to run in parts until February 1974, and it was published in book form in 1977. Unfortunately, Moczarski did not witness the publication of his book. He died on September 27, 1975 in Warsaw.
His biography was published in 2006.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ Andrzej Krzysztof Kunert, Oskarżony Kazimierz Moczarski. Wydawnictwo Iskry, Warszawa 2006
