Edmund Lesisz Explained

Edmund Lesisz
Birth Date:1 April 1906
Birth Place:Kozienice, Radom Governorate, Russia
Death Place:Łódź, General Government, Germany
Branch: Polish Armed Forces
Branch Label:Branch
Serviceyears:??? – 1940
Rank:Captain
Battles:World War II

Edmund Lesisz (1906-1943) was a Polish Captain who was known for being one of the main leaders of the Raid on Fraustadt and commanding the during the Invasion of Poland.

Biography

Lesisz was a professional infantry officer, coming from a family with patriotic traditions, and a graduate of the Cadet Corps in Lviv. During the Invasion of Poland, Cpt. Ludwik Snitko, commanding a platoon of heavy machine guns and a platoon of armored cars, organized the Raid on Fraustadt which ended in a Polish victory. He was also a captain of the 55th Infantry Regiment as the commander of the 2nd company in the 1st battalion.[1] [2]

After the conclusion of the Invasion, Capt. Lesisz was captured by the Germans and stayed in Oflag VII-A Murnau. There, in the fall of 1941, he was arrested by the Gestapo for allegedly ordering the deaths of surrendered German soldiers at Fraustadt.[1] A similar fate befell his superior - Maj. Jan Dymowski who was the commander of the 1st Battalion of the 55th Infantry Regiment. Until January 1943 they were both held in a prison in Łódź, where they were to be tried but Lesisz was tortured and brutally murdered the day before the end of the trial on 21 January 1943.[1] [3] [2]

Legacy

Lesisz was posthumously awarded the Cross of the Order of Virtuti Militari by the Polish government-in-exile during the 1970s.[1] He is also featured in a SA139-023 model as a Regio Bohater as a commemoration for the 100th Anniversary of Poland's independence.[3]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Edmund Lesisz - ku pamięci. Ogrody Wspomnień. Cmentarz Internetowy. Ogrody Wspomnien. pl. December 27, 2021. December 27, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211227164707/https://www.ogrodywspomnien.pl/index/showd/72006. live.
  2. Web site: Wypad pod Wschowę. Polscy żołnierze na terytorium wroga.. archiwum.leszno.pl. pl. March 5, 2022. March 5, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220305215226/https://archiwum.leszno.pl/new/art,229,wypad-pod-wschowe-polscy-zolnierze-na-terytorium-wroga. live.
  3. News: Kpt. Edmund Lesisz patronem pociągu w województwie lubuskim. Gazeta Wyborcza. December 3, 2018. pl. March 5, 2022. March 5, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220305215227/https://zielonagora.wyborcza.pl/zielonagora/7,35182,24236185,kpt-edmund-lesisz-patronem-pociagu-w-wojewodztwie-lubuskim.html?disableRedirects=true. live.