Stanisław Żurakowski Explained

Stanisław Żurakowski
Native Name Lang:	pl
Birth Date:	24 July 1920
Birth Place:	Wołomin
Death Place:	London
Placeofburial:	North Sheen Cemetery
Allegiance:	Poland
Branch:	Polish Armed Forces (Second Polish Republic)
Branch Label:	Branch
Rank:	Lieutenant colonel
Rank Label:	Rank
Battles:	World War II (Italian Campaign: Battle of Monte Cassino)
Battles Label:	Wars and Battles

Stanisław Żurakowski (24 July 1920 in Wołomin^[1] - 27 July 2023^{[2] [3]}) was a Polish war veteran and historian.

Biography

He was the son of Stanisław Ludwik Żurakowski (1886–1940) and Maria Jastrzębska.^{[4] [5]} His siblings were Edmund, Anna (died in childhood), Ludwik, Józef, Maria, Julia, Jadwiga (née Czok), Antoni.^[6] His father was a reserve officer of the Polish Armed Forces and a local government official of the Second Polish Republic. From 1928 he was the mayor of the cities Włodzimierz Wołyński, Zdołbunów, and from 1934 to 1939 of Ostróg. After the outbreak of World War I, he was arrested by the Soviets and in 1940 was murdered during the Katyn massacre. In 1940, family members were deported deep into the USSR, from where they left with General Anders' army.^{[7] [8] [9]}

He later became a soldier of the 2nd Polish Corps within the structure of the Polish Armed Forces in the West. He participated in the Italian campaign during World War II in 1944. As a cadet of the, he took part in the Battle of Monte Cassino.^{[10] [11]} During the battles of the 2nd Corps, two of his brothers died.^[12]

After World War II, he lived in exile in Great Britain. He was a long-time honorary employee of the Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum in London.^[13] He authored several historical publications, including "Letters from Kozielsk from the mayor of the city of Ostróg", published in 1989 by the Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum and "Calls from Wołyń", which contains correspondence from Stanisław Ludwik Żurakowski during his imprisonment at the turn of 1939/1940 and a description of the fate of his family members deported deep into the USSR in 1940.^[14]

Sources

• Thus, fairy tales--not fairy tales. London: Polish Institute and General Sikorski Museum, 2017, p. 19. ISBN 978-1-9998308-2-4.

External links

• Bibliography of the Katyn Crime at Katyń Museum

Notes and References

1. Stanisław Żurakowski, Thus, fairy tales--not fairy tales, Polish Institute and General Sikorski Museum, p. 19.
2. Web site: Funeral ceremonies of Colonel Stanisław Żurakowski – London, 15 August 2023 . ipn.gov.pl . 2023-08-14.
3. Web site: Stanislaw Zurakowski Oobituary . The Times . 15 August 2023.
4. . Ostroh Katyn List. Residents of Ostroh and its surroundings who died at the hands of the NKVD in Katyn, Kharkiv, Mednoye, and other execution sites . Call from Volhynia . . 2 . 93 . 40–41 . March–April 2010.
5. Web site: Biographies of the victims of the Katyn crime. Stanisław Żurakowski. Katyn Museum. 2017-06-22.
6. Web site: Ostróg. wolyn.ovh.org. 2015-01-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20171126035151/http://wolyn.republika.pl/opisy/ostrog-11.html. 2017-11-26.
7. Web site: Bibliography of the Katyn Crime . muzeumkatynskie.pl . 2017-06-22.
8. Web site: Letters from Kozielsk. wolaniecom.parafia.info.pl. 2015-01-13.
9. Web site: Poles in Great Britain. Spoken and visual stories . . karta.org.pl . 28–39, 32 . 2017-06-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161225053905/http://karta.org.pl/pdf/orginal/14740352388331.pdf . 2016-12-25 .
10. Web site: Polish battle of Monte Cassino . . 2004-05-28 . . 2017-06-22.
11. Web site: Poles in Great Britain. Spoken and visual stories . . karta.org.pl . 33 . 2017-06-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161225053905/http://karta.org.pl/pdf/orginal/14740352388331.pdf . 2016-12-25 .
12. Web site: I sat at General Sikorski's desk . 3 July 2008 . olaf.salon24.pl . 2017-06-22.
13. Chronicle of the Polish Institute and the Sikorski Museum . LXVII . 10–11 . 2016 . .
14. Web site: Monty Python and Dad's Army . polishculture.org.uk . 2017-06-22.