On October 13, 1963 in Opole, the 10th Sudeten Armored Division of the Polish Communist Army received the name of Heroes of the Soviet Union.
This was during the celebrations to mark the twentieth anniversary of the Polish communist army. The division was formed in Fall 1944. The commander of the division receiving this distinction was col. Marian Koper, who was trained in one of the Soviet military academies in the 1950s. Later Koper served as chief of the Higher School of Armored Forces in Poznan (Wyższa Szkoła Wojsk Pancernych w Poznaniu).
Poznań is also the site of the Poznan University (Uniwersytet Poznanski). It is known today as the Adam Mickiewicz University of Poznan (Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu). Interestingly the names of several faculty members of Faculty of Physics of this university carry names which also appear among the staff of the Training Center of Ground Forces (Centrum Szkolenia Wojsk Lądowych w Poznaniu).
The post-1945 the Poznan University was molded in a decidedly Bolshevik fashion. I worked there from 1995 to 2015.
I was dismissed from the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan in October 2015, despite having tenure. The reason for this decision is political one. My father Bolesław Borkowski deserted from the communist army with a large group of other men on January 13, 1945. Among those who deserted was Józef Franczak, who later conducted undegroung military acts against the communist dictatorship. Franczak was killed in Majdan Kozic Górnych, a village near Lublin, on October 23, 1963. He was the last of the anticommunist resistance within current borders of Poland.
My father talked to Franczak before making the decision to desert. Franczak carried the rank of sergeant in that unit of the communist army. He was very approachable and had a genuine empathy for soldiers under his command. This was of course a drastic decision to make. Those who did desert put their lives on the line. Could they pledge allegiance to the Soviets, as the text of the military pledge demanded? They could not. They could not pledge allegiance to the enemies of Poland. Franczak had decisive influence on my father's decision. However, each of them arrived at this decision voluntarily. No one was forced.
Soviet forces were Nazi allies in 1939-1941 and conducted massive crimes against Polish prisoners of war, civilians and against the entire Polish state during the occupation of 1939-1941. When Soviet army entered Polish territory again in 1944 they were carrying out mass arrests and murders of Polish WWII resistance movement. Most Poles were drafted to the communist army in 1944 against their will.
The current Polish political class pretends to be pro-western and loudly demands NATO forces to be stationed on the Polish territory. However this is only a deception. The West has not learned the rules of communist deception yet. If indeed NATO forces will be stationed on Polish territory, the West will probably think they defend Poland. Instead these forces will be pawns in the game of deception with the main roles played by Russia and their Polish servants.
One story is served publicly to the western leaders and the media, while an entirely different story unfolds unbeknown to the them.
Dr hab. Lech S. Borkowski
