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| {{Infobox military person | {{Infobox military person | ||
| | name = Romuald Rajs | | name = Romuald Rajs | ||
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| '''Romuald Rajs''', '']'' "Bury",<ref name=MTu>{{cite book |author=Maria Turlejska |title=Te pokolenia żałobami czarne: skazani na śmierć i ich sędziowie 1944–1954 |trans-title=Generations Mourning Black: death sentences and judges 1944–1954 |year=1990 |publisher=Wydawnictwo: Niezależna Oficyna |isbn=8370540082 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yTVXAAAAIAAJ&q=Bury}}</ref> (30 November 1913 – 30 December 1949) was a Polish soldier and anti-communist insurgent guilty of ].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Narodowej|first=Instytut Pamięci|title=Informacja o ustaleniach końcowych śledztwa S 28/02/Zi w sprawie pozbawienia życia 79 osób - mieszkańców powiatu Bielsk Podlaski w tym 30 osób tzw. furmanów w lesie koło Puchał Starych, dokonanych w okresie od dnia 29 stycznia 1946r. do dnia 2 lutego 1946|url=https://ipn.gov.pl/pl/dla-mediow/komunikaty/9989,Informacja-o-ustaleniach-koncowych-sledztwa-S-2802Zi-w-sprawie-pozbawienia-zycia.html|access-date=2021-03-07|website=Instytut Pamięci Narodowej|language=pl}}</ref> Rajs was a member of ] (AK) and ] (NZW),<ref name="IPN" /> he was sentenced to death in a ] held by the Polish communist government in 1949, charged with membership in delegalized NZW, and the ].<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.wspolczesna.pl/magazyn/art/5757809,romuald-rajs-bury-zolnierz-wyklety-i-morderca,id,t.html |title=Romuald Rajs "Bury". Żołnierz wyklęty i morderca |last=Zdanowicz |first=Andrzej |newspaper=Wspolczesna.pl |access-date=2016-10-25}}</ref> Rajs denied the charges, and was executed in prison three months later.{{sfn|IPN|2005|p=6}} His death penalty was nullified by the Military Court of Warsaw in 1995.{{sfn|IPN|2005|p=6|loc=§: "Wyrok skazujący Romualda Rajsa."}}<ref name=KrB>{{cite web |title=Nazywali mnie synem bandyty... |trans-title=They used to call me the son of a bandit... |author=Krzysztof Błażejewski |publisher=Oficyna Wydawnicza Volumen, Warszawa |location=Dziennik toruński ''Nowości'' (reprint), 25 February 2011 |year=2002 |url=http://www.nowosci.com.pl/a/nazywali-mnie-synem-bandyty,11018762/ }}</ref> | |||
| '''Romuald Rajs''', '']'' "Bury" (30 November 1913 – 30 December 1949), was an ] (AK) and ] (NZW) partisan. He he is best known for ordering the ], and other crimes against ethnic Belarusians. Following a trial, he was executed in 1949.{{sfn|Grabski|pp=453-454}} | |||
| ==Life== | ==Life== | ||
| Romuald Adam Rajs was born in the village of ] |
In 1913, Romuald Adam Rajs was born in the village of ], which is near ]. In 1934 Rajs graduated from the School for Non-commissioned Officers in ] and took the parachute course in Biedrusko near ]. With the rank of ] he was assigned to the 85 Infantry Regiment in Nowa Wilejka, ].{{sfn|Moroz|2010|pp=66}} | ||
| In 1934 Rajs graduated from the School for Non-commissioned Officers in ] and took the parachute course in Biedrusko near ]. With the rank of ] he was assigned to the 85 Infantry Regiment in Nowa Wilejka, ], and in 1936 joined the 13 Infantry Regiment of the ]. In 1938 he was transferred to the cavalry reconnaissance platoon of the 85 Infantry Regiment.{{sfn|IPN|2005|p=3}} | |||
| ===World War II=== | ===World War II=== | ||
| ] in Turgiele]] | ] in Turgiele]] | ||
| In August 1939 his unit was incorporated in the "Prusy" army. During the ] his unit unit was dispersed in the ] and was destroyed by 15 September near ]. A few days later, a groups of soldiers led by Rajs was stopped by Belarussians near Kovel and sent to ] to lay down their arms and horses.{{sfn|Moroz|2010|pp=66}} | |||
| During the ] of 1939 Rajs, and his Regiment, fought the invading Germans near ] with the Polish ] (Armia Prusy) under Gen. ]. His unit was defeated on 15 September in the area of ]. On 17 September ]. The men of his regiment were disarmed by Belarusians in the area of ].{{sfn|IPN|2005|p=3}} Rajs relocated to ].<ref name="IPN"/> He joined the ], serving with the ] (ZWZ), and the Wilno branch of ] for two years. Since 1943 he was a commander of the 1st company of AK Wilno Brigade. He fought both Nazi Germans and the Lithuanian collaborators.<ref name="IPN"/> | |||
| Returning to Vilnius, he joined an ], and in 1942 he submitted to Lieutenant Gracjan Fróg "Góral" of the ] (ONR-Falanga). In September 1943 he joined the "Goral" partisan group, which from March 1944 was known as the 3rd Brigade of Vilinus ]. Commanding the first assault company, his unit had a reputation for successful combat operations. Rajs led by example, often serving as the lead attacker in his group. He is noted for his successful defense of the village of Mikuliszki during a German manhunt, in which heavy losses were inflicted on the Germans. In July 1944 Rajs took part in ] against the Germans. However, he was also known for unscrupulous actions, personally killing prisoners of war.{{sfn|Moroz|2010|pp=66-67}} | |||
| In July 1944 Rajs took part in ] against the German occupation of Wilno (now ], Lithuania). He was awarded Order ] for his heroism.<ref name=MOst>{{cite journal |author=Michał Ostapiuk |title=Jak Piotr Zychowicz zniekształcił "oblicze" kpt. "Burego" |trans-title=How ] manipulated the image of Capt. Bury |publisher=Muzeum Żołnierzy Wyklętych (Museum of the ]) |location=Ostrołęka |via=Internet Archive |date=9 September 2016 |url=http://muzeumzolnierzywykletych.pl/jak-piotr-zychowicz-znieksztalcil-oblicze-kpt-burego/ |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161026150908/http://muzeumzolnierzywykletych.pl/jak-piotr-zychowicz-znieksztalcil-oblicze-kpt-burego/ |archive-date=26 October 2016 }}</ref> During the Red Army advance into ] his commanding officer was arrested by the ]. Rajs took over the command of his battalion, and led them out to safety in the area of Puszcza Rudnicka forest. Under the Soviet military control the AK partisans were routinely disarmed.<ref name="IPN"/> Thousands of them were arrested and sent to the Soviet ].<ref name="Rzecz">{{cite news |newspaper=] |date=2 October 2004 |issue=Nr 232 |url=http://www.rzeczpospolita.pl/specjal_041002/specjal_a_6.html |title=Wielkie polowanie: Prześladowania akowców w Polsce Ludowej |trans-title=Great hunt: the persecutions of AK soldiers in the People's Republic of Poland |via=Internet Archive |author=Andrzej Kaczyński |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111106180531/http://www.rzeczpospolita.pl/specjal_041002/specjal_a_6.html |archive-date=6 November 2011 }}</ref> In October 1944 Rajs travelled to ] and under an assumed identity,<ref name=KrB/> joined the ], controlled and directed from Moscow. From January 1945 he led the LWP platoon in the State Forest Defence Battalion near ]. In May 1945 he contacted the AK Major ] – an avid anti-communist – who was recreating the already disassembled 5th Wilno Brigade of Armia Krajowa in order to oppose the Soviet occupation of Białystok. Rajs joined Szendzielarz with 29 soldiers under his command, and on 9 May 1945 became the leader of the 2nd ] in the 5th Brigade of AK.<ref name=KrB/> | |||
| ===post-war=== | |||
| The executive order to disband AK entirely came from Gen. ] on 18 January 1945. The 5th Brigade refused to carry it out.<ref name="IPN"/> The shifting of the borders of Poland and ] of the ] by Joseph Stalin was ratified by the ] in postwar Poland on August 16, 1945.<ref>{{Citation |last=Wettig |first=Gerhard |title=Stalin and the Cold War in Europe |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-7425-5542-6 |pages=47–48}} ''See also:'' {{cite journal |author=U.S. Bureau of the Census |title=The Population of Poland |editor=W. Parker Mauldin |location=Washington |year=1954 |page=140}}</ref> The process of ] kicked into full swing.<ref name="Ther">{{cite book |author=Jerzy Kochanowski |title=Redrawing Nations: Ethnic Cleansing in East-Central Europe, 1944–1948 |year=2001 |editor=Philipp Ther, Ana Siljak |chapter=Gathering Poles into Poland. Forced Migration from Poland's Former Eastern Territories |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oGmTs2SceAgC&pg=PA135&dq=%22expulsion+of+Poles%22+USSR |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |location=Lanham |isbn=978-0-7425-1094-4}}</ref> Remaining in ] and still growing in numbers, the 5th Brigade led by Szendzielarz fought a successful battle against the units of the Red Army, the pro-Soviet Polish People's Army, and the ] security forces in around ] village in ] on 18 August 1945. Nevertheless, faced with overwhelming concentration of the enemy forces, Major Szendzielarz ordered the dissolution of the 5th Brigade on 7 September 1945. Rajs refused to surrender.<ref name=KrB/> | |||
| After the disarmament of the Vilinus brigade by the Soviets on 17 July 1944, he his in an estate near Vilinus. At the end of November he joined the ], and was assigned to Independent State Forest Protection Battalion, appointed commander of the 2nd Platoon of the 4th Company in Białystok. Two months later he was transferred to ], to protect against illegal logging.{{sfn|Moroz|2010|pp=67}} | |||
| === National Military Union === | |||
| ] | ] | ||
| In May 1945 he deserted from the Polish People's Army, and joined ]'s ] as a second lieutenant. This Brigade did not comply with the order to disband the Home Army. Commanding the 2nd squadron of the Brigade, he carried out several raids against the communist forces. In September 1945 Szendzielarz disbanded the brigade, but Rajs intended to continue to fight and made contact with Major Jan Szklarek of the ] (NZW). He became head of PAS Special Forces (''Pogotowie Akcji Specjalnej'') within NZW Białystok.{{sfn|Moroz|2010|pp=68}} | |||
| Romuald Rajs made contact with Commandant of ] III Białystok of the ] (''Narodowe Zjednoczenie Wojskowe'') Major Jan Szklarek, and moved his squadron under his command. Rajs was promoted to the rank of ] and on 16 September 1945 became leader of the PAS Special Forces (''Pogotowie Akcji Specjalnej'') within NZW Białystok. The process of unification of smaller underground units, commanded by Kazimierz Chmielowski ("Rekin") in the area of ] until December 1945, resulted in the gathering of the largest anti-Soviet partisan group in the region,<ref name="IPN"/> engaging in skirmishes with the communist commandos of MBP, KBW and ]. The area of the ] was especially dangerous for the underground to operate in, because the ] and the ] received information and logistical help from the local members of the former ] and the ] in existence before the war started.<ref name="IPN"/><ref name=KWe>{{cite web |title=Kapitan Romuald Rajs p.s. "Bury" |author=Krzysztof Weiss |publisher=KSN Solidarność, Biuletyn Informacyjny Krajowej Sekcji Nauki NSZZ "Solidarność" |volume=Nr 5-6 (230-231) |work=TROCHĘ HISTORII |url=http://organizacje.polsl.pl/Solidarnosc/nr5_6(230_231).pdf |at=37–39 / 40}}</ref><ref name=ASt/> | |||
| {{further|Augustów roundup}} | |||
| NZW's goal was the liberation of a greater Poland with a national-Catholic charachter. Rajs pushed for action, and in particular ruthless action against the soldiers of the Polish People's Army and the local Belarussian population. However, following pacification of the district by the communists, he demobilized the unit in October and when to his wife near Warsaw. He returned to Białystok in January 1946, and took command of the 120 soldiers of the 3rd Vilnius Brigade of the NZW.{{sfn|Moroz|2010|pp=68}} | |||
| In early January 1946 NZW headquarters called a meeting of local commanders. Rajs was given leadership of partisans enrolled by Chmielowski ("Rekin"). His unit, consisting of 228 soldiers, was renamed as the 3rd Wilno Brigade of the NZW PAS. A decision was made to move the entire force to an area around ] for further military training. On 27 January the battalion arrived in ] and requisitioned around 40 horse-drawn carriages from a big gathering of farmers arranged by the local authorities in need of conscripted labour.{{sfn|IPN|2005|p=3}} In the same evening, the battalion moved to ]. Rajs ordered the attack on ] where the Polish communist militia as well as some Red Army soldiers were stationing. The attack was unsuccessful. The farmers with horse-drawn carriages remained with the battalion throughout January as means of transportation even though several failed attempts were made to replace them with new carriers.<ref name="IPN"/> | |||
| ===Crimes=== | |||
| ====Actions in Zaleszczany, Wólka, and Puchały Stare==== | |||
| In January and Feburary 1946, Rajs' unit ], cruelly murdering 79{{sfn|Budyta-Budzyńska|pp=101-102}}-87{{sfn|Grabski|pp=453-454}} civilians and wounding dozens.{{sfn|Grabski|pp=453-454}} In ] his men locked civilians in a building and then burned them alive.{{sfn|Grabski|pp=453-454}} | |||
| On 29 January 1946 the battalion arrived in ] aiming to feed the horses. During a routine document check by the partisans, a Red Army soldier and NKVD informer, Aleksander Zielinko was identified, serving as Communist Party secretary in nearby ].{{sfn|IPN|2005|p=11|loc=§: "Zielinko był sekretarzem partii w Suchowolcach"}} All inhabitants were ordered to report to a spacious house of Dymitr Sacharczuk where they were taken hostage. They were questioned on the whereabouts of suspected collaborator, and ] of Zaleszany, Łukasz Demianiuk who vanished. His 16-year-old son Piotr (already a PPR member) was identified and executed together with Zielinko. Not a single hostage was killed from the gathering at Sacharczuk's house.{{sfn|IPN|2005|p=4}} According to official report released in 2005 by the ] conducting investigation into the matter, all hostages kept in Sacharczuk's house run out to safety and survived; they were not persecuted, but the PAS NZW set a number of other buildings on fire, and 16 people died in Zaleszany while attempting to hide from the soldiers.{{sfn|IPN|2005|p=4|loc=§: "Osoby, które zginęły w Zaleszach byli to wyłącznie ci, którzy nie poszli na zebranie"}} The final IPN investigation revealed that the later description of what happened there was falsified by the Stalinist functionaries.{{sfn|IPN|2005|p=18|loc=§: "funkcjonariusze bezpieczeństwa podawali dane niezgodne z obiektywnym przebiegiem wydarzeń"}} The unit led by Rajs ("Bury") departed for the neighbouring village of ]. Some farm buildings were set ablaze for refusal to provide assistance. Two local men were shot dead while they were running away from the soldiers: Jan Zinkiewicz and Stefan Babulewicz. Many years later, Zinkiewicz's daughter rationalized that her father ran to save his farm equipment from burning, and that he was not fleeing from them.{{sfn|IPN|2005|p=11}} | |||
| While the motivation of these actions is not entirely clear, it it known it is not accidental. During January 1946 Rajs' unit captured forty horse cart drivers near Łozice. Those drivers who decleared themselves Polish were released, while the remaining 29 were shot near Puchały Stare. The unit then went on a killing rampage in the villages of Zaleszany, Wólka Wygonowska, Zanie, Szpaki, Końcowizna, Popówka, Rajska, Sypnie, and Potoka, killing an additional 50 people. These killings were condemned by the NZW itself, which intended to court-martial Rajs, however this ultimately did not happen.{{sfn|Budyta-Budzyńska|pp=101-102}} | |||
| ] Piotr Motylewicz, special-operations paratrooper from the ] (1944)]] | ] Piotr Motylewicz, special-operations paratrooper from the ] (1944)]] | ||
| The activity of PAS-NSW, under the command of Rajs, against the ethnic Belarussians in the region of Białystok encouraged many Belarussians to view the communist government as less hostile to them than the Polish underground.{{sfn|Fleming|2010|pp=98}} | |||
| On the following day of 30 January 1945 the command of NZW PAS Brigade arrived in ] village where they arranged the exchange of horse-drawn carriers.{{sfn|IPN|2005|p=4}} Eye-witness Włodzimierz K. from Jagodniki later testified that they arrived in Krasna Wieś ahead of others. Most of the partisan group fell behind. The farmers were ordered to wait for them but instead, took their horse-drawn carriages and run away.{{sfn|IPN|2005|p=9|loc=§: "nie czekali, lecz uciekli z Krasnej Wsi"}} They were chased through the forest by the "Modrzew's" platoon, caught around ] village, arrested, taken away, and executed in two groups. "Modrzew" himself was killed on 16 February 1946; his true identity is unknown.{{sfn|IPN|2005|p=9|loc=§: "W bitwie tej zginęło 19 członków 3 Brygady"}} Years later, the exhumations conducted by the authorities in Puchały on 27 April 1951 revealed that 27 farmers have been killed there and buried in two shallow graves. In 1997 the number was raised to 30.{{sfn|IPN|2005|p=9}} The subsequent 2005 investigation by IPN revealed – based on new evidence – that purported eye-witness Prokop Iwacik lied in his postwar account of the massacre, because he could not have possibly been there.{{sfn|IPN|2005|p=9}} | |||
| In April 1946 he ordered to shoot over a dozen captured ] and ] personnel.{{sfn|Moroz|2010|pp=70}} | |||
| ====Action in Szpaki–Zanie==== | |||
| At the end of January 1946 the soldiers of the 3rd Brigade came to Zanie to requisition food. One of the partisans, Kazimierz Borkowski, was struck with an axe to the head by a farmer who refused to give in.{{sfn|IPN|2005|p=18|loc=§: "uderzony przez gospodarza siekierą w głowę (k. 1113)"}} Rajs, who had already received information in Hajnówka, that ethnic Belarusians who lived in Szpaki–Zanie served as ] under Nazi Germany,{{sfn|IPN|2005|p=14}} gave an order for the pacification of the villages.{{sfn|IPN|2005|p=5}} However, during his postwar interrogations Rajs informed that the actual order of burning down Zanie, Szpaki and Końcowizna in retaliation for hostile attitude towards NZW, came from his superior Florian Lewicki '']'' "Lis" ("Kotwicz"),{{sfn|IPN|2005|p=16}} regional commandant of NZW (real name, Jan Szklarek).{{sfn|IPN|2005|p=14|loc=§: "Polecenie spalenia wymienionych wsi otrzymałam od "Kotowicza" ("Lisa")"}} The NZW PAS unit consisting of three platoons of about 30 men led by "Rekin" (Chmielowski), "Wiarus", and "Bitny" (J. Boguszewski), was sent to Szpaki–Zanie on 2 February 1946. Rajs was not present. He went with his command to ] village,{{sfn|IPN|2005|p=5}} where no-one was killed.{{sfn|IPN|2005|p=6|loc=§: "Mieszkańcy wsi uciekli i nikt nie zginął (k. 1854)"}} According to postwar interrogation of Kazimierz Chmielowski ("Rekin"), the NZW troops were fired upon by the locals in Zanie. Later report by the Special Commission from ] confirmed that a submachine gun with ammunition was found in one of the burned out buildings.{{sfn|IPN|2005|p=5}} A dozen farmhouses were set on fire and 36 men singled out for collaboration with the enemy were executed by the platoon led by "Rekin". The names of the men to be shot have been secretly obtained by the ] from ]. Subsequently, both "Wiarus" and "Bitny" (along with "Modrzew") were killed in action on 12 February 1946 in ].<ref name="IPN"/> | |||
| Chmielowski ("Rekin") also attacked other villages in ] ] where some farmhouses where burned. According to Rajs, Chmielowski did it on his own accord, although Chmielowski himself insisted during questioning by the communist interrogators that bullets were fired up into the air.<ref name="IPN">{{cite journal |url=http://ipn.gov.pl/pl/dla-mediow/komunikaty/9989,Informacja-o-ustaleniach-koncowych-sledztwa-S-2802Zi-w-sprawie-pozbawienia-zycia.html |title=Informacja o ustaleniach końcowych śledztwa S 28/02/Zi w sprawie pozbawienia życia 79 osób – mieszkańców powiatu Bielsk Podlaski w tym 30 osób tzw. furmanów w lesie koło Puchał Starych, dokonanych w okresie od dnia 29 stycznia 1946 r. do dnia 2 lutego 1946 |date=2005-06-30 |publisher=] |author=IPN |journal=Komunikaty}}</ref> Notably, as many as five alleged pacification actions by "Rekin" were fabricated by the UB interrogators, since the village of Mostek never existed in the ] as revealed by the IPN investigation.{{sfn|IPN|2005|p=18|loc=§: "zawarte informacje o spaleniu pozostałych 4 miejscowości to wytwór wyobraźni funkcjonariuszy UB"}} | |||
| ===Arrest and execution=== | ===Arrest and execution=== | ||
| From August 1946 Rajs' brigade was dispersed, and divided into small teams. In October 1946 Rajs disbanded the brigade, and went to his family in ]. In November 1948 he was detained, and though he managed to escape, was captured again.{{sfn|Moroz|2010|pp=70}} Rajs attempted to collaborate with the communists, and provided information on the anti-partisan structure. However, the communists put him on trial, sentenced him to death, and executed him in late 1949.{{sfn|Kończal|pp=78-79}} | |||
| The 3rd Brigade of NZW PAS, led by "Bury" and "Rekin", was attacked on 16 February 1946 near the village of ] by communist special forces equipped with armoured vehicles. Most partisans managed to escape the encirclement, with considerable losses. It was the biggest battle fought by them with the NKWD, UB, KBW and MO thus far.<ref name=MOst/> The next battle took place on 30 April 1946 near ] in which 25 partisans were killed and 12 captured. On 9 August 1946 near ] two more officers died.{{sfn|IPN|2005|p=6}} In October 1946 Rajs split his group into three smaller, independent units, which were dispersed across three separate counties of the newly-formed ].{{sfn|IPN|2005|p=6|loc=§: "W październiku 1946 r. "Bury" podzielił swój odział na 3 grupy"}} He received permission from the NZW regional headquarters to take a vacation. Rajs went to ], where he was captured by the '']'' on 17 November 1948. A month later, his co-conspirator Chmielowski was arrested on 13 December 1948. They were charged with membership in AK and NZW, aiming to overthrow the communist government of Poland, coupled with armed assaults on the Polish Army and the Red Army, the assassination of MO functionaries, attacks on the UB security outposts, the railway guard, as well as assassination of civilians during forced requisitions of property, and possession of assault weapons. Individually, Romuald Rajs was also charged with desertion from the Polish Army. They were executed on 30 December 1949 without material evidence of alleged civilian atrocities, which were obtained by the communist authorities well over a year later, in the spring of 1951.<ref name=ASt>{{cite journal |publisher=Ciechanowiec OnLine - Subiektywny Niecodziennik |title=Śliwowo - w szczerym polu czarny krzyż... |author=Aleksander Staniszewski |url=http://www.ciechanowiec.info/news.php?readmore=506&%3Bc_start=0 |date=30 April 2008}}</ref>{{sfn|IPN|2005|p=7}}<ref>{{cite book |author=Edmund Banasikowski |title=Na zew Ziemi Wileńskiej |year=1990 |publisher=Wydaw. Myśl |isbn=9782869140356 |orig-year=1988 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UxJ4AAAAIAAJ&q=1946 |oclc=24585401}}</ref> | |||
| ====Posthumous history==== | |||
| The communist courts ordered the exhumation of the two graves near Puchały Stare on 27 April 1951. No medical doctor and/or pathologist was present at the dig. The official report of the exhumation listed 22 skeletal remains found in one mass grave, and 5 in the second one. The remains were laid in 3 ]s and transported to ] village nearby, where they were buried in the Catholic cemetery. None of the persons who took part in the 1951 exhumations was later questioned. In 1995, almost 50 years after the fact, the Military Court of Warsaw posthumously nullified the death penalty received by Romuald Rajs.{{sfn|IPN|2005|p=6}} By the time of the post-communist research by IPN (which took place in 1997, and again in 2002), none of the participants of the original exhumations were still living.{{sfn|IPN|2005|p=7}} | |||
| ==Memory in post-communist era== | |||
| In their own investigation which ended in 2005, the ] analysed documents and testimonies of the 1949 ], and interviewed a total of 169 persons. Among the individuals questioned by the IPN were families of victims as well as former soldiers of the 3rd Brigade of NZW.{{sfn|IPN|2005|p=8}} The IPN investigation established that the original testimony by Prokop Iwacik had no grounds in reality because he could not have been there; his own son testified that Iwacik went into hiding for three days.{{sfn|IPN|2005|p=9|loc=§: ""ojciec wrócił po upływie 3 dni od wyjazdu do Łozic"}} The subsequent description of terrific murders in Puchały Stare contradicted one of the key tenets of forensic science; the fracturing of bones was produced by bullets and not by blows as alleged.{{sfn|IPN|2005|p=10|loc=§: "przy postrzałach w głowę z broni palnej o dużej sile rażenia, powstają wieloodłamowe złamania kości czaszki"}} It was Iwacik who claimed that ethnic Belarusian carriers were singled out for the execution in Puchały, but according to statement by Michał T. the carriers were selected for the exchange based on quality of their horse-drawn carriages alone.{{sfn|IPN|2005|p=9}} Among the many child witness reports collected by the IPN there were also testimonies confirming that local farmers were among the assailants. Maria K. from Zanie testified that her mother was killed by a man from a neighbouring village, known to her brother.{{sfn|IPN|2005|p=12|loc=§: "zabójcą był znany mu mieszkaniec sąsiedniej wsi"}} | |||
| In 1995, the Warsaw District Military Court annuled the 1949 death sentence,{{sfn|Grabski|pp=453-454}} as his actions were seen by the court as under the circumstances of ''force majeure''.{{sfn|Budyta-Budzyńska|pp=102}} However, in the opinion of Belarusians this was the rehabilitation of a murderer.{{sfn|Budyta-Budzyńska|pp=102}} In March 1997 relatives of Rajs' victims appealed to the Białystok court to overturn this verdict.{{sfn|Kończal|pp=78-79}} The initial inquiry that was launched that determined that the victims were not involved in the structure of the communist state and that therefore Rajs' crimes were classified as ].{{sfn|Budyta-Budzyńska|pp=102}} In 2002 this case was taken over by the newly formed ] (IPN), whose local prosecutor collected evidence that the motivation of the crimes was ethnic hatred.{{sfn|Kończal|pp=78-79}} However, the investigation into these crimes was closed in 2005 on the grounds that the perpetrators were deceased.{{sfn|Budyta-Budzyńska|pp=102}} In closing the case in 2005, the IPN stated that "it must be stated categorically that the murder of wagon-drivers and the pacification of villages in January–February 1946 cannot be seen as part of the battle for an independent state, since they bear the marks of genocide". This recognition by the IPN of the crimes of a ] against national minorities was exceptional.{{sfn|Grabski|pp=454-455}} | |||
| Rajs remained relatively obscure until his memory was taken over by the ] (ONR), a nationalist group, which actively promotes him as a hero. Since 2015 posters of Rajs are displayed in Independence day marches by the group's supporters. Along the border with Belarus, glorification of Rajs has become a way to express anti-Belarussian sentiments. During late 2015, the ONR placed his name was placed on several public and private buildings in which Belarussians live in Hajnówka and elsewhere. Since 2016, a march to commerate Rajs is held by ONR in the town.{{sfn|Kończal|pp=79}} While Rajs is promoted by the nationalists as well as musuem institutions in Poland, he is repudiated by ] and Polish mass media.{{sfn|Kozik|pp=35}} | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| ==Citations== | ==Citations== | ||
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| ==References== | ==References== | ||
| {{Refbegin}} | |||
| * {{cite journal |url=https://ipn.gov.pl/download/1/49746/30062005-Sprawa-pozbawienia-zycia-79-osob-mieszkancow-pow-Bielsk-Podlaski-w-tym-.pdf |title=Informacja o ustaleniach końcowych śledztwa S 28/02/Zi w sprawie pozbawienia życia 79 osób – mieszkańców powiatu Bielsk Podlaski w tym 30 osób tzw. furmanów w lesie koło Puchał Starych, dokonanych w okresie od dnia 29 stycznia 1946 r. do dnia 2 lutego 1946 |year=2005 |publisher=], Komisja Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu |author=IPN |issue=Komunikaty: 2005-06-30 |journal=Report with Final Findings of IPN Investigation "S 28/02/Zi" into the Matter of Violent Death of 79 Persons {{ndash}} Inhabitants of Bielsk Podlaski County Including 30 Horse-drawn Carriers in the Forest Near Puchały Stare, Committed Between 29 January and 2 February 1946 |location=Warszawa |pages=1–29}} | |||
| *{{cite book |last1=Fleming |first1=Michael |title=Communism, Nationalism and Ethnicity in Poland, 1944-1950 |year = 2010 |publisher=Routledge|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=39yNAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA98&dq=%22Romuald+Rajs%22+village&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiCgp-R1Z3vAhWE2eAKHZCdCfIQ6AEwAXoECAEQAg#v=onepage&q=%22Romuald%20Rajs%22%20village&f=false}} | |||
| * Paweł Grześ (2011), Speaking: child witness of pacification of Zaleszany on 29 January 1946. Produced by Laboratorium "Live", CSW Zamek Ujazdowski, Warsaw. Published 26 March 2011. | |||
| ⚫ | *{{cite journal |last1=Kończal |first1=Kornelia |title=The Invention of the “Cursed Soldiers” and Its Opponents: Post-war Partisan Struggle in Contemporary Poland |journal=East European Politics and Societies: and Cultures |date=2020 |volume=34 |issue=1 |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0888325419865332?journalCode=eepa}} | ||
| * | |||
| *{{cite book |last1=Grabski |first1=August |title=The Jews and the “Disavowed Soldiers”, chapter in New Directions in the History of the Jews in the Polish Lands |date=2018 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/j.ctv7xbrh4.42.pdf|publisher=Academic Studies Press |pages=452-471}} | |||
| * | |||
| *{{cite journal |last1=Budyta-Budzyńska |first1=Małgorzata |title=Legal Regulations and the National Identity of Members of the Belarusian Minority in Poland |journal=Zoon Politikon |date=2018 |issue=9 |pages=91-111 |url=https://www.ejournals.eu/pliki/art/13577/pl}} | |||
| *{{cite journal |last1=Kozik |first1=L. A. |title=THE PARTISAN UNIT UNDER THE COMMAND OF CAPTAIN R. RAJS (BURY) ACTIVITY ON THE TERRITORY OF BIAŁYSTOK REGION IN 1944–1946 IN THE POLITICS OF MEMORY OF THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND |journal=Journal of the Belarusian State University. History. 2020;4:34–47 |date=2020 |issue=4 |pages=34-47 |url=https://journals.bsu.by/index.php/history/article/download/3318/3122/}} | |||
| *{{cite journal |last1=Moroz |first1=Anna |title=Konflikt pamięci na pograniczu polsko-białoruskim na przykładzie działalności Romualda Rajsa ps. „Bury” |journal=Studia z Geografii Politycznej i Historycznej |date=2016 |issue=5 |pages=61-91 |url=https://dspace.uni.lodz.pl/bitstream/handle/11089/21289/0_4_%5B61%5D_91_Moroz.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y}} | |||
| {{refend}} | |||
| {{Authority control}} | {{Authority control}} | ||
Revision as of 11:37, 7 March 2021
| Romuald Rajs | |
|---|---|
 Captain Rajs in 1943 | |
| Nickname(s) | Bury |
| Born | (1913-11-30)November 30, 1913 Jabłonka, Podkarpackie Voivodeship |
| Died | December 30, 1949(1949-12-30) (aged 36) Białystok |
| Awards |  Order of Virtuti Militari (Golden Cross)  Order of Virtuti Militari (Silver Cross)  Cross of Valour  Cross of Merit with Swords (Gold)  Cross of Merit (Bronze) |
Romuald Rajs, nom de guerre "Bury" (30 November 1913 – 30 December 1949), was an Home Army (AK) and National Military Union (NZW) partisan. He he is best known for ordering the massacring of Belarusian villageers in the region of Białystok, and other crimes against ethnic Belarusians. Following a trial, he was executed in 1949.
Life
In 1913, Romuald Adam Rajs was born in the village of Jabłonka, Podkarpackie Voivodeship, which is near Sanok. In 1934 Rajs graduated from the School for Non-commissioned Officers in Konin and took the parachute course in Biedrusko near Poznań. With the rank of Corporal he was assigned to the 85 Infantry Regiment in Nowa Wilejka, Wilno Voivodeship.
World War II
In August 1939 his unit was incorporated in the "Prusy" army. During the September campaign his unit unit was dispersed in the Battle of Tomaszów Mazowiecki and was destroyed by 15 September near Lublin. A few days later, a groups of soldiers led by Rajs was stopped by Belarussians near Kovel and sent to Bereza Kartuska to lay down their arms and horses.
Returning to Vilnius, he joined an Polish underground resistance movement, and in 1942 he submitted to Lieutenant Gracjan Fróg "Góral" of the National Radical Camp (ONR-Falanga). In September 1943 he joined the "Goral" partisan group, which from March 1944 was known as the 3rd Brigade of Vilinus Home Army. Commanding the first assault company, his unit had a reputation for successful combat operations. Rajs led by example, often serving as the lead attacker in his group. He is noted for his successful defense of the village of Mikuliszki during a German manhunt, in which heavy losses were inflicted on the Germans. In July 1944 Rajs took part in Operation Ostra Brama against the Germans. However, he was also known for unscrupulous actions, personally killing prisoners of war.
post-war
After the disarmament of the Vilinus brigade by the Soviets on 17 July 1944, he his in an estate near Vilinus. At the end of November he joined the Polish People's Army, and was assigned to Independent State Forest Protection Battalion, appointed commander of the 2nd Platoon of the 4th Company in Białystok. Two months later he was transferred to Hajnówka, to protect against illegal logging.
In May 1945 he deserted from the Polish People's Army, and joined Zygmunt Szendzielarz's Home Army 5th Wilno Brigade as a second lieutenant. This Brigade did not comply with the order to disband the Home Army. Commanding the 2nd squadron of the Brigade, he carried out several raids against the communist forces. In September 1945 Szendzielarz disbanded the brigade, but Rajs intended to continue to fight and made contact with Major Jan Szklarek of the National Military Union (NZW). He became head of PAS Special Forces (Pogotowie Akcji Specjalnej) within NZW Białystok.
NZW's goal was the liberation of a greater Poland with a national-Catholic charachter. Rajs pushed for action, and in particular ruthless action against the soldiers of the Polish People's Army and the local Belarussian population. However, following pacification of the district by the communists, he demobilized the unit in October and when to his wife near Warsaw. He returned to Białystok in January 1946, and took command of the 120 soldiers of the 3rd Vilnius Brigade of the NZW.
Crimes
In January and Feburary 1946, Rajs' unit "pacified" six Belarussian villages, cruelly murdering 79-87 civilians and wounding dozens. In Zaleszany, Hajnówka County his men locked civilians in a building and then burned them alive.
While the motivation of these actions is not entirely clear, it it known it is not accidental. During January 1946 Rajs' unit captured forty horse cart drivers near Łozice. Those drivers who decleared themselves Polish were released, while the remaining 29 were shot near Puchały Stare. The unit then went on a killing rampage in the villages of Zaleszany, Wólka Wygonowska, Zanie, Szpaki, Końcowizna, Popówka, Rajska, Sypnie, and Potoka, killing an additional 50 people. These killings were condemned by the NZW itself, which intended to court-martial Rajs, however this ultimately did not happen.
The activity of PAS-NSW, under the command of Rajs, against the ethnic Belarussians in the region of Białystok encouraged many Belarussians to view the communist government as less hostile to them than the Polish underground.
In April 1946 he ordered to shoot over a dozen captured Public Security and Milicja Obywatelska personnel.
Arrest and execution
From August 1946 Rajs' brigade was dispersed, and divided into small teams. In October 1946 Rajs disbanded the brigade, and went to his family in Elbląg. In November 1948 he was detained, and though he managed to escape, was captured again. Rajs attempted to collaborate with the communists, and provided information on the anti-partisan structure. However, the communists put him on trial, sentenced him to death, and executed him in late 1949.
Memory in post-communist era
In 1995, the Warsaw District Military Court annuled the 1949 death sentence, as his actions were seen by the court as under the circumstances of force majeure. However, in the opinion of Belarusians this was the rehabilitation of a murderer. In March 1997 relatives of Rajs' victims appealed to the Białystok court to overturn this verdict. The initial inquiry that was launched that determined that the victims were not involved in the structure of the communist state and that therefore Rajs' crimes were classified as Crimes against humanity. In 2002 this case was taken over by the newly formed Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), whose local prosecutor collected evidence that the motivation of the crimes was ethnic hatred. However, the investigation into these crimes was closed in 2005 on the grounds that the perpetrators were deceased. In closing the case in 2005, the IPN stated that "it must be stated categorically that the murder of wagon-drivers and the pacification of villages in January–February 1946 cannot be seen as part of the battle for an independent state, since they bear the marks of genocide". This recognition by the IPN of the crimes of a cursed soldier against national minorities was exceptional.
Rajs remained relatively obscure until his memory was taken over by the National Radical Camp (ONR), a nationalist group, which actively promotes him as a hero. Since 2015 posters of Rajs are displayed in Independence day marches by the group's supporters. Along the border with Belarus, glorification of Rajs has become a way to express anti-Belarussian sentiments. During late 2015, the ONR placed his name was placed on several public and private buildings in which Belarussians live in Hajnówka and elsewhere. Since 2016, a march to commerate Rajs is held by ONR in the town. While Rajs is promoted by the nationalists as well as musuem institutions in Poland, he is repudiated by Belarusian minority in Poland and Polish mass media.
Citations
- ^ Grabski, pp. 453–454. sfn error: no target: CITEREFGrabski (help)
- ^ Moroz 2010, pp. 66. sfn error: no target: CITEREFMoroz2010 (help)
- Moroz 2010, pp. 66–67. sfn error: no target: CITEREFMoroz2010 (help)
- Moroz 2010, pp. 67. sfn error: no target: CITEREFMoroz2010 (help)
- ^ Moroz 2010, pp. 68. sfn error: no target: CITEREFMoroz2010 (help)
- ^ Budyta-Budzyńska, pp. 101–102. sfn error: no target: CITEREFBudyta-Budzyńska (help)
- Fleming 2010, pp. 98.
- ^ Moroz 2010, pp. 70. sfn error: no target: CITEREFMoroz2010 (help)
- ^ Kończal, pp. 78–79. sfn error: no target: CITEREFKończal (help)
- ^ Budyta-Budzyńska, pp. 102. sfn error: no target: CITEREFBudyta-Budzyńska (help)
- Grabski, pp. 454–455. sfn error: no target: CITEREFGrabski (help)
- Kończal, pp. 79. sfn error: no target: CITEREFKończal (help)
- Kozik, pp. 35. sfn error: no target: CITEREFKozik (help)
References
- Fleming, Michael (2010). Communism, Nationalism and Ethnicity in Poland, 1944-1950. Routledge.
- Kończal, Kornelia (2020). "The Invention of the "Cursed Soldiers" and Its Opponents: Post-war Partisan Struggle in Contemporary Poland". East European Politics and Societies: and Cultures. 34 (1).
- Grabski, August (2018). The Jews and the “Disavowed Soldiers”, chapter in New Directions in the History of the Jews in the Polish Lands (PDF). Academic Studies Press. pp. 452–471.
- Budyta-Budzyńska, Małgorzata (2018). "Legal Regulations and the National Identity of Members of the Belarusian Minority in Poland". Zoon Politikon (9): 91–111.
- Kozik, L. A. (2020). "THE PARTISAN UNIT UNDER THE COMMAND OF CAPTAIN R. RAJS (BURY) ACTIVITY ON THE TERRITORY OF BIAŁYSTOK REGION IN 1944–1946 IN THE POLITICS OF MEMORY OF THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND". Journal of the Belarusian State University. History. 2020;4:34–47 (4): 34–47.
- Moroz, Anna (2016). "Konflikt pamięci na pograniczu polsko-białoruskim na przykładzie działalności Romualda Rajsa ps. „Bury"" (PDF). Studia z Geografii Politycznej i Historycznej (5): 61–91.