Stanislaw

Stanislaw 15/04/1897 to 20/03/1966

Ulan - Osadnik - Kresowiak - Sybirak

Maria (Marianna) Marczak nee Kondradska 5/10/1903 to 7/08/1961

24th. Lancers Battle Hymn

Piją wina pełne dzbanki,

kochają ich Lublinianki.

Lance do boju...

Gubi lance, gówno warty,

to jest pułk dwudziesty czwarty

Lance do boju...

They drink wine jugs full,

Lublin girls love them.

Lance to fight ...

Lose your Lance , worth shit,

This is the twenty-fourth regiment

Lance to fight ..

1897 Stanislaw born in Parczew. His parents were Jozef and Karolina. Jozef worked in the forests as a 'leszniczy '.

Sister Marianna Nowicka ( male Nowicki )

Our grandfather Stanislaw had three siblings that we know about. Jan and two sisters, Waleria and Marianna .

Marianna died at an early age of TB . She left three children Feliks Elzbieta and Stanislaw Nowicki (pictured below Lublin 1925?), Stan and Feliks were land surveyors based (mierniczy) near Parczew/Lublin

When the Germans invaded Poland it would seem they they joined a local resistance group both were arrested very quickly by the Gestapo - (suggesting a tip off to the Nazis) and sent to Auschwitz where they both died in 1941 & 1942.

Martyrs of Auschwitz

(Meczennicy Oswiecimia)

Part of the Nowicki family grave in Parczew. R.I.P. Lets not forget their sacrifice.

The sister Elzbieta survived and she eventually married Szczerbinski and lived in Warsaw. It is the Szczerbinski family who looked after Regina ( Renia) when WW2 ended. Renia got separated from our family in Russia. Aged 15 Renia was adopted by a Russian family in Tashkent - she managed to get repatriated back to Poland after the war in 1946.

(See picture with Szczerbinski bottom of the page)

Brother Jan

Grandfather Stanislaw's other brother was Jan . He was a Post Office worker in Lublin - seemingly setting up telegraph/telephone poles in the picture below with fellow workers.

In this picture he's the very first front left hand side.

It would appear that in the late 1930's some Post Office workers belonged to a defensive unit probably the Riflemen's Association,

Perhaps along the lines of this article [Some employees at the Polish Dansk Post Office belonged to a self-defence and security organization, and many were also members of the Polish Związek Strzelecki (Riflemen's Association). According to the testimony of Edmund Charaszkiewicz, the Polish Post Office was from 1935 an important component of the Polish Intelligence organization, "Group Zygmunt." - Infact the Defense of the Polish Post Office Gdansk was one of the first battles in the invasion of Poland in 1939]

Which would explain this picture below of Jan with fellow Post Office workers complete with rifles.

(Including the comander about to whistle he's second along front)

The Riflemen's Association was revived in Poland in 1991, after the fall of communism

Jan joined the partisan army and was also captured and taken to Auszwitz. He had two daughters, Lila (see below) and Danka , who settled in Wroclaw after the war.

We all know about the Holocaust and generally the world presumes it was against the Jews - Poland lost 6m of its population to the Holocaust . A fifth of it's population - 3m of these were Polish Christians !

1919 - Soon after WW1 finished in 1919 Poland was involved in the Polish-Bolshevik War . ( Feb 1919 - March 1921 )

Stanislaw was in the Polish army fighting the Bolsheviks.

He joined in 1920 the 214 Army Volunteer Cavalry Regiment - after succesfull battles around Zamosc against the Russians the volunteer regiment was promoted to 24 Pułk Ułanów (24th Lancers) based at Krasnik in December of the same year.

The most important cavalry battle took place on August 31, 1920, near the village of Komarowo near Zamość. The battle was a complete disaster for the Russian 1st Cavalry Army which sustained heavy casualties and barely avoided being totally surrounded.

After that battle, the 1st Cavalry Army's morale has collapsed and the army which was one of the most feared of the Soviet troops was no longer considered an effective fighting force.

Because of the numbers of forces involved, the Battle of Komarów is considered the greatest cavalry battle of the 20th century. Along with the battles then taking place in south Russia, this was one of the last battles fought mostly by cavalry units, in which traditional cavalry tactics were used and sabers and lances played a vital role.

Because of that, it is sometimes referred to (by Poles) as "the greatest cavalry battle after 1813" and the last cavalry battle.

Having stopped the Russian 1st Cavalry a pincer movement behind the Russians fighting to take Warsaw succeeded when Stalin failed to send reinforcements and the Bolsheviks were defeated.

Poland regained the lands that it had lost during the partitions of 1795. (Treaty of Riga)

More Details of 24th Lancers(Cavalry) Regiment

24 Cavalry Regiment IM. Hetman Żółkiewski rose from 214 Volunteer Army Cavalry Regiment, which was set up in June 1920, the order of the Chief Inspectorate AO Regiment was formed as part of Malopolska Branch Drive AO forming under the command of Colonel. Tadeusz Zolkiewski in Lviv.

It was a time when the country mobilized all their forces to face the Soviet onslaught, which has threatened the independence of the East. The staff of the newly formed regiment in the majority came from the first Krechowickich Cavalry Regiment. The area of the organization were 14 Cavalry Regiment barracks Jazłowiec.

In early August Regiment departed from Lviv and was sent to the concentration of the Modlin, before the expected battle for Warsaw. Then Reg Krasnystaw and Izbica, where there has been the establishment of the first contact with the enemy - the Bolshevik cavalry Budienny the IRD Miączyn - Grabowiec. After fierce fighting the IRD Zamosc regiment composed of 18 Div. Infantry Maj. maintaining connectivity. riding Gen. Rommel took part in the pursuit of the retreating enemy. Action under Turzyskiem, for which regiment he was quoted in the statement of the Supreme Commander and the Battle of Stepaniem of crossing the river Horyn, was one of the greatest achievements Regiment. Around October 10th Regiment, composed of 3 Brig. Driving, Lithuania became the border between the IRD Ejszyszki - Bieniakonie. Descended two more battles Regiment took Rudniki and Olkienniki.

In late December Regiment became the permanent halt to Zolkiew, where it was renamed the 24 Cavalry Regiment regular army and were approved in the following colours: white pennant with a yellow fishing line, white rim on the hat and white stripes with a yellow knob on szaserach. 14 Orders of the War of Military Virtue, 54 Crosses of Valour on the chest and the graves of officers, non-commissioned officers and lancers shows clearly how beautiful page in the history of the Polish Cavalry Regiment enrolled 214 Volunteer Army.

1921- The former Polish military from the Polish -Bolshevik War were chosen exclusively to resettle the lost lands in the east. They were called "Osadniks". (Settlers)

Each Osadnik was given 25 hectares of land, livestock, and american equipment. (1 Hectare = 100m * 100m = 10,000 m²)

Stainislaw moved with his mother to Targovice (between Dubno and Lutsk) ( he was 24 yrs old )

Military Parade in Dubno 1923 - Stanislaw 5th rider from front.

In Targovica Stanislaw met a local Pole Maria Kondradska and they married .

They farmed on the lands close to the rivers Ikva and Styr.

The hay gathering picture actually is an expression of status.

Stanislaw was now a landowner- he had livestock, horses, an American "McCormik" hay reaper and could dress his children well - . According to Leon, Tadzik was a little upset in the photo, because both Leon and Jurek had new white shirts, and Tadzik had to wear a grey one !

The names of the horses were Siwek ,Gniady and Kasztan.

Each Sunday they would travel to the church in Targovica some 4km away.

School was around the corner in Zady.

The 4 children were born between 1923 and 1937

1939 Sept - Soviets invade eastern Poland. The NKVD ( Soviet Sectret Police - later KGB) take control of the townships.

Disguised as "agricultural experts" they visit all the Osadnik properties and note all the family details. * (Ref Book- Behind Closed Doors)

1940 - February 11th - mid winter the NKVD arrived swiftly and began the process of deporting all the Osadniks.

They were the first of 4 phases of deportations to the Gulags in the far northern Russian Wastes to Kotlas/ Archangel (referred to as Siberia) from the Kresy regions

So in mid winter they are transported in cattle trucks - 72 people per truck to the forests and frozen wastes around Kotlas. A journey that would take nearly 2 weeks. Many perished on the way before they even got to thier gulags.

Leo and Jurek were still 16 and Mietek was 3 when this happened.

Lila

Picture of girl with bear is signed Lila - Wroclaw June 17th 1948. - check out Renia's page, the bear looks familiar !)

Elzbieta Szczerbinska

Picture with the Szczerbinski's around 1969 ish presumably this is Elzbieta next to the two Jureks.