Decet cariorem esse patriam nobis quam nosmet ipsos

It becomes us to love our country more than ourselves

acc to Cyceron De finibus bonorum et malorum (On the Ends of Good and Evil) 5, 19, 64

Contents

Foreword

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chapter I – Origins and family

Chapter II – Service in the Polish Army 1920–1934

Chapter III – Adjutant to the President of the Republic of Poland

Chapter IV – 1939-1945

Chapter V – In exile

Afterword

Appendices

Bibliography

Father of the Cichociemni

— We present to you the unique work prepared by archivists from the National Digital Archives Katarzyna Brąkowska and Łukasz Karolewski. It is devoted to Colonel Józef Hartman (1898-1979) – an outstanding son of the Świętokrzyskie region, an extraordinary individual, yet virtually unknown and unrecognised in the collective memory of the Polish society. He was the embodiment of officer's virtues and all that was best in the generation of the reborn interwar Republic of Poland. Patriotism, instilled into him by his upinging, bore fruit in his active participation in political life across different periods of the country's history, starting from the end of the partitions, through both world wars and ending with post-war exile. At the age of 16, he was a soldier of the underground Polish Military Organisation and fought in the Polish-Soviet war of 1919-1920. He graduated from the Infantry Cadet School. With the experience gained in the military school, and, later, working in the Ministry of Military Affairs, he became an adjutant to the President of the Republic of Poland, Ignacy Mościcki. During World War II, he shared the hardships of the president, accompanying him until the latter settled in Switzerland. He had a lifelong respect for the head of state. After Mościcki's resignation from office, Hartman went first to France and then to Great Britain, where he played a unique role, becoming the icon of the Cichociemni elite special operations paratroopers. When the decision was made to support the Polish Home Army's struggle with the invader by airlifting specialists trained in the UK to Poland, the General Staff of the Commander-in- Chief entrusted him with the task of training future Cichociemni. He was the second Polish head of the training centre at Audley End House near Saffron Walden and Cambridge (also known as Station 43). He asked his superiors repeatedly to be sent into the occupied country, but to no avail. The reason for the refusal was a huge risk of exposure because of the great popularity he had enjoyed before the war as an adjutant to the President of the Republic of Poland. The decision was a severe blow to him but, at the same time, it strengthened his commitment to Poland and, in turn, to the training of the Cichociemni. He sought not only to teach fighting skills, but also to instil moral values and develop patriotic feelings of Polish soldiers by providing guidance and support.

A poem written by a Cichociemny, Capt. Józef Zabielski, "Wildcat", may serve as an illustration of the great respect, shared mutual understanding and special feelings the paratroopers had for their superior.

Col. J. Sławomir Hartman "Sławek”

There is a vision time won't blur

your silhouette among the castle walls,

you stood still, cape billowing in the air

Guardian of the President, guardian of Honour.

Kindness and goodness were your offerings

and your good word and your kind smile,

when you spoke with faith and soothing,

new hopes in our hearts could ignite.

I know you hoped when your time was nigh

to fall in the glory of the battle's fore

with your faithful weapon, under Poland's sky

to homely firs' rustling songs of valour.

You walked humbly, a modest man

who loved the Cichociemni more

than his own life and fickle fame,

A quiet hero expecting no reward.

"I wish to follow where my men have gone

Let there be no parades and no lament

When I'm dead, I can tell it won't be long"

Were the simple words of your testament.

Lord granted you your wish – you left in peace

and though no gun salute was fired

in rememance of your noble deeds

Cichociemni hearts drummed their last respects.

Capt. Józef Zabielski, nom de guerre Żbik (Niepodlegli ciemności. Anthology of Cichociemni poems edited by Krzysztof A. Tochman)

Colonel Hartman gave all his life to the army and serving Poland. A guardian, father, mentor and teacher to the Cichociemni all in one, he treated each of his students like a son and prepared them for operations in Poland with great care. He described them in the following way: Those who volunteered to work in the country were really "handsome boys, all carefully selected [expression taken from translated lyrics of a Polish war song "Wojenko, wojenko" – translator's note]". They were recruited from the best men we had in the West (excerpt from a broadcast on Radio Free Europe, found by Katarzyna Brąkowska). As a tribute to fallen Cichociemni, he planted rose bushes in his garden, naming them after his dead others-in-arms. After the war, he remained in exile and was active in the veteran community. He took part in the establishment of the Piłsudski Institute and actively supported its work.

Col. Józef Hartman's patriotic spirit makes him a role model for the younger generation. Today, thanks to many years of research and deep commitment of Katarzyna Brąkowska, we get to know this remarkable individual through the story of his life, illustrated with many photographs which the author had managed to uncover. The unique photographic documentation shows Col. Józef Hartman with Marshal Józef Piłsudski, President of the Republic of Poland Ignacy Mościcki, as well as his close subordinates. This is the first time that such a vast and diverse collection of photos has been made available to readers interested in the history of Poland and the Cichociemni.

The work of Katarzyna Brąkowska and Łukasz Karolewski is a valuable inspiration for educational activities of the Foundation. We can use it to show the patriotic pedigree of the Cichociemni generation, formed during the struggle for Poland's independence at the beginning of the 20th century, which saw the rebirth of the Polish statehood after years of foreign rule. The present publication makes it easier to point to the source of attitudes and determination of paratrooper soldiers, who fought so bravely against the German invader. The priceless photographs contained here capture the atmosphere and people of the time.

The part devoted to Col. Józef Hartman's life in exile in London is of particular educational value. Aged 50, he had to begin his personal life anew after leaving the army. Despite financial challenges and serious health problems, he never lost faith. He took up different jobs, often working physically, as he was not entitled to a military pension. For a long time he did not want to become a British citizen lest he should set a bad example to his men. Throughout his life, he kept in touch with his colleagues living in Great Britain and all over the world. His correspondence with Maria Mościcka, the widow of President Mościcki, whom he respected and cared about deeply, is an unparalleled source of information about the times. Just as memorable are his moving letters to his mother...

In the opinion of the Foundation of the Polish Home Army Cichociemni Paratroopers and Militaria.pl, the portrayal of Col. Józef Hartman's activities in the London Cichociemni Club, contained in this publication, is a model example of how to commemorate our heroes, especially those who lived facing bitter divisions within the expat milieu and the belittling of the role of the Cichociemni, Home Army and Polish Armed Forces in the West by the then Security Service of the Polish People's Republic. Despite the mounting problems, Józef Hartman cherished the memory of the Cichociemni and commemorated their anniversaries. He remained loyal to Poland and his soldiers until the end. The book by Katarzyna Brąkowska and Łukasz Karolewski is not only extremely important as a valuable source of information, it is also our responsibility.

Foundation of the Polish Home Army Cichociemni Paratroopers

Militaria.pl

The Forgotten Soldier of Freedom

— The 19th century saw the formation of modern European nations. Depending on specific circumstances, the process could be shorter or longer. Poles belonged to the latter group, as they had been deprived of statehood by their aggressive neighbours in the 18th century and were subjected to denationalisation, both Germanisation and Russification.

Independence was won at the cost of lives and blood of five generations, whose members stubbornly fought for a sovereign existence. The armed struggle for the survival of independence regained in 1918 lasted until 1921, while the new borders of the reborn Polish Republic were only approved by the Conference of Ambassadors of the League of Nations in March 1923.

Poles became their own masters, in control of their country, forging their daily lives despite turmoil and danger for the next 16 years, a time sufficient to bring up a generation instilled with a love of freedom, a sense of pride and dignity. This was a period when the Polish national identity, previously acquired in various ways, deepened and the national community and civic awareness were formed. The above process can be described as in statu nascendi. The values imbued in young Polish citizens at that time were put to test during World War II.

The end of the 18th century marked the beginning of the process of including the so-called common people, i.e. townspeople and, particularly, peasants (70% of the total population of the Commonwealth) in the group of fully- fledged citizens, as reflected by such political acts as the Constitution of 3 May and the Proclamation of Połaniec issued by Commander Tadeusz Kościuszko. No less important was the inclusion of folklore motifs into the canon of national culture in the Romantic period. Together with the Decalogue and the teachings of the Church, this created a set of common values, deepened by the brotherhood of arms during the Kościuszko Uprising and in the Dąbrowski Legions.

Introduced during the wars of 1797-1813, the Napoleonic Code gave personal freedom to peasants, although it did not solve the problems of serfdom. The events of 1846 showed that the battle for the souls of the Polish people must be fought on many levels, as the image of Bartosz Głowacki, a Polish national peasant hero during the battle of Racławice was threatened to be replaced by that of an imperial peasant or even a bloody murderer of his compatriots, Jakub Szela, something the foreign powers responsible for the partitions of Poland greatly encouraged. They used all means to win the peasants over (school, army, enfranchisement, encouragement of drunkenness, etc.). This necessitated countermeasures – tedious long-term educational, social and political efforts over many generations. The struggle for daily bread (agricultural circles, cooperatives, credit unions and folk banks) combined with wider access to culture (secret teachings, theatres, singing groups, publishing houses, newspapers, tours and pilgrimages) slowly wiped out the image of a serf, who was a bearer of the slave tradition[1]. After the peasant soldiers of Kościuszko, Dąbrowski's legionnaires, the veterans of the November Uprising of 1830-1831, the insurgents of Chochołów and Cracow, supporters of Fr. Piotr Ściegienny and the January Uprising fighters, with those leaded by Father General Stanisław Brzóska becoming icons of the resistance, a new chapter of history was written by the Uniates of Podlasie and Chełm. Following the bloody hecatomb in Drelów and Pratulin, where many of them were killed by Russian bullets, they created their own underground organisation in January 1874 to defend the faith of their fathers, continuing their resistance for over 30 years until 1905, when the so-called edict of toleration was issued by the Tsar, resulting in the mass return of the forced converts to the Roman Catholic Church (120,000 did so in one month despite various obstacles). The return and restoration of Poland was what they said about the time in question[2].

The 500th anniversary celebrations of the battle of Grunwald in Cracow in 1910 and those held in Jasna Góra in 1882 and 1910 may serve as evidence of the creation and strengthening of national ties across the three partitions and the birth of the Young Poland generation. As it was put by Polish painter, playwright and poet Stanisław Wyspiański, its members prayed to God: ...grant us in the faith of centuries to undertake the Deed...[3] and awaited the War of Nations, which, according to a prophecy of 1816, promoted by Romantic writers (Krasiński, Mickiewicz), was to bring Poles the longed-for freedom and their own state.

The protagonist of this book, Colonel Józef Sławomir Hartman, belonged to this generation of the awakened knights of freedom. Thanks to the painstaking work of archivist Katarzyna Brąkowska, who has painted a vivid portrait of Hartman, it is easier to place him in the generation of ...the Polish sabre cast on the scales of the Great War[4]. The group was not a very numerous one – about 50,000 legionnaires, several tens of thousands of Polish Military Organisation soldiers, several tens of thousands of Poles from the three corps in the East, troops in Odessa, Kuban and Murmansk and 100,000 soldiers from General Józef Haller's Blue Army. The numbers may seem pale in comparison to a  crowd of 3.4 million Poles conscripted into the armies of the partitioning powers during the mobilisation after 1914 in order to fight a fratricidal war. Yet this Polish sabre was used to win freedom and new borders of independent Poland and to defend it.

Hartman's biography points to an interesting phenomenon of the partition period. Part of the foreigners coming to the territory of the former Commonwealth, whether in search of bread (Olęder settlers, the Scots and Germans – Hartman's ancestors came from Baden-Württemberg), or seeking refuge (Jews, the Huguenots and French after 1789), or, lastly, those coming as colonists and administrators of the conquered nation, assimilated to Polish culture over time and became its promoters (e.g. the Matejko and Palów families). It was during the period of the most severe national and religious persecution that Polish priests created structures, within the archdiocese of Mogilev, of the Roman Catholic Church stretching from the borders of the Kingdom of Poland (the Bug River) to the Arctic Ocean, with churches as far as Manchuria (the city of Harbin) and the United States, acting in accordance with the motto Deo et Patria.

Hartman, a son of landless peasants, and, later, forest rangers, thanks to his family's sacrifices, his persistence and his own determination managed to get an education and graduated from gymnasium. He did not stop there. He attended pedagogical courses in Warsaw and, in the years 1916-1917, was a student at the Public Male Teachers Seminary in Jędrzejów, wanting to carry "the torch of learning" to the people.

He combined his education and subsequent teaching work (he was the headmaster of the school in Krzcięcice) with underground and independence activities. Despite considerable risk to himself, he became involved in the latter while still at gymnasium. Initially, he joined the Polish Rifle Teams[5] to later became a member of the Polish Military Organisation. He created the basic PMO structures as a platoon commander, thus contributing to the laying of the foundations for the Polish Army. He actively participated in the disarmament of the occupiers and preserving the country's independence, duties he fulfilled with devotion, as evidenced by his decorations – the Cross of Valour awarded to him in 1920 and the Cross of Independence in the 1930s.

Hartman devoted his adult life to the army. As an adjutant to the President of the Republic of Poland, Prof. Ignacy Mościcki, wearing the uniform of his Mountain Division, he became a visible and recognisable symbol of the Polish Army, both in the eyes of his compatriots and foreigners. He remained in this honourable, but at the same time very difficult post, to which he had been appointed, in large part, thanks to the recommendation of Marshal Piłsudski, until the eruption of German and Soviet aggression against Poland. He did not fight the enemy in the ranks of the 1st Infantry Division, instead staying at the President's side to the end. Then, like other wandering soldiers, he left allied Romania to join the emerging Polish Army in exile.

Hartman's subsequent life was largely determined by his pre-war acquaintance with Major Maciej Kalenkiewicz "Kotwicz", whom he had met during a balloon course. This former adjutant to Major Henryk Dozański "Hubal" together with his colleague Capt. Jan Górski presented the project of creating Polish paratrooper forces to General Władysław Sikorski. Hartman also became involved in the works, with the permission of the Commander-in-Chief. He was entrusted with the task of preparing special operatives of versatile skills who were to be airlifted to the occupied country once their training was completed. He was one of the first to undergo, under the supervision of the English, this very special training in order to be able to teach others (1941-1944). His devotion and care for his subordinates earned him the honourable name of the Father of the Cichociemni.

I hope that this photo book about Colonel "Sławek" Hartman, published in the year marking the 100th anniversary of Poland's independence, together with the accompanying exhibition, will serve as a memorial to this remarkable man. The documents left by Hartman were preserved by his former subordinate and a would- be Cichociemny, deputy minister of domestic affairs Roman Lewicki, who was also active in commemorating the memory of the Colonel in Great Britain. In 2001, he provided the documents in question to the New Files Archive. As the executor of his will, I encouraged young historians, including Wojciech Markert, to make use of them.

May the work of Katarzyna Brąkowska and Łukasz Karolewski inspire the Ministry of National Defence to reintroduce the post of an adjutant to the President of the Republic of Poland, who would stand at the President's side dressed in the characteristic uniform introduced into the Polish Army by highlander General Jędrzej Galica. The time has come for the grave of Papa Hartman to be tended and cared for on a constant basis by the appropriate unit of the Polish Embassy in London.

Tadeusz Krawczak, PhD

Director of the New Files Archive in Warsaw

[1] Wincenty Witos, Moje wspomnienia, vol. 1, Paris 1965, p. 194.

[2] The Uniate martyrs of Pratulin (24.01.1874) were beatified by John Paul II on 6 October 1996.

[3] Stanisław Wyspiański, Hymn Veni Creator..., [online] [accessed on: 7 August 2018],<https://literat.ug.edu.pl/wyswier/003.htm>.

[4] I did not want to allow the new borders of states and nations to be curved with swords on the living flesh of our homeland, with the Poles themselves missing. I did not want to allow the scales of fate hanging over our heads, with swords cast on them, to be without the Polish sae, Józef Piłsudski, Pisma zbiorowe, vol. 4, Warsaw 1937, p. 40.

[5] There were approx. 1,500 (30%) young people from peasant backgrounds in the ranks of the Polish Rifle Teams.

Acknowledgements

— We would like to thank all the kind and helpful people who made this book possible, in particular: Tadeusz Krawczyk, PhD, director of the New Files Archive in Warsaw; Mariusz Olczak, deputy director of the New Files Archive in Warsaw; Dorota Gębicka, head of the 4th Division of the Scientific Information and Access to the New Files Archive in Warsaw; Krzysztof Smolana, PhD and Anna Eliza Wasilewska from the New Files Archive; Piotr Niedziela, Monika Mossakowska-Biało, Aleksandra Brzozowska, Mateusz Bolesta and Monika Wojdyna from the National Digital Archives; Henryk Niestrój, PhD from the Head Office of the State Archives; Iwona Pogorzelska, head of the 3rd Division of Access Provision, Information and Archive Education of the State Archive in Kielce; Grzegorz Pisarski, deputy director of the Polish Social and Cultural Association Library in London; Jadwiga Kowalska, deputy head of the Archive and coordinator of Cultural Projects at the Sikorski Polish Institute and Museum in London; Anna Stefanicka, secretary general of the Józef Piłsudski Institute in London; Robert Sikorski from the State Archive in Częstochowa and Fr. Jarosław Łuniewski from the Main Archive of the Pauline Order in Jasna Góra, Częstochowa; Magdalena Żółw from the Central Military Archive of the Military Historical Bureau in Warsaw; Wojciech Markert from the Józef Piłsudski Museum in Sulejówek, as well as the relatives of Col. Józef Hartman: Mirosława Hudyma, Ewa Strutyńska, Teresa and Krzysztof Januszkiewicz, Paweł Hartman, the late Witold Hartman, Artur Hartman, the late Lesław Hartman, Andrzej Łysak, Josephine Larsson; Adam Junosza-Kowalewski and Kinga Gawrońska.

We would also like to express our special gratitude to Anna and Bogdan Rowiński from the Polish Home Army Cichociemni Paratroopers Foundation and Tomasz Szulc from Militaria.pl for making the publication of this work possible.

Finally, we would like to thank all the many people of good will, too numerous to mention, whose advice, encouragement and kind words contributed to the creation of this work.

Katarzyna Brąkowska

Łukasz Karolewski

Introduction

— The National Digital Archives (NDA) carries out its mission as an institution responsible for the process of digitalisation of Polish archives and for storing, processing and sharing its own rich collection, consisting of photos, films and sound recordings. Deeply rooted in traditional archival practice, the Archives are at the same time at the forefront of changes that are taking place in state archives in the era of the IT revolution.

The NDA stands out among other Polish state archives due to its tasks as well as its holdings, the main part of which is a huge collection of photographs. Pictures do not constitute typical archival material, as both the process of their creation and storage is different than in the case of documents in the form of files, which are more common in such institutions. Photographs are not infrequently testimonies of time spontaneous in nature, focused on capturing a moment rather than a longer process. What makes them unique is, above all, their form of expression in which the visual aspect, combined with aesthetic values, often appeals more strongly to the emotions rather than the recipient's intellect.

At the same time, however, the purely informational and cognitive value of photography cannot be denied, often going far beyond the most meticulous and accurate descriptions. It seems that the authors of this work, Katarzyna Brąkowska and Łukasz Karolewski, have sought to capture and exploit this twofold nature of photography. They undertook a difficult task: to write and illustrate the biography of an extraordinary man, whose military service ought him close to the most important political figures of the Second Polish Republic, led him to fight for Poland far from its borders only to ultimately condemn him to a life of a forgotten exile. The task required gathering ample, but widely scattered source material, while at the same time demonstrating an understanding of the recent history of Poland and competence in the assessment of the value of the presented photographic materials.

The final result is the present photo book, dedicated to a single protagonist, with his reliable biography. The picture that emerges is that of a soldier devotedly pursuing his basic duty – service to his country, and, at the same time, an ordinary man in everyday situations. Thanks to their in-depth archival research, the Authors found unique sources of information about the extraordinary life of Colonel Józef Hartman and gathered an invaluable set of photographs to illustrate it.

The publication of this book coincides with the 100th anniversary of Poland's independence. This is a very good time to remember those who witnessed this historic moment and took up arms to defend the country's newly regained independence – a state that cannot be taken for granted, being the responsibility of the citizens. Independence should be cultivated every day through conscientious work and service, and, if the need arises, fought for, as exemplified by the life of Colonel Józef Hartman.

Wojciech Woźniak, PhD

General Director of the State Archives

Chapter I

Origins and family

— Colonel Józef Hartman, nom de guerre "Sławek", was born on 27 October 1898 in the village of Swaryszów, Jędrzejów county in the Kielce governorate as the eldest son of Karol and Małgorzata, née Białek. Fr Antoni Ganczarczyk, parish priest of the St Martin's Roman Catholic Parish in Tarnawa noted in the record book that on 29 October 1898, at 7 o'clock in the evening, there appeared Karol Hartman from Swaryszów, aged 36, accompanied by Jakub Winter and Franciszek Rokicki, and showed him a male infant born in Swaryszów on 27 October 1898 at 8 o'clock, "by his legitimate wife", 20 year-old Małgorzata, née Białek. At baptism he was given the name Józef, with his godparents being his uncle Józef Hartman and Marianna Białek, his mother's sister[1]. According to the record book entry, his parents were illiterate landless peasants who lived with and worked for wealthier farmers to make a living. All that is known about the early life of the Hartmans in the Kielce region comes from oral family history, according to which they came from Baden-Württemberg at the beginning of the 19th century. The State Archive in Kielce holds, among other documents, the marriage certificate of the parents of Karol Hartman, the father of the future colonel – Fryderyk Adam and Karolina Filipina Rebeka Ejtel, both Lutherans of German descent, according to the document[2]. Fryderyk and Karolina had four other sons beside Karol: Józef, Wojciech, Ignacy and Feliks, as well as two daughters Róża and Marianna. The family converted to Catholicism in unknown circumstances, which is why Karol Hartman was baptised according to the rites of the Roman Catholic Church. Alas, little is known about the Białek family, from which came Józef's mother. All that is certain is that they lived in Tarnawa[3].

It remains unclear how, at the beginning of the 20th century, Karol Hartman became a forester in the estate of Bugaj, which belonged to the Wielopolski family[4], thus significantly improving the poor family's financial situation. Karol's wife Małgorzata raised their children and ran the household. The family eventually settled in a forester's lodge in Szałas[5], which, together with four hectares of land, Karol received from his employer[6] as a kind of retirement gift and a token of thanks for his exemplary work.

Józef Hartman had four brothers: Antoni, Stanisław, Jan and Tadeusz, as well as a sister, Jadwiga. He also maintained close contact with his cousins, especially the children of Ignacy Hartman – Aleksander, Józefa Łysak and Julia Kosińska[7]. Family ties were very important for him, being one of the main pillars of his life.

School years

In 1910, Józef Hartman graduated from a public school in Tarnawa near Jędrzejów, in 1913 – from the third grade of the gymnasium in Szczekociny. In the school year 1913-1914 he attended pedagogical courses in Warsaw, the first of which he completed on 25 June 1914. The outbreak of the First World War forced him to leave school and take private lessons. From 1916 to 1917 he studied at the Public Male Teachers Seminary in Jędrzejów, whose diploma granted him the right "to perform teaching duties in public folk schools with Polish as the language of instruction”[8]. As he graduated in June 1917, Hartman was appointed as the headmaster of the school in Krzcięcice, the position he served until 20 July 1920, when he joined the army in the face of the impending Bolshevik offensive.

Independence activity

The surviving archival evidence and memoirs suggest that Józef Hartman became involved in independence activities while still at gymnasium. In 1914 he completed the Polish Rifle Teams training course in Warsaw. He joined the Polish Military Organisation (PMO)[10] in Jędrzejów[11] under the pseudonym "Roch". In the Organisation he underwent an instructor course in Kielce and then, in 1917 – a non-commissioned officer course in Jędrzejów. He started his activity in the PMO in November 1916 in the Teachers Seminary in Jędrzejów. From July 1917 he worked as a platoon commander in Krzcięcice and the surrounding areas in the Jędrzejów county. In Krzcięcice he organised and trained a PMO platoon. Weapon training and exercises took place in the school building and in the nearby forests.

On 17 November 1917, as a sign of protest against the appointment of the Regency Council[12], he brought about 200 people from Krzcięcice and the surrounding areas to the main square in Jędrzejów in order to organise a demonstrative PMO gathering against the Austrians. When Austrian troops barred access to the market square, PMO members, armed with revolvers and clubs, tried to force their way through[13]. During this attack Hartman was stabbed in the leg with a bayonet and, the following day, he was arrested by the commander of the gendarmerie station in Sędziszów, Zimmerman. He spent 6 weeks in prison in Kielce, in the worst conditions imaginable, according to his assessment. He managed to escape with the help of his fellow PMO members. In December 1917 he was appointed a PMO platoon leader. In 1918 he actively participated in the disarmament of the Austrians[14]. On 5 November 1918 he was wounded during a drill as a result of a rifle burst, following which he was hospitalised in Pińczów. PMO activities in the area were conducted under the banner of the Polish People's Party, co-founded by Andrzej Waleron. Meetings were usually held at the home of the Syposz family and were attended by the chief PMO instructor for the Jędrzejów county, nom de guerre "Miriam”[15]. Hartman was awarded a Cross of Valour and a Cross of Independence for his distinguished service and wounds suffered while in the PMO(see Appendix 5).

[1] State Archive in Kielce [Polish: Archiwum Państwowe w Kielcach], vital records of the Roman Catholic parish in Tarnawa, ref. no. 113.

[2] State Archive in Kielce, vital records of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Kielce, ref. no. 6.

[3] Based on the information learned from a telephone conversation with Lesław Hartman.

[4] The Bugaj estate was part of the Pińczów Entail. It was a family estate, dating back to 1601, when the property of Cracow Bishop Piotr Myszkowski was established. The estate was subsequently developed by his nephews, Piotr and Zygmunt Myszkowski. The Myszkowski family was adopted into the Italian House of Gonzaga, while the entail was founded by act of the general assembly in Nowe Miasto Korczyn in 1603. Eventually, after numerous legal battles between the heirs, part of the entail went to the Wielkopolski family, while the rest was taken over by the state treasury. The subdivision of the estate, as a result of its indebtedness, continued throughout the 1930s and was completed by decree on agricultural reform in 1945.

[5] Szałas – a village located in the Sędziszów commune, in the Jędrzejów county, Świętokrzyskie province.

[6] Unfortunately, there is no official document, therefore it remains unknown in what year and from who exactly he received the forester's lodge and the land. It is likely the benefactor was the entail owner Aleksander Erwin Wielkopolski.

[7] Antoni Hartman (1900-1978), husband of Jadwiga, née Wancetel (1908-1975), father of two sons: Ryszard and Lesław. Having finished military service, he returned to Szałas in the Jędrzejów county. He took up a job as a guard of private Krzelów forests. In the second half of the 1920s he and his wife moved to Bagno near Warsaw, where he worked as a gamekeeper. In 1935 he returned to his hometown. After the end of the Second World War, in 1949, he completed a forest ranger course and was transferred to the town of Łącza in the Gliwice county, where he worked as a forest ranger. In 1954, due to poor health, he returned to his family's forester's lodge in Szałas. Until the end of his life, he was closely associated with the hunting club "Szarak" in his place of residence. Based on information obtained from Lesław Hartman, included in an email of 8 September 2017 (in the Author's collections).

Stanisław Hartman (1908-1966), a lawyer, lived with his wife Emma, née Serafin (1911-2001), and children in Katowice.

Jan Hartman (1909-1975) from 1936 lived in Cieszyn with his wife Anna, née Sisenbach, and children Fryderyk and Halina. He initially worked at the hospital, in administration and then in the office of the County Union of Communal Cooperatives "Farmers Self-Help" [Polish: Powiatowy Związek Gminnych Spółdzielni "Samopomoc Chłopska", PZGS].

Tadeusz Hartman (1917-2010), husband of Janina, née Wilczek, father of three children: Teresa, Paweł and Mirosława. Thanks to Józef's financial support, he graduated from the Faculty of Textiles and Technology at the State Higher Industrial College in Bielsko. In the same year, he started working at the Silk Factory in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, which changed its name to Wistom Synthetic Fibers Factory after the war. He worked there until his retirement. Tomaszów was a city frequently visited by President Mościcki, and hence also Józef Hartman, on their way to Spała, which gave Józef the opportunity to visit his youngest brother on a regular basis. Tadeusz wrote about the relationship with his brother in a local post-war newspaper: "[..] my brother Józef visited me at work; I remember the impression he made and the ensuing commotion in the Wilanów factory. He arrived in an elegant car from Spała, where he was accompanying President Mościcki, wearing his full-dress uniform of the Podhale Rifles captain. There was a funny misunderstanding at the entrance to the factory. My brother asked for me to be brought to the porter's lodge, but another worker of the factory who had the same name as me was brought instead by mistake. The situation was quickly rectified, but the managing director of the factory, Michał Hertz, was later angry with me that I had not told him who my brother was. I answered truthfully that I wanted to owe my job in the factory to myself, not my brother's popularity. However, the management of the factory felt so honoured to have met the personal adjutant of the President that they decided to ask Mościcki, through my brother, to pay an official visit to the factory. I remember that some preparations were even made, but they were interrupted by the outbreak of war", as cited in Andrzej Kobalczyk's "Gawędy znad Modrych Wód. Ciągle jestem w Spale...", Tomaszowski Informator Tygodniowy of 25 October 2001.

Jadwiga Hartman (1914-1997), married to Czesław Wroński (1910-1990) since 1940, mother of two daughters: Małgorzata and Ewa. She worked as a clerk in Katowice until the outbreak of World War II. After the war, Jadwiga did not work, but she was socially active, ran the household and raised children.

Aleksander Hartman (1909-1974) lived with his wife Marianna (1910-1984) and son Witold (1938-2017) in Warsaw. Before World War II, he worked in the Europejski Hotel. After the war, he was employed in the Warsaw Power Plant.

Józefa Łysak, née Hartman (1907-2000). Her husband, Armand Łysak (1903-1977) worked in the hotel industry prior to World War II. After the war, they emigrated to the USA, where he worked at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. He died in South Bend, Indiana, and was buried there. Armand and Józefa Łysak had two sons: Andrzej, born in 1934 in Warsaw, currently living in Belgium and Jerzy, who was born in 1943 in Warsaw and died in California, USA in 2016.

Julia Kosińska, née Hartman (1899-1978) was married to Bolesław Kosiński (1877-1950), the director of the Europejski Hotel in Warsaw before World War II. They had one son, Wojciech (1937-2014).

[8] Józef Hartman, Central Military Archive [Polish: Centralne Archiwum Wojskowe, CAW], ref. no. AP 1769/89/1709.

[10] The PMO [Polish: Polska Organizacja Wojskowa, POW], a secret military organisation, was established in Warsaw in August 1914 on the initiative of Józef Piłsudski, as a result of the merger of the underground Union of Active Struggle [Polish: Związek Walki Czynnej], active in the Kingdom of Poland [Polish: Królestwo Polskie] and Polish Army groups. The PMO's main objective was to wage armed struggle against Russia, then Germany and Austria-Hungary. The official name began to be used only starting from October 1914. Greatly committed to the organisation regardless of their background, PMO members came from various social classes. Peasants and workers constituted as many as 50% and 15% respectively, the rest were members of the intelligentsia, landed gentry and the middle class city dwellers. Wojciech Roszkowski, Najnowsza Historia Polski 1914-1939, p. 30, Warsaw 2011.

[11] The first information about the PMO activity in the Kielce region comes from 1915. Pursuant to order no. 3 of the General Headquarters addressed to the district and local commands, the Kielce District was named the 6th PMO District, a name it bore until the end of its existence. The numbering was, of course, introduced for conspiracy reasons. Under the same order, the boundaries of the 6th District coincided with the territory of the former Kielce governorate. The surviving documents provide evidence that there was a local PMO command in Kielce in 1915, headed by an emissary of the Military Department of the Supreme National Committee [Polish: Naczelny Komitet Narodowy, NKN], 2nd Lt. Juliusz Ulrych. He arrived in Kielce in May 1915 in order to organise recruitment to the Legions and a system of material support for the Polish Army. Since he was not granted permission to operate and settle in Kielce, for as long as the city was controlled by a Prussian commander, Maj. Lebius, he remained in hiding in Jędrzejów, from where he contacted his supporters in Kielce, using a secret liaison. After three months, a new Austro-Hungarian commander, Kostelletzky, arrived in Kielce at the time when the Central Powers divided the occupied area into two occupation zones. It was then that Supreme National Committee agents and Ulrych installed themselves in the city. Based on the surviving documents of the 6th District Command, it can be assumed that the actual activity in the district began in May 1916. The district was divided into several areas, the number of which changed between 1916-1917. The final division was as follows: Area 1 - the city of Kielce, Area 2 the Stopnica county, Area 3 - the Jędrzejów county, Area 4 - the southern part of the Włoszczowa county and Szczekociny, Area 5 - the northern part of the Pińczów county with Pińczów, Area 6 - the Miechów county, Area 7 - the Olkusz county, Area 8 - the northern part of the Włoszczowa county with Włoszczowa, Area 9 - the Kielce county without Kielce and Area 10 - the southern part of the Pińczów county with Kazimierza Wielka. There were two PMO sections in Area 3 (the Jędrzejów county), one consisting of folk school teachers and the other of students of teachers seminaries. Przemysław Wzorek, Organizacja Okręgu VI Polskiej Organizacji Wojskowej, https://caw.wp.mil.pl/plik/file/biuletyn/b25/b25_1.pdf (accessed on 25 July 2017).

[12] On 5 November 1916, after the conference in Pszczyna, the German and Austro-Hungarian authorities issued a proclamation, signed by their general governors, Hans von Beseler and Karl Kuk, containing a promise to create the Kingdom of Poland. The act did not define the boundaries of the future monarchy, nor did it guarantee its independence. It contained, however, statements related to the creation of a Polish army. On 14 January 1917, the German and Austro- Hungarian occupation authorities established the Provisional Council of State [Polish: Tymczasowa Rada Stanu] in Warsaw, headed by Wincenty Niemojowski, which replaced the king and the regent. The Council consisted of 25 members (15 represented the German occupation zone and 10 - the Austro-Hungarian occupation zone). Józef Piłsudski was entrusted with the leadership of the Military Commission of the Provisional Council of State. In April 1917, German general-governor Hans von Beseler began organising the Polish Armed Forces [German: Polnische Wehrmacht], deciding to include therein the Polish Legions. This required pledging allegiance to German Emperor Wilhelm II (prior to this, allegiance was pledged to the emperor of Austro-Hungary). On 9 July 1917, following the address of Józef Piłsudski, some of the soldiers, mainly from the 1st and 3rd Brigades of the Legions, refused to take the oath. They were interned shortly afterwards: soldiers in Szczypiorno and officers in Beniaminów. The oath was only taken by the majority of the 2nd Brigade, who only had very loose ties to Józef Piłsudski, as their commander was General Józef Haller. Those soldiers were incorporated into the "Polnische Wehrmacht", called the Polish Auxiliary Corps [Polish: Polski Korpus Posiłkowy], which was under German command and conscript-based. On 25 July, following the so-called Oath Crisis, the Provisional Council of State appointed the Regency Council [Polish: Rada Regencyjna] as the highest state authority of the Kingdom of Poland until the assumption of the throne by a king or regent. Pursuant to the order of the occupation authorities, Cardinal Aleksander Kakowski, Zdzisław Lubomirski and Józef Ostrowski became the members of the Council, the highest authority body of the Kingdom of Poland, established on 5 November. W. Roszkowski, Najnowsza Historia Polski 1914-1939, pp. 31-37, Warsaw 2011.

[13] Józef Hartman gave two conflicting accounts of the event. According to the less probable one, of 4 April 1932, PMO members, armed with revolvers, broke through the Austrian cordon into the market square. In the second account of 7 May 1932, he "reluctantly recounted" that the attack was unsuccessful as PMO fighters, armed with clubs, stood little chance against Austrian rifles. Józef Hartman, CAW, ref. no. AP. 1769/89/1709.

[14] Józef Hartman, CAW, ref. no. AP. 1769/89/1709.

[15] Letter to the family of Józef and Władysław Syposz, the Płatek family and Julia Jach of 11 November 1972. New Files Archive [Polish: Archiwum Akt Nowych, AAN], Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 15/2.

State Archive in Kielce, vital records of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Kielce, ref. no. 6.

Certificate of marriage of Józef's grandparents: Fryderyk Adam Hartman and Karolina Filipina Rebeka Ejtel

No. 6 (entry)

This took place in the City of Kielce, the county of Kielce, in the Governorate of Radom, on the eighth day of March of the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine at eleven o'clock in the forenoon. Be it known that in the presence of witnesses Adam Waltz, a forest labourer aged forty-two years, and Teodor Arndt, a cantor aged twenty-two years, the former domiciled in the village of Rzędowice, in the commune of Mianocice, in the county of Miechów, the later in Kielce, the rite of holy matrimony was celebrated in the Evangelical church in Kielce BETWEEN Fryderyk Adam Hartmann, a bachelor[1], a forest labourer aged thirty years old, domiciled in Rzędowice, born in the village of Eichelberg, the county of Schwarzwald in the Kingdom of Württemberg, younger son of an unknown father and mother Filipina Hartmann, domiciled in Rzędowice and of Evangelical-Augsburg confession, AND Karolina Filipina Rebeka Ejtel, a maiden aged twenty-four years, domiciled in Rzędowice, born in the city of Wildbad[2] and of Evangelical-Augsburg confession, the second daughter of Jan Filip Eitel, a labourer to a carter, domiciled in the town of Wildbad, the county of Schwarzwald and the late Joanna Fryderyka née Gehbauer Eitel, who died therein. The marriage was preceded by three banns, announced in the Evangelical-Augsburg Church in Kielce on the twentieth and twenty- seventh days of February and on the sixth day of March of the current year. No objection to the marriage was raised. The new spouses declared that they had not signed any prenuptial agreement. In witness whereof, this deed has been read out to the appearers and witnesses and signed by the newly wed couple and one witness, while the other stated that he did not know how to write.

Adam Hartmann

Philippine Hartmann

Teodor Arndt

X. Lembke Pastor Kielecki

[1] A note in the margin: "bachelor". Signed by X [ksiądz, Polish for priest] Lembke.

[2] Probably the present city of Bad Wildbad.

Józef Hartman in front of his family's house in Szałas, 1938, private archive of the Hartmans

The Hartman family. Standing from the left: Jan, Jadwiga, Tadeusz, Stanisław. Seated from the left: Małgorzata, Karol, Stanisław's wife Emma, early 1930s, private archive of the Hartmans

Birth and baptism certificate of Józef Hartman

On this 29th day of October 1898 (10th November) at 7 o'clock in the evening in the village of Tarnawa, personally appeared before me Karol Hartman, aged 36, a landless peasant living in Swaryszów in the company of Jakub Winter, 42 and Franciszek Rokicki, 32, both living in Swaryszów and produced a male infant, declaring that he had been born in Swaryszów on 15th (27th) October of the current year, at 8 o'clock, by his legitimate wife Małgorzata née Białek, aged 20. The child has been baptised today and given the name of Józef, with his godparents being Józef Hartman and Marianna Białek. This deed has been declared and announced and read in the presence of witnesses, and signed by me only due to their illiteracy.

Father Antoni Gancarczyk

State Archive in Kielce, vital records of the Roman Catholic parish in Tarnawa, ref. no. 113.

Małgorzata Hartman née Białek in the early 1930s, private archive of the Hartmans

Karol Hartman in the early 1930s, private archive of the Hartmans

The Hartman family, from the left: Tadeusz, Karol, Jadwiga, unknown person, Stanisław, Stanisław's wife Emma and Józef, early 1930s, private archive of the Hartmans

Antoni Hartman with his wife Jadwiga and son Ryszard, 1929–1930, private archive of the Hartmans

Antoni Hartman in a forest guard's uniform, 1939, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 279-1

Stanisław Hartman with his wife Emma, 1932, private archive of the Hartmans

Lt. Józef Hartman with his brother Stanisław in the ruins of the castle of Cieszyn, 1931, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 217-5

Jan Hartman with his wife Anna, 1950s, private archive of the Hartmans

Jadwiga and Czesław Wroński in front of the forester's lodge in Szałas, 1940s, private archive of the Hartmans

Tadeusz Hartman, 1936, private archive of the Hartmans

Tadeusz Hartman with his wife Janina, Katowice, 26 December 1948, Photo Lab "Maria" Katowice-Załęże, private archive of the Hartmans

Janina and Tadeusz Hartman with kids, from the left: Paweł, Mirosława and Teresa, Foto Holas, Katowice, 1960, private archive of the Hartmans

Aleksander Hartman, Foto Rubens, 1931, private archive of the Hartmans

Julia Kosińska with her son Wojciech, 1939, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic

Józef Hartman with Józefa and Armand Łysak in the Europejski Hotel, Foto – Plastyka, Warsaw, 1934–1938, AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 15-9-9

Participants of an jubilee celebration of Director of the Europejski Hotel in Warsaw Bolesław Kosiński, from the left: Ludwik Solski, Bolesław Kosiński, Capt. Józef Hartman and director Szaniawski, 2 January 1939, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/8/224/0/1

Józef Hartman (third on the left, second row from the top) in a group of unknown people, Jędrzejów, July 1920, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 282-1

Chapter II

Service in the Polish Army 1920–1934

— Józef Hartman's decision to join the army is the consequence of the summer Bolshevik offensive and reflects the enormous determination of many thousands of similar volunteers who, responding to the proclamation of the Council of National Defence[16] of 3 July 1920, stood to defend the young Polish statehood. The Poles did not want a revolution brought on Russian bayonets. They could not bear to lose independence regained after 123 years of foreign rule. In defending Poland, the also protected the entire West against the threat of communism.

The then twenty-two-year-old Hartman, who had been working as a teacher until 20 July 1920, began his military adventure on 22 July[17]. Initially, he was assigned to the 25th Infantry Regiment in Miechów. However, it was the 204th Volunteer Battalion of the 4th Legions Infantry Regiment that he set off for the front with. The battalion was subsequently disbanded near the Bug River on 22 August and Hartman's company was incorporated into the 2nd Regiment of Podhale Rifles, where he served until the end of the war. He fought at the Battle of Kock (14-16 August), showing exceptional bravery on the battlefield. On 22 September he was wounded during the counter attack of the Bolsheviks along the Grodno-Kuźnica railway line, for which he was awarded a Cross of Valour. He ended his frontline service on 15 December 1920 and, together with the 2nd Regiment of Podhale Rifles, he moved to the garrison in Krosno, where we was stationed until 22 December. From 23 December to 30 June 1921, he attended the Infantry Cadet School in Warsaw (38th class). He wrote about this in a letter to Gen. Tadeusz Pełczyński dated 26 November 1971[18]: In 1920, I came from the regiment to the Infantry Cadet School in Warsaw. Having examined me, the doctor decided that the wound on my left hip had not healed and that I would return to the regiment. Capt. Siemieński went to talk with the Commander of the School Battalion, who let me stay at school. Thanks to Capt. Siemieński, company commander and platoon commander, 2nd Lt. Zimniak, the doctor and my own determination, I marched on parade on 3 May, for which we were commended by you, sir. I served as an honour guard at the Napoleonic memorabilia exhibition. I was at a dinner attended by the First Marshal of Poland Józef Piłsudski. And, finally, at the end of June, after going to the sea and the mountains, we received certificates of graduation from the 38th Cavalry Class of the Infantry Cadet School.

After graduation, from 1 July 1921, he underwent a probation period in the 1st Legions Infantry Regiment in Vilnius, where he served as a platoon commander. He left the school in the officer cadet rank[19], and already on 1 November 1921 he was promoted to second lieutenant and then, on 1 July 1923 – to lieutenant.

On 9 February 1925 Józef Hartman was assigned to the Manoeuvre Battalion at the Infantry Training Centre in Rembertów, where he served until 26 March 1931 in such capacities as platoon commander, training platoon commander and acting company commander. From 26 March 1931 to 23 March 1932 he was in charge of a platoon in the Infantry Reserve Battalion 5A in Cieszyn. In 1932, already in the rank of captain, he was transferred to the Infantry Department of the Ministry of Military Affairs, where he worked as a clerk until 26 January 1934. In the same year he also completed a parachute course organised by the 2nd Balloon Battalion[20].

Józef Hartman and Marshal Józef Piłsudski

Józef Hartman was a staunch Piłsudski supporter – the marshal was greatly admired in his family, at school and in the PMO. He saw Józef Piłsudski for the first time only at the Infantry Cadet School, during the graduation ceremony at the end of the course. They met in person in 1923, while Hartman served in the 1st Legions Infantry Regiment in Vilnius. As the commander of the protection platoon, he ensured the safety of the Marshal and his family during their holiday in Druskininkai and in Świątniki. After being transferred on 9 February 1925 to the Manoeuvre Battalion at the Infantry Training Centre in Rembertów, he often visited Piłsudski's manor house in Sulejówek on various occasions, e.g. he represented the unit as part of a delegation offering Józef Piłsudski their best wishes. He also helped in the garden and took care of his daughters, for which the Marshal thanked him personally. It was on such occasions that he had the opportunity to get to know the Commandant better. He wrote in his Wspomnienia [Memoirs][21]: I first heard about Józef Piłsudski from my teacher Andrzej Brzosko, who brought up children as future Polish soldiers during the Russian occupation. I learned everything from my father in 1913. From 1914, I was close to the person of Józef Piłsudski and the Legions. It so happened that although I had been serving in the army since 1914, it was only in 1923 that I reported to the Marshal. In the summer of 1923 a company from the 3rd Battalion of the 1st Legions Infantry Regiment from Vilnius came to the camp in Druskininkai to ensure the safety of the Marshal. On the day when the Marshal arrived in Druskininkai, I reported to him as the commander of the platoon on sentry duty. While listening to the report, the Marshal was accompanied by his adjutant Capt. [in 1923 lieutenant] Jerzy Jabłonowski. Following the report, the Marshal was joined by his wife and daughters Wandzia and Jagódka. He said to me: "Tell the soldiers to stand in a semicircle around us". He talked with the soldiers in a casual manner about the military service in Vilnius, their homes and their families. Afterwards I greeted his wife and daughters. The Marshal wanted to know how far it was to the company camp, to which I replied that it was about a twenty-minute walk. He said: "Tell the commander I will visit the camp tomorrow". The next day the Marshal and his daughters came to the camp, debriefed the company commander Capt. Karol Bacz, inspected the camp and talked to the soldiers. We took some photos: company officers reporting to the Marshal, me with Wandzia next to a Hotchkiss […].

PLt. Józef Hartman with Wanda Piłsudska. On the right – a Hotchkiss machine gun, Druskininkai, 1923, AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 15-9-5

Marshal Józef Piłsudski with daughters Jadwiga and Wanda surrounded by officers from the 1st Legions Infantry Regiment, including Capt. Karol Bacz (second on the left) and Lt. Józef Hartman (on the right, behind the Marshal) and his adjutant Lt. Jerzy Jabłonowski (second on the right), Druskininkai, 1923, CAW WBH, ref. no. K-66-1362

Marshal Józef Piłsudski receiving a report from company commander Capt. Karol Bacz. On the left, soldiers from the Marshal's protection platoon, first on the left in the first row is the platoon's commander Lt. Józef Hartman, Druskininkai, 1923, CAW WBH, ref. no. K-66-1357

Józef Hartman remembered the Marshall first and foremost as a straightforward man who knew how to listen to others and show gratitude to soldiers for their faithful service: When the time came to leave Druskininkai, the Marshal came to the camp and thanked the whole company for their service, adding: "I am grateful to the gendarmes and the police as they guarantee peace wherever I go". Soldiers got attached to the Marshal and loved him. When they returned to the Regiment, they were proud and happy to have been given the opportunity to be so close to him (…) The Marshal talked to the soldiers several times, always calmly, and you could tell that he found the conversations enjoyable (…) Right from the beginning – thanks to the Marshal – there was an atmosphere of warmth, with his paternal approach to everybody. When I was giving my report in Druskininkai, I was standing very close to the Marshal. He looked at me, at us, with his fresh, gentle eyes and spoke to us in a kind, reassuring manner. At the shooting range I noticed that the Marshal had beautiful hands. When he talked to somebody who, speaking about small or big matters, did not try to "get smart", the Marshal listened (…). In his nobility, goodness and approachability there was what is often called this special power, radiating from his eyes as well, to make people love him.

Hartman also participated in the Marshal's meeting with scouts who wanted to visit him in Sulejówek before their planned journey around the world. This is how he reminisced about the event many years later: Before departing on a journey around the world, boy scouts paid a visit to the Marshal in Sulejówek. Jagódka had a piece of cloth tied around her mouth and her head, as she was suffering from toothache. Speaking with the boys, the Marshal joked: "It is a pity that you will have to go alone, because Jagódka has got toothache, and Wandzia won't go without her and her Mummy", to which Wanda said: "and without Daddy". The Marshal shook hands with Jedliński [actually: Jeliński] and the scouts, wished them good luck and a safe return. Jedliński asked the Marshal to make an entry in their commemorative book, handed him a pen and held the book. The pen wouldn't work. The Marshal remarked: "You are going to have troubles with this fashionable pen of yours – he turned around – fortunately Hartman is already waiting with an ink well and my old, reliable pen".

Marshal Józef Piłsudski making an entry in the scouts' commemorative book, from the left: scout Jerzy Jeliński, Aleksandra Piłsudska, Lt. Jerzy Jabłonowski, Lt. Józef Hartman, Józef Piłsudski, scout Bruno Brettschneider, scout Jan Wacław Ława and Marshal's daughters Wanda and Jadwiga, Sulejówek, 19 March 1926, Photo lab Polska Agencja Fotograficzna i Prasowo Reklamowa, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/2/56/0/2

From the left: Aleksandra Piłsudska, Lt. Józef Hartman, Marshal Józef Piłsudski, scouts Bruno Brettschneider and Jan Wacław Ława. Standing with their backs to the viewer are the Marshal's daughters: Jadwiga (shorter) and Wanda, NAC, ref. no. 3/22/0/-/252/1

During the May coup of 1926, Józef Hartman took the side of Marshal Józef Piłsudski, guarding his manor house and later fighting against government forces in the 3rd Company of the Manoeuvring Battalion in the vicinity of the Kierbedź Bridge and Zamkowy Square. He described the events as follows: Already on 4 May the 3rd company and an HMG platoon were stationed in the forest behind the road. One platoon was on sentry duty around the house, hidden in the guardhouse and small sheds. The service was first-class. I was invited to meals and played with the children. The meals and tea meetings were often frequented by the neighbours– Mr and Mrs Moraczewski with their daughter Wanda and son Adam.

On 10 May 1926 the command of the reinforced guard was taken over by Lt. Seweryn Łaźniewski, while I, together with the company and an HMG platoon, joined the 3rd company in Rembertów. All that time I took part in fighting in Warsaw, starting with the bridge and the Castle[22].

The period that was particularly important for Józef Hartman's military career was his service in Sulejówek, where he was in Józef Piłsudski and his family's closest circle. The Marshal was a keen observer and a good judge of character, so he immediately noticed the idealistic, intelligent officer, who was far from being a careerist, something the Marshal detested. Piłsudski was rarely wrong about people – his opinions about officers and politicians turned out to be surprisingly accurate, as demonstrated by the events of World War II[23].

[16] The Council of National Defence [Polish: Rada Obrony Państwa] was a temporary parliamentary and government body equipped with extraordinary powers, established for the time of the Polish-Soviet war by decree of 1 July 1920 of the Legislative Sejm [Polish: Sejm Ustawodawczy]. The Council operated until 1 October 1920. It was comprised of the Chief of State, the marshal of the Sejm, the prime minister, army representatives and representatives of the main political parties. It coordinated defence activities under the leadership of Józef Piłsudski. In its first days of operation, on 3 July, the Council issued an address on volunteer recruitment. Its primary objective was to raise the morale of soldiers by tightening regulations regarding emergency military justice system and introducing stricter penalties for the crimes related to the performance of military service duties. It also intended to reward soldiers' heroism. The Council introduced the Cross of Valour and provided aid for army widows and orphans. It also monitored the fulfilment of employers' obligations towards employees undertaking voluntary military service. However, the main responsibility of the Council was to work out the terms of the prospective truce and hold peace negotiations with Russia. The organisation of the Volunteer Army by the Council required increased social activity. To this end, the Civic Executive Committee of State Defence was set up, headed by General Józef Haller. In response to the Committee's appeal, regional, county and municipal committees of state defence were created throughout the country, both spontaneously and encouraged by the government or military authorities. These committees usually included people enjoying significant respect in their local communities. Their role was to recruit volunteers to the Volunteer Army and raise funds for the equipment. Patriotic ideas were also promoted. The committees ended their activities in mid-1921.

[17] In his memoirs written in the 1970s, Józef Hartman wrote that he attained non-commissioned officer ranks, from private to platoon commander, in 1915-1917 in the PMO. He served in the 25th Infantry Regiment in Miechów and, from 1919, in a Volunteer Battalion of the 4th Legions Infantry Regiment in the rank of sergeant and platoon commander. Wspomnienia, Archive of the Józef Piłsudski Institute in London [Polish: Archiwum Instytutu Józefa Piłsudskiego w Londynie, AIJPL], Collection of Józef Hartman, no. 142

[18] AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 15/2.

[19] Between 1919-1922, the officer cadet rank [Polish: podchorąży] was a non-commissioned officer rank of prospective officers in the Polish Army, lower than the staff sergeant, later to become the title obtained by students of military academies (Order of the Minister of Military Affairs regulating the position of cadet officers with regard to sergeants of 23 July 1919, "Journal of Military Orders" of 1919, 31 July, no. 81, item 2864, pp. 1903-1904).

[20] R. Lewicki, W. Markert, Józef Sławomir Hartman, 1898–1979. Adiutant prezydenta i Ojciec Cichociemnych, Oficyna Wydawnicza „Ajaks”, Pruszków 2004, p. 15.

[21] Wspomnienia, AIJPL, Collection of Józef Hartman, no. 142.

[22] Józef Hartman, Wspomnienie, the Polish Underground Movement Study Trust [Polish: Studium Polski Podziemnej, SPP], ref. no. TP2/528.

[23] It is worth quoting Piłsudski's opinion about Edward Rydz-Śmigły: "Firm character of a soldier, strong-willed, with a calm, balanced and composed disposition. In terms of the strength of character, he outshines all the other Polish generals. Bold ideas do not frighten him, nor is he discouraged by failure. (…) In the present situation he would not cope with the fickle and oversized ambitions of the generals, I am not sure of his operational skills in the capacity of the Commander-in-Chief and his ability to assess not only strictly military power, but that of his and the enemy's entire countries" [highlighted in bold by the author]. The defensive war of 1939 proved him right, revealing all flaws of Rydz-Śmigły as the Commander-in-Chief. His opinion about General Władysław Sikorski was just as accurate: "Intelligent, with an agile mind and a light disposition alongside great ambitions. He has an excellent rapport with people, knowing how to use them skilfully and purposefully. He would also make a good chief of staff of the Commander-in-Chief (…) Susceptible to selfishness and quick to put the blame on others. Sikorski's negative qualities fully came to light in exile in France and Great Britain (see Chapter IV).

Marshal Józef Piłsudski with his daughters Wanda and Jadwiga (standing in front of the Marshal) and Lt. Jerzy Jabłonowski (fourth on the right in the foreground) and Lt. Józef Hartman (third on the right in the foreground) among military band soldiers, Druskininkai, 1923, CAW WBH, ref. no. K-66-1380

Marshal Józef Piłsudski with his daughters surrounded by soldiers, next to the Marshal is Jadwiga and his adjutant Lt. Jerzy Jabłonowski (to the Marshal's right). Lt. Józef Hartman is holding Wanda in his arms, Druskininkai, 1923, CAW WBH, ref. no. K-66-1363

Józef Hartman – a portrait photograph in the uniform of an infantry officer cadet, 1921, AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 15-9-39

Marshal Józef Piłsudski with his daughters: Wanda (taller) and Jadwiga, surrounded by officers, including Lt. Józef Hartman (on the left, behind the Marshal) and Lt. Jerzy Jabłonowski (first on the right, behind Jadwiga), Druskininkai, 1923, Archive of the Józef Piłsudski Institute in London. Photograph inscribed to Wanda Piłsudska: To my dearest and beloved Miss Wanda on her beautiful name day with best wishes, Józef Sławek Hartman. London, 23.6.1977

Lt. Józef Hartman in a uniform from the period of his service in the Manoeuvre Battalion in Rembertów, with decorations: Silver Cross of Merit, Commemorative Medal for the war of 1918–1920 and 10th Anniversary of Independence Medal, as well as badges, from the bottom: 2nd Regiment of Podhale Rifles and 1st Legions Infantry Regiment, 1928–1931, private archive of the Hartmans

Lt. Józef Hartman (seated behind the board to the left, with a sabre) among soldiers from the 3rd Company of the Manoeuvre Battalion of the Infantry Training Centre, Rembertów, 1 August 1925, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 212-4

Lt. Józef Hartman with an unknown officer at a military training area during a break, 1931, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 205-5

Lt. Józef Hartman with fellow officers at a military training area, 1931, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 205-9

The 3rd Rifle Battalion celebration at the Infantry Training Centre in Remembertów, 12 May 1932, Capt. Józef Hartman (third on the right) in a group of officers, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 210-1

Inter-division firing exercises, August 1933

Capt. Józef Hartman (in a side cap) with fellow officers, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 209-5

Capt. Józef Hartman (with a canteen) with unknown officers, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 209-7

Capt. Józef Hartman (on the left) with an unknown soldier, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 209-10

Capt. Józef Hartman with an unknown soldier, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 209-16

Capt. Józef Hartman during winter exercises in the Eastern Carpathian Mountains in the 1930s, photo by Witold Pikiel, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. nos. 206-14, 206-15

Capt. Józef Hartman (on the left) at a military training area during army exercises, Krasnobród, 7 July 1934, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 284-11

Capt. Józef Hartman (in a side cap) among officers, Krasnobród, 7 July 1934, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 284-15

Chapter III

Adjutant to the President of the Republic of Poland

— Thanks to the Marshal's personal recommendation, Hartman was appointed as an adjutant to President Ignacy Mościcki. He wrote about this in his Wspomnienia: I know it from the President himself that during one of his visits to the Belweder [the residence of Marshal Piłsudski at the time – translator's note], the President asked the Marshal for an adjutant, to which Piłsudski said: "Take Hartman, he is not going to fall asleep in the car". Later the President asked the Marshal's wife about me – and that's how I became an adjutant to the President of the Republic of Poland. When we were in Piekieliszki, the Marshal asked the President: "How is Hartman doing?". The President replied: "He is an excellent soldier and adjutant, I am grateful for Hartman". The Marshal turned to me and said: "I'm glad. You must remember there are thousands of officers who would like to take your place and envy you". I answered: "I beg to report that I am fully aware of that, sir". In the summer of 1934 we came from Gdynia to the Castle, from where the President went straight to the office of the General Inspector of Armed Forces to attend a meeting with generals. When it was over, the Marshal walked out of the room, looking tired, followed by the President and the generals. I was standing in the passageway. The Marshal looked at me and smiled. I was overwhelmed with happiness. That was the last day I saw him.

Years later, on the waves of Radio Free Europe, Hartman recalled the day of Józef Piłsudski's death: On the memorable day of 12 May 1935, which saw the demise of the first marshal of Poland Józef Piłsudski, a prayer for his health was held in the Spała chapel in the early morning hours. The service was attended by the President of the Republic of Poland, Ignacy Mościcki. There were delegations from nearby villages, as well as the Castle Company and forest service. In Spała, we stayed in touch with the Belweder by phone. At twelve o'clock the prime minister telephoned the President to inform him of the Marshal's condition. The President returned to the Castle in Warsaw straight away. The news kept getting worse. The people at the Castle were focused and deep in thought. Father Jan Humpola, army dean, was holding prayers for the dying in the castle chapel. Around nine o'clock in the evening General Sławoj Składkowski called from the Belweder asking to talk to the President. We knew what that meant. Marshal Piłsudski was dead. Having learned the news, the President talked to the prime minister and the heads of the Civil Chancellery and the Military Cabinet. In the evening the President, together with the head of the Military Cabinet and his adjutant, came to the Belweder. After having prayed at the deceased's bedside and a short conversation with the Marshal's wife, the President returned to the Castle. It was the beginning of life without Marshal Józef Piłsudski[24].

Józef Hartman began his honourable service at the side of President Mościcki on 24 January 1934. President's adjutants were chosen from among young, unmarried officers of impeccable appearance who had good social skills and spoke foreign languages. Hartman, a 1.9 m tall blond-haired, well-built decorated Bolshevik war and PMO veteran with a fluent command of French and Russian, had the great honour to have been offered a position that many officers of the Second Polish Republic could only dream of.

The office of the President of the Republic of Poland was introduced by the March Constitution of 1921 in place of the Provisional Chief of State, as provided for in the small constitution of 1919. Initially, the president's powers were strongly limited by the Sejm and the Senate [the lower and upper houses of the Polish parliament, respectively – translator's note]. After the amendments introduced in August 1926, the position of the president strengthened – he obtained the right to issue acts having statutory power and to dissolve the parliament. However, the dominant role of Marshal Józef Piłsudski weakened the president's authority. The constitution of 23 April 1935 gave the president far greater rights – he represented the state in international relations, became the head of the armed forces and had the privilege of not being responsible for his official acts. Also, he could not be arraigned for actions unrelated to the discharge of his duties. The Marshal's illness, which had been progressing since 1934, and his subsequent death on 12 May 1935, led to the president's becoming the number one person in the country, responsible "only before God and history". It was at the time of the president's strengthened power that Józef Hartman served as his adjutant (1934–1939).

In exercising his powers, the President was assisted by specialised auxiliary bodies, ensuring the fulfilment of the relevant constitutional and statutory duties. These included: the Civil Chancellery, which was responsible for planning his day, the Military Cabinet, which worked closely with the Chancellery, the Representative Squadron and, from 1926, a gendarmerie platoon and the adjutants' office.

The last was located on the first floor of the Royal Castle (the seat of the President of the Republic of Poland in 1926-1939), next to the head of state's office. The adjutants' office was a large room with windows overlooking Nowy Zjazd Street. On the left stood a desk, next to it a long table with a book signed by people who did not have an audience and only wanted to pay their respects to the President. On the other side of the room there was a large Louis Philippe style sofa, covered in cilice, and a few chairs. The adjutant's service began after breakfast at nine o'clock and ended at about eight o'clock in the evening. At night, the President had an officer from the Castle Company at his disposal. The officer on duty was given a meal and had his bed made, which he did not use anyway as he was in uniform. He was at the president's beck and call throughout the night.

The job of an adjutant was a very prestigious and responsible position, but also an onerous one. He had to attend to every request of the president, always stay close, also during meals until supper, which often meant a 12-hour service. His duties included accepting requests for audiences, setting the date and time of the meeting, entering the person's name in the audience book (this only applied to official visits, i.e. those of members of the government and the Presidium of the Sejm and the Senate; civilians were dealt with by the Civil Chancellery), making sure guests were seated correctly at the table, as well as preparing the ceremony of credentials presentation by foreign ambassadors and envoys.

When an ambassador or a foreign envoy changed, the adjutant, together with the head of the diplomatic protocol of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, went to the newly appointed ambassador's house in a luxury car and drove him to the Royal Castle, accompanied by the Representative Squadron. Once there, the newcomer was welcomed with honours by the soldiers from the Castle Company or a designated battalion, mainly the 21st Infantry Regiment "Children of Warsaw", while the orchestra played the appropriate national anthem. Next, the president, in the presence of the minister of foreign affairs, received his credentials and talked briefly with the guest. The adjutant's task was to accompany the diplomat to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in order to lay a wreath and drive the diplomat home. Thus, he was responsible for making the ceremonies attended by the president even more dignified. This required excellent knowledge of the diplomatic protocol, as even the wrong seating arrangement could have serious political consequences.

The adjutant also took part in the private and family life of the head of state. In spite of being a position of prestige, his job could also prove arduous. The worst part could be the day-and-night character of service, since even when he was off duty, he was still perceived as the representative of the head of state. Therefore, the adjutant always had to be careful what he said and how he behaved[25]. What is more, he was considered well-informed about the current political situation, hence the frequent attempts to question him about confidential matters, which required tact, discretion and assertiveness on his part.

The role of President Ignacy Mościcki, who was elected after the May coup of 1926, initially consisted in performing representative and honorary functions. His duties were mainly limited to receiving Polish and foreign diplomats and delegations of various organisations, examining complaints and applications of citizens, exercising patronage over various social, economic and artistic initiatives, as well as receiving reports from his civil and military offices. The president travelled extensively around the country, visiting industrial plants under construction, national memorials and religious objects. He took part in debates with economists and engineers and visited rural farms and gentry manors. He acted as honorary host at harvest festivals, unveiled monuments and opened exhibitions. Being a recognised scientist, a pioneer in the industrial production of nitrogen compounds[26] and a person well-versed in etiquette, he was able to conduct a matter-of-fact conversation, setting the right tone and atmosphere[27]. Mościcki regarded himself more as a representative of the nation rather than a person holding real power. The situation changed after the adoption of the April constitution, which strengthened the president's position, and the death of Marshal Józef Piłsudski, which followed shortly after. Mościcki had no intention of resigning from his post, he believed that he always did what the country needed[28]. The prestige of the office and the working style introduced by Ignacy Mościcki, as well his remarkable elegance, demanded that the president's associates, and especially his adjutants, be highly-qualified.

As already mentioned, Józef Hartman was appointed an adjutant thanks to the personal recommendation from Marshal Józef Piłsudski. Along with the promotion, a new chapter in his life began, having a significant impact on the future of "Sławek". He must have performed his duties perfectly, since he remained in his post for five years and would have definitely served until the end of the president's seven-year term in office if it had not been for the outbreak of World War II. He accompanied the president as his personal secretary during official visits, the most important ceremonies and military parades. Hartman, clad in the impressive uniform of the Podhale Rifles, with a characteristic cape and hat, can be seen in numerous press pictures from the interwar period. The president had a lot of adjutants, accompanying him both during service and in private life, but it was only Hartman that he formed a long-term emotional bond with. It is perhaps safe to say that he was treated like a member of the president's family. The two men also shared a passion for hunting. In his post-war correspondence with Maria Mościcka, Hartman often recalled the Spała and Białowieża forests, with their abundance of game; he also sent postcards with photos and pictures of quarry animals. The postcard with our regards is from Richmond Park in London. Beautiful views, but the deer are very bad. Not even close to those in Spała or Białowieża[29]. Hartman's personal qualities – restraint, natural tact, good interpersonal skills, empathy and discretion – were also appreciated by foreign diplomats, as evidenced by his numerous awards and medals, including the Estonian "Kotkaristi" Cross, the Romanian Order of the Crown of Romania in the officer rank and the French Legion of Honour, 5th class, among other decorations[30]. On 19 March 1939, he was promoted to major.

German and Soviet aggression against Poland and evacuation from the country

When the war erupted on 1 September 1939, President Mościcki and a group of his associates, including the adjutants, were in his summer residence in Spała. Due to the bombings in the capital, they did not return to Warsaw. Instead, they stayed at the house of Senator Tadeusz Karszo-Siedlewski in Zatrzebie – Błota near Falenica. On 17 September the Royal Castle burned down as a result of German artillery fire and, with it, the numerous souvenirs and diaries Hartman had collected over the years. What survived were some of his notebooks with laconic notes from the first three months of his service at the president's side, i.e. from 28 August 1939 to 8 January 1949 and a notebook from his radio listening watch, with a summary of information broadcast by European radio stations, together with comments. On the basis of the notes, it is possible to reconstruct the last days in office of President Mościcki[31].

Given the rapid progress of the German aggressor, on 4 September, the "Castle”[32] was first moved to Krasnobród near Zamość (6–8 September 1939) and then to Olyka near Lutsk (9–14 September 1939) and Załucze near Sniatyn (15–16 September 1939). On 17 September, upon learning about the Soviet invasion of Poland, the highest officials went to Kuty to cross the border between Poland and Romania on the Cheremosh river at 21:15 the same day. Józef Hartman, an eyewitness to this dramatic decision and the heated exchange of words that followed between the members of the administration leaving Poland, described this event many years later in the pages of London's "Bellona": On 18 September 1939 in the Metropolitan Palace in Chernivtsi we witnessed an angry exchange of words between Marshal Śmigły and Minister Beck regarding the Romanian promises, which were completely different from what was said by Minister Beck during the conference in Kuty. The arrival of the President ended this unpleasant conversation. After leaving Chernivtsi, on the train at night, the President spoke twice with Marshal Śmigły, who took the tragic consequences of the changes that had taken place since the conference in Kuty very badly, with anger (…) Before the President of the Republic of Poland departed for Switzerland, we received a letter from Marshal Śmigły, in which he bid farewell to the President and said that had only one desire – to return to Poland as soon as possible, as he did not want to leave it at all[33].

The next day the Polish leaders were interned. The decision, which could be seen as a coup d'état, was taken by Romanians under the pressure from France and with the cooperation of General Sikorski and his supporters. The President, together with his associates, were transported to Bicaz between Transylvania and Moldova and faced the same difficult circumstances of internment in Romania. Despite the predicament, Józef Hartman never ceased to be interested in the fate of his friends and acquaintances, especially his former commanders and colleagues from the units in which he had served. This is evident in a letter to Irena, wife of General Kruszewski, and her daughter Maria. Her husband was Hartman's commander during his service in the 1st Legions Infantry Regiment. Hartman was very much concerned that he was not able to participate directly in the September campaign. After all, he was a soldier: On 1 September I was supposed to join the 1st Legions Infantry Regiment for manoeuvres, but it was not to be, much to my despair. I do not know what is happening with the General and our regiment. I heard that our regiment had found itself in trouble at Pułtusk, but also that the it had defeated two German Panzer divisions at Kałuszyn. I only wish I had been there with them. Our temporary stay here is unpleasant. It does not matter what is going to happen – I keep calm and do what I can and what seems reasonable. I advise you to do the same. (…) We are powerless, unable to improve the situation, so we need to hide our great misery and try to survive the bad times. (…) Today we heard that Warsaw is fighting back. Lieutenant Colonel Chmura died defending the city. As for our other Colleagues – we know that they fought and are in good health. Our financial situation here is very difficult. If necessary, we will send whatever we can[34].

As it was impossible for Ignacy Mościcki to perform his duties as president in such circumstances, efforts were made to appoint his successor as soon as possible in order to ensure the continuity of power. This was provided for by Article 24 of the April Constitution, which allowed the president to appoint his successor in case the office falls vacant before the conclusion of peace. To this end, the President was visited by the Polish ambassador to Romania, Roger Raczyński. The President took several candidates into consideration. Before leaving the country, he had suggested Marshal Edward Śmigły-Rydz, but he was interned as well. Following that he considered the appointment of Cardinal August Hlond, who was already outside of Poland, hence beyond the reach of the Russians, Germans and Romanians, but, eventually, he abandoned this idea. General Kazimierz Sosnkowski was yet another candidate. The President hoped that the general would manage to break through to France after the end of the September campaign. Unable to delay the final decision any longer, he finally chose General Bolesław Wieniawa-Długoszewski, a close associate of Józef Piłsudski. However, the French did not approve this appointment, as they preferred the post to be taken by somebody with a more neutral approach towards General Władysław Sikorski, a staunch opponent of Piłsudski. Finally, Mościcki stepped down from power on 30 September 1939, appointing Władysław Raczkiewicz, the Governor of the Pomeranian Province, as his successor, a decision endorsed by the French[35]. The insignia of power were handed over to Ambassador Roger Raczyński on 22 December. At this point, Hartman formally ceased to be an adjutant.

After long negotiations, the Romanian authorities allowed the former president and his eight companions, including Hartman, to leave for Switzerland. On 25 December, Mościcki, in a lounge car provided by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania, travelled through Yugoslavia and Trieste to reach neutral Switzerland. They arrived in Freiburg on 27 December. Upon arrival, the faithful adjutant helped the former presidential couple to settle down and acclimatise to the new place, while he himself began preparations to leave. During a long walk with Ignacy Mościcki on 31 December, they decided that Hartman would go to the United States of America for a short rest before joining the Polish forces which were being formed in France. However, in the end, he did not travel to the USA. On 5 January 1940, he received a passport and an extraordinary gift of five thousand French francs from the former president. He decided to go directly to France. At 7:14 on 8 January 1940, former president Ignacy Mościcki bid farewell to his favourite adjutant Józef Hartman. As a memento and a token of appreciation for his excellent service, the Mościcki couple gave him their portrait photographs with dedications. He kept them until the end of his life.

Józef Hartman set off to join the emerging Polish Army in France, which was a very painful decision for him. He wrote about it in his post-war correspondence with Maria Mościcka: (...) And to this day and until the day I die, I will keep reliving this most tragic day of my life, when being a Polish soldier and an adjutant of the President of the Republic of Poland, a great and noble Pole – though forced by circumstances – I left the Supreme Commander of the Polish Army– I left him at a time of hardship and in great misery! And the rules were clear: A SOLDIER shall never leave his Commander, his unit and his colleagues![36]

At the time of their farewell, neither of them suspected that they would never see each other again and would not return to their homeland. Former President Ignacy Mościcki died in Switzerland in Versoix near Geneva on 2 October 1946, and was buried in the local cemetery. The adjutant outlived his superior by 33 years, living in London until his death.

[24] Col. J. Hartman's recollection of the day of death of Marshal Józef Piłsudski on 12 May 1935 - materials for the documentary series "Witnesses to History". A broadcast from the archive of Radio Free Europe, London, 22 May 1965, National Digital Archives [Polish: Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe, NAC] ref. no. 3/36/0/2/3686/1, available at the Radio Stations of Freedom [Polskie: Radia Wolności] site: <http://www.polskieradio.pl/68/2461/Audio/294180>.

[25] R. Lewicki, W. Markert, Józef Sławomir Hartman, 1898–1979. Adiutant prezydenta i Ojciec Cichociemnych, Oficyna Wydawnicza „Ajaks”, Pruszków 2004, pp. 16-21.

[26] Ignacy Mościcki studied chemistry at Riga Technical University and lectured at the University of Fribourg, where he developed an innovative method of nitric acid production and conducted research in the field of electricity, necessary in obtaining nitrogen compounds from the atmospheric air. He supervised the construction and putting into operation of nitrogen plants in Switzerland. He was the author of many modern technical solutions in the field of chemistry and electrical engineering. From 1912, he was a lecturer at the Lviv Polytechnic. He also worked on crude oil processing technology, obtaining patents in this field, which were later used all over the world. He put into operation the Nitrogen Plant [Polish: Zakłady Azotowe] in Chorzów, plundered by the Germans, increasing the production of nitrogen fertilisers and making Poland less dependent on their import. From 1925, he held the Chair of Technical Electrochemistry Department at the Warsaw University of Technology. In the years 1928-1930 he built the State Nitrogen Plant [Polish: Polskie Zakłady Azotowe] in Tarnów. Author of over 60 scientific papers, as well as 40 patents, which he donated to the Polish state free of charge after being elected the President of the Republic of Poland.

[27] Andrzej Chojnowski, Ignacy Mościcki, prezydent Rzeczypospolitej 1 VI 1926 – 30 IX 1939 [in:] Andrzej Chojnowski, Piotr Wróbel, Prezydenci i premierzy Drugiej Rzeczypospolitej, Wrocław–Warsaw–Cracow 1992: Zakład Narodowy imienia Ossolińskich, p. 215.

[28] Andrzej Ajnenkiel, Polska po przewrocie majowym. Zarys dziejów politycznych Polski 1926–1939. Warsaw: Wiedza Powszechna, 1980, p. 471.

[29] Letter of Józef Hartman to Maria Mościcka of 6 March 1964, The Jasna Góra Archive in Częstochowa [Polish: Archiwum Jasnogórskie w Częstochowie, AJG], ref. no. 4056, item 33.

[30] R. Lewicki, W. Markert, op. cit., p. 88.

[31] J. Hartman, Notatnik. 1939–1940, Notatnik – Dziennik. 28 sierpień 1939 – 8 styczeń 1940, AJG, ref. no. 4006.

[32] After the outbreak of the war, every place of office of the President and his associates, who were on the move, began to be called "the Castle".

[33] Statement of Józef Hartman of 19 April 1962, Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum in London [Polish: Instytut Polski i Muzeum im. gen. Sikorskiego, IPMS], ref.no. B.I.1A/3.

[34] Romana Krystyna Kuffel, Rozbitkowie, Temat Miesiąca, Information Bulletin, editors: the Council of Specialists of the European Forum of Women Business Owners [Polish: Rada Specjalistów Europejskiego Forum Właścicielek Firm], p. 11, http://62.129.200.133/pl/pict/tm/2008/tm_2008_09.pdf (accessed on 03 May 2016).

[35] Władysław Pobóg-Malinowski, Najnowsza historia polityczna Polski: okres 1939-1945, Wydawnictwo Nasza Przyszłość, 1990, chapter Katastrofa wrześniowa, pp. 83-90, see also: prof. Andrzej Garlicki, PhD's Prezydent Ignacy Mościcki cz. 3, http://web.archive.org/web/20090105201533/http://www.spala.info.pl/prezydentmoscicki3.php (accessed on 31 July 2017)

[36] Letter of Józef Hartman to Maria Mościcka of 24 November 1971, AJG, ref. no. 4057.

Józef Hartman, portrait photograph in a suit, 1935–1939, private archive of the Hartmans

Capt. Józef Hartman in a Podhale Rifles uniform with decorations, from the left: Cross of Independence, Silver Cross of Merit, Commemorative Medal for the war of 1918-1920, the 10th Anniversary of Independence Medal and the Belgian Order of the Crown, 4th class, as well as badges, from the bottom: a commemorative PMO badge and the 1st Legions Infantry Regiment badge. The ribbon bar visible above the orders was awarded for wounds and injuries sustained in action against an enemy. On the leather belt on his chest – National Sports Badge, 1935, private archive of the Hartmans

Capt. Józef Hartman in a Podhale Rifles uniform, 1935, AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 15-9-1

Capt. Józef Hartman and President Ignacy Mościcki in an office at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, 1938, AAN, Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Berlin, ref. no. 2427-167

Capt. Józef Hartman and Capt. Stefan Kryński in the Adjutants' Office at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, 1936–1938, AAN, Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Berlin, ref. no. 2427-166

Capt. Józef Hartman with officers from the Castle Company, including Skoczeń, Dobrzyński and Kuczuk, Royal Castle in Warsaw, November 1938, Archive of the Józef Piłsudski Institute in London

Capt. Józef Hartman with Karol Romer, the head of the Diplomatic Protocol of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Capt. Zygmunt Roszkowski at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, 1934–1935, photo by Witold Pikiel, private archive of the Hartmans

Capt. Józef Hartman with President Ignacy Mościcki and his wife Maria in a sleigh before a ride to Zakopane, February 1934, photo by Witold Pikiel, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/2/1687/0/8

Capt. Józef Hartman among guests invited to the wedding of President Mościcki's daughter Helena and Aleksander Bobkowski, from the left: Hartman, Maria Mościcka, Ignacy Mościcki, President's grandson Józef Zwisłocki, Maj. Kazimierz Jurgielewicz, Helena and Aleksander Bobkowsi, N.N., N.N., Zakopane, February 1934, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/2/1687/0/10

Capt. Józef Hartman accompanying President Ignacy Mościcki during his visit to Śląski Przemysł Cynkowy S.A. in Kostuchna. On the left, a honour guard company composed of veterans of the Silesian Uprisings, 1934, photo by Czesław Datka, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/8/1295/0/3

Capt. Józef Hartman (wearing a fur-collar coat) and the President's chaplain, Father Jan Humpola at a Polish highlander wedding of Ludwika Frączysta and Mr Kojs in Witów. Among the guests are also Wojciech Szwab-Bojor (first on the left), Jacek Szwab-Bojor (second on the left), Michał Szwab-Czuj (third on the left), Józef Kalisz (on the right, behind Jacek Szwab-Bojor), Zofia Szwab (behind Józef Kalisz), Anna Tylka-Jacoskowa (behind Ludwika Frączysta), forest ranger Józef Krzysiak (to the right of A. Tylka-Jacoskowa), Stanisława Folfas (on the right, behind Capt. Józef Hartman) and Wojciech Ratułowski (on the left, behind Capt. Hartman), 7 February 1934, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 203-2

Capt. Józef Hartman and flowers, 1936–1938, AJG, ref. no. 4090, item 35

Capt. Józef Hartman in Spała. Easter, 1 April – 2 April 1934, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 211-2

Capt. Józef Hartman and Józef Zwisłocki, Spała, 1 April 1934, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 234-7

15th anniversary of the 3rd Battalion of the Infantry Training Centre in Rembertów. In front of a bicycle infantry platoon are: Capt. Józef Hartman, Gen. Kazimierz Fabrycy, President Ignacy Mościcki, Col. Jan Głogowski and Province Governor Stanisław Twardo, 12 May 1934, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/7/821/0/1

President Ignacy Mościcki and Capt. Józef Hartman at the exhibition "Polish electrical engineering" in Cracow, accompanied by Minister of Post and Telegraphs Emil Kaliński (second to the right of the President), Minister of Industry and Trade Henryk Floyar-Rajchman (behind the President, on the right), Deputy Minister of Religious Denominations and Public Enlightenment Kazimierz Pieracki (second on the right behind the President), General Director of the Warsaw Power Plant Alfons Kühn (on the left, behind the president) and Head of the Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland Stanisław Świeżawski(behind E. Kaliński, on the left), June 1934, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/2/1558/0/7

Brothers Bolesław and Józef Adamowicz – American businessmen and amateur aviators of Polish descent, known for their transatlantic flight in a Bellanca J-300, named "City of Warsaw" during an audience with the President in his office at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, from the left: Capt. Józef Hartman, Capt. Dąbrowski, Bolesław Adamowicz, Józef Adamowicz, President Ignacy Mościcki, United States Ambassador to Poland John Cudahy and Karol Romer, July 1934, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/16/1017/0/10

Polish Red Cross delegation handing a book to President Ignacy Mościcki during a Polish Red Cross youth convention in Spała. Accompanying the President is his wife Maria Mościcka and adjutants Capt. Zygmunt Gużewski and Capt. Józef Hartman, June 1934, photo by Witold Pikiel, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/13/845/0/3

Prince Kaya Tsunenori and his wife Toshiko during a meeting with President Ignacy Mościcki and his wife Maria. Accompanying them are, from the left: Capt. Józef Hartman, Henryk Zaniewski, Karol Romer and an unknown person, Warsaw, 10 July 1934, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/4/863/0/4

Capt. Józef Hartman with Minister Plenipotentiary of Venezuela to Poland Carlos Aristimun Coll (in the middle) and head of the Diplomatic Protocol of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Karol Romer, Warsaw 28 November 1934, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/4/1711/0/1

Presentation of credentials to President Ignacy Mościcki by Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the Netherlands to Poland Lambert Carsten at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, from the left: deputy head of the Diplomatic Protocol of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Rajnold Przeździecki, head of the Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland Stanisław Świeżawski, Capt. Józef Hartman, Lambert Carsten, Capt. Zygmunt Gużewski, head of the Diplomatic Protocol of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Karol Romer, head of the Military Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Poland Col. Jan Głogowski and head of the General Department of the Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland Henryk Zaniewski, 6 December 1934, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/4/763/0/1

Service in the newly-built chapel at the Albertine Brothers House on Grochowska Street, Warsaw. Present in the photograph are: President Ignacy Mościcki, Stanisław Świeżawski, deputy Government Commissioner for the Capital City of Warsaw Kazimierz Jurgielewicz (third on the right, in the first row), Director of Municipal Trams Eng. Zygmunt Słomiński (second on the right, in the first row). Standing behind the President is Capt. Józef Hartman, 8 December 1934, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/15/585/0/2

President Ignacy Mościcki and the representative squadron of the 2nd Rokitna Light Cavalry Regiment in Starogard. Standing in front of the President is Józef Hartman, September 1934, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/2/1565

President Ignacy Mościcki, Capt. Józef Hartman and others on the newly-opened bridge over the River Pilica in Nowe Miasto, 15 December 1934, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/8/3339/0/5

Musical group "Chór Dana" at an audience with President Ignacy Mościcki and his wife Maria Mościcka. Visible in the photograph are: Adam Wysocki (first on the left), Mieczysław Fogg (wearing glasses, behind the President), Tadeusz Bogdanowicz (fifth on the left), Władysław Daniłowski-Dan (seventh on the left), Wincenty Nowakowski (third on the left), Capt. Zygmunt Gużewski (second on the left), Stanisław Świeżawski (fourth on the left), Capt. Józef Hartman (behind M. Fogg), Fr. Jan Humpola (on the right, behind M. Fogg) and Zygmunt Skowroński (on Capt. Hartman's left), Warsaw, 19 December 1934, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/2/1742/0/1

Ceremony of signing of the April constitution by President Ignacy Mościcki in the Knight Hall of the Royal Castle. In the photograph are: head of the Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland Stanisław Świeżawski (on the President's right), Prime Minister Walery Sławek (first on the left), Capt. Józef Hartman (second on the left), Capt. Zygmunt Gużewski (third on the left), Fr. Jan Humpola (fourth on the left), Col. Jan Głogowski (second on the right) and Minister of Internal Affairs Marian Zyndram Kościałkowski (first on the right), Warsaw, 23 April 1935, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/2/1107/0/1

Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Hungary to Poland André de Hory in the Hungarian consulate before presenting his credentials, from the left: Hungarian military attaché in Poland, Maj. Béla Lengyel, Capt. Józef Hartman, André de Hory, head of the Diplomatic Protocol of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Karol Romer, secretary of the Hungarian consulate in Poland Renyey, Warsaw, 2 May 1935, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/4/1736/0/1

Capt. Józef Hartman at the funeral of Marshal Józef Piłsudski, Warsaw, May 1935. In the funeral procession: Karol Romer, Capt. Zygmunt Gużewski, President Ignacy Mościcki, Capt. Józef Hartman, Stanisław Świeżawski and Col. Jan Głogowski, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/2/206/0/63

Funeral procession on Nowy Świat Street: Capt. Józef Hartman, President Ignacy Mościcki, Stanisław Świeżawski, Capt. Zygmunt Gużewski, CAW WBH, ref. no. K-66-1943

President Ignacy Mościcki, Capt. Józef Hartman and Col. Jan Głogowski, AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 15-9-12

President Ignacy Mościcki and Capt. Józef Hartman at the Opening of the International Scout Jamboree in Spała, July 1935, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/5/478/0/21

2nd Convention of the Polish Youth from Abroad, in the courtyard of the Royal Castle in Warsaw. Among those visible are: President Ignacy Mościcki, Capt. Józef Hartman, Capt. Jan Huber (on the left, behind Hartman) and Stanisław Świeżawski, July 1935, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/16/58/0/12

President Ignacy Mościcki next to the sarcophagus of Józef Piłsudski at St. Leonard's Crypt in the Wawel Cathedral, behind the President are: Capt. Zygmunt Gużewski, Fr. Jan Humpola, Stanisław Świeżawski, Maj. Władysław Krawczyk, Fr. Stanisław Domasik and Capt. Józef Hartman, 1935, CAW WBH, ref. no. K-66-2252

Construction of Józef Piłsudski's Independence Mound on the Sowiniec Heights, Cracow, August 1935. On the Sowiniec Heights, Gen. Aleksander Narbut- Łuczyński, Marshal of the Senate Władysław Raczkiewicz, Capt. Józef Hartman and President Ignacy Mościcki, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/2/293/0/7

President Ignacy Mościcki and deputy Governor of Cracow Province Piotr Małaszyński during the construction of the Mound. Also visible are, from the left: Marshal of the Senate Władysław Raczkiewicz, Cracow's District Governor Władysław Wnęk, Mayor of Cracow Mieczysław Kaplicki, Stanisław Świeżawski, Fr. Jan Humpola, Maj. Władysław Krawczyk, Capt. Józef Hartman and Maj. Zygmunt Gużewski, CAW WBH, ref. no. K-70-480

Capt. Józef Hartman (second on the right), Maj. Edward Czuruk (third on the right) and Maj. Władysław Krawczyk (next to him) being awarded the Order of the Cross of the Eagle by Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Estonia to Poland Hans Markus. The ceremony, held at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, was attended by Henryk Zaniewski, the head of the General Department of the Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, 1935, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/4/363/0/1

Official visit of Gdańsk's Senate President Arthur Karl Greiser to Poland. Seated at the table from the left are: counsellor Unrug, Col. Jan Głogowski, counsellor Blume, Minister's wife Janina Kalińska, President Ignacy Mościcki, Janina Świtalska, counsellor Boetcher, Stanisław Świeżawski and counsellor Jerzy Warchałowski; opposite them from the left are: Henryk Zaniewski, Karol Romer, Helena Bobkowska, Arthur Greiser, Maria Mościcka, deputy Senate President Wilhelm Huth and Polish High Commissioner of Gdańsk Kazimierz Papee. Among those standing are: Capt. Józef Hartman and President's Mayor of the Palace Kacper Michalski (first on the left), Spała, 8 January 1935, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/4/2115/0/3

Presentation of credentials to President Ignacy Mościcki by Envoy and Minister Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom to Poland Howard William Kennard. In front of the entrance to the seat of the British Embassy (the Branicki Palace on Nowy Świat Street) are: Capt. Józef Hartman, Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Poland Howard William Kennard and head of the Diplomatic Protocol of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Karol Romer, Warsaw, 14 January 1935, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/4/1864/0/1

President Ignacy Mościcki making a radio broadcast commemorating Józef Piłsudski at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, from the left: Stanisław Świeżawski, Capt. Józef Hartman, Prime Minister Marian Zyndram Kościałkowski, Minister of Communications Juliusz Urlych, unknown person, Minister of Religious Denominations and Public Enlightenment Wojciech Świętosławski (wearing glasses), Minister of Industry and Trade Roman Górecki, deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Szembek, Minister of Internal Affairs Władysław Raczkiewicz, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Reforms Juliusz Poniatowski and two unknown persons, 18 March 1936, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/2/1521/0/1

Capt. Józef Hartman and deputy Mayor of Warsaw Józef Ołpiński accompanying President Ignacy Mościcki leaving the Krasiński Square after the official unveiling of the monument to Jan Kiliński, Warsaw, 19 April 1936, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/9/7227/0/9

Józef Piłsudski Square. Standing in front of the representative company of the Polish Army are: French Ambassador to Poland Leon Noel, head of the Diplomatic Protocol of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Karol Romer, Gen. Czesław Jarnuszkiewicz and Capt. Józef Hartman, Warsaw, 29 May 1935, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/4/604/0/1

Wedding of count Alfred Feliks Wielopolski of Zabełcze, Starykoń coat of arms with Maria Salomea Woytkowska, Lubicz coat of arms. Capt. Józef Hartman and Stanisław Świeżawski with the newlyweds and wedding guests, 21 September 1935, photo lab Zakład Art. i Portretowy M. Jajkiewicz, Nisko, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 203-4

President Ignacy Mościcki accompanied by his adjutants, Capt. Józef Hartman and Capt. Stefan Kryński at the funeral of Gen. Gustaw Orlicz-Dreszer, Gdynia, July 1936, NAC, photographic archive of Narcyz Witczak-Witaczyński, ref. no. 3/107/0/6/781/18

Capt. Józef Hartman and Capt. Stefan Kryński in Wisła. On the back of the photograph is written: Four hands and their owners in Wisła, 19 July 1936, photo by Witold Pikiel, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 260-1

Maria Mościcka walking her dog Tymek during her stay in Krynica Górska, accompanied by: Capt. Józef Hartman (in civilian clothes), Fr. Jan Humpola (with a cane) and Lt. Alfred Kuczuk, 1936, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/2/1743/0/1

Capt. Józef Hartman and Capt. Stefan Kryński in Krynica Górska, 1936, AAN, Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 201-4

Capt. Józef Hartman walking with President Mościcki's daughter Helena Bobkowska in Krynica Górska, 1936, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 201-2

Capt. Józef Hartman and Józef Zwisłocki in Krynica Górska, 1936, Foto Zeller, Krynica, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 202-2

Capt. Józef Hartman in Krynica Górska, accompanied by: President's driver Jan Pasiński (second on the right) and Józef Zwisłocki, 1936, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 202-4

President Ignacy Mościcki laying the cornerstone of the building of the Faculty of Chemistry of University of Warsaw on Wawelska Street, Warsaw, in the presence of Government Commissioner for the Capital City of Warsaw Władysław Jaroszewicz (on the left, behind the President), Rector of University of Warsaw, Prof. Stefan Pieńkowski (on the left, behind the President) and Capt. Józef Hartman, 29 May 1936, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/10/3277/0/2

Session of the Polish Academy of Literature commemorating Józef Piłsudski. Among the guests are, from the left in the first row: head of the Supreme Audit Office Jakub Krzemieński, Minister Marian Zyndram Kościałkowski, President Ignacy Mościcki, Gen. Edward Śmigły-Rydz, Karol Romer, unknown person, head of the Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland Stanisław Łepkowski and Government Commissioner for the Capital City of Warsaw Władysław Jaroszewicz (first on the left in the second row), Gen. Janusz Głuchowski (second on the left in the second row), Gen. Mieczysław Norwid-Neugebauer (first on the left in the third row), Gen. Kazimierz Schally (second on the left in the fourth row) and Capt. Józef Hartman (behind the President). Warsaw, 27 May 1936, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/11/2004/0/2

The Feast of Corpus Christi in Spała attended by President Ignacy Mościcki, Maria Mościcka, Capt. Stefan Kryński, Capt. Józef Hartman and Fr. Prelate Jan Humpola, 16 June 1938, private archive of the Hartmans

President Ignacy Mościcki in the executive box at Mokotów airport during the inauguration of the Gordon Bennett Cup. Next to the President are: Minister of Communications Juliusz Ulrych (second on the right) and president of the Polish Aero Club Prince Janusz Radziwiłł (first on the right). Standing behind the President are adjutants: Polish Navy Capt. Stefan Kryński and Podhale Rifles Capt. Józef Hartman, August 1936, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/5/961/4

Commemoration of Fr. Piotr Skarga, service in Zamkowy Square in Warsaw attended by President Ignacy Mościcki, Capt. Józef Hartman, Gen. Edward Śmigły-Rydz and Prime Minister Felicjan Sławoj Składkowski, September 1936, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/11/1821/0/2

Service in the castle chapel celebrating the presentation of the ceremonial mace to Marshal Edward Śmigły-Rydz, from the left: Prime Minister Felicjan Sławoj Składkowski, President Ignacy Mościcki, Gen. Tadeusz Kasprzycki, Gen. Kazimierz Schally (by the window). Standing behind the President are Capt. Stefan Kryński and Capt. Józef Hartman, Warsaw, 10 November 1936, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/7/541/0/15

Capt. Józef Hartman on board a Jaskółka-class minelayer, [1936], AAN, Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 163-3

Capt. Józef Hartman with sailors on board a Jaskółka-class minelayer, [1936], AAN, Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 163-4

President Ignacy Mościcki's New Year's Speech in the Knight Hall of the Royal Castle in Warsaw. Capt. Józef Hartman surrounded by diplomats and employees of the Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, including: Minister of Foreign Affairs Józef Beck (second on the right), Prime Minister Felicjan Sławoj Składkowski (standing behind the President), deputy head of the Civil Chancellery Zygmunt Skowroński (to the left of Gen. Składkowski, wearing glasses) and head of the General Department of the Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland Henryk Zaniewski (behind Gen. Składkowski), 1 January 1937, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/2/1544/0/4

Józef Piłsudski's name day celebration in the courtyard of Belweder. President Ignacy Mościcki accompanied by his adjutants Stefan Kryński and Józef Hartman before the wreath laying ceremony, Warsaw, 19 March 1937, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/2/149/0/7

Apostolic Nuncio to Poland, Archbishop Filippo Cortesi leaving the Royal Castle in Warsaw after presenting his credentials in the company of head of the Diplomatic Protocol of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Karol Romer and chargé d'affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature to Poland Prelate Alfred Pacini. On the right is Podhale Rifles Captain Józef Hartman, 20 May 1937, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/4/1679/0/5

Royal Castle in Warsaw. Official visit to Poland of the Romanian heir apparent to the throne, Prince Michael. Visible in the photograph are: Prince Michael, President Ignacy Mościcki, Maria Mościcka and Józef Hartman. In the background are: Karol Romer, Edward Śmigły-Rydz and Józef Beck, 24 May 1937, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/4/1383/0/8

President Ignacy Mościcki presenting a standard to the commander of the 3rd Rifle Battalion in Rembertów, accompanied by Marshal Edward Śmigły-Rydz and President's adjutants Stefan Kryński and Józef Hartman, June 1937, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/7/1337/0/1

Opening of the exhibition "Work and culture of the countryside" in Lisków, 13 June 1937. Standing in front of the building of agriculture cooperative Spółdzielnia Rolniczo-Handlowa are: President Ignacy Mościcki, Prime Minister Felicjan Sławoj Składkowski, Liskowo parish priest, Prelate Wacław Bliziński, President's adjutants Podhale Rifles Captain Józef Hartman and Polish Navy Captain Stefan Kryński, Gen. Kazimierz Schally, Gen. Aleksander Osiński and Minister of Agriculture Juliusz Poniatowski, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/8/2393/0/6

Capt. Józef Hartman and an unknown girl, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, Lisków, 13 June 1937, ref. no. 161-2

Capt. Józef Hartman and a boy in a Polish highlander costume posing for a photograph in Spała, 1937, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 235-1

Ball at Resursa Obywatelska, Warsaw, 1937, private archive of Adam Junosza-Kowalewski

Halina Kowalewska née Rohozińska, first married name Trentowska, was born in 1893 r. in Winnica, Podolia and died in 1968 in Warsaw. A Polish Army colonel, she was one of the best Polish agents at the time of the Polish-Soviet war. On the Soviet death list since 1919, she was never found by the Russian, German or Polish People's Republic agents. She lived 75 years (under a changed name), never moving out from Warsaw, close to the Security Office. She studied pedagogy in the interwar period, with one of her teachers being Janusz Korczak. She fought in the Warsaw Uprising. According to her son Jerzy Junosza-Kowalewski, she received the last verbal orders given by Gen. Leopold Okulicki. She met Józef Hartman while serving in the Polish Military Organisation in the area of Kielce. They maintained contact with each other throughout the interwar period, with him being a frequent guest at the apartment of the Kowalewski family on Rozbrat Street in Warsaw.

Halina Kowalewska and Capt. Józef Hartman, private archive of Adam Junosza-Kowalewski

From the left: Halina Kowalewska, Eng. Roman Zajączkowski, Capt. Józef Hartman, Eng. Zajączkowski's wife Halina, private archive of Adam Junosza-Kowalewski

Capt. Józef Hartman and Capt. Stefan Kryński with employees of the Lithuanian consulate: secretary Jurgis Kairiuksztis (second on the right) and counsellor Anton Primakis (first on the left) at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, 31 March 1938, CAW WBH, ref. no. K-58-63

Gen. Kazimierz Schally, Marshal of the Senate Aleksander Prystor, Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły, Józef Hartman and head of the Diplomatic Protocol of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Aleksander Łubieński, June 1938, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/2/452/0/5

Transfer of St. Andrew Bobola's relics to Poland. President Ignacy Mościcki during a service held in Zamkowy Square, placing a votive offering on the coffin with the relics – his Cross of Independence with Swords. The ceremony was attended, among other persons, by Warsaw's suffragan Archbishop Stanisław Gall and Józef Hartman, Warsaw, 19 June 1938, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/15/432/0/19

Farewell to President Ignacy Mościcki before his departure to Italy. Among those visible at the station are: Edward Śmigły-Rydz, Marian Zyndram Kościałkowski, Władysław Jaroszewicz and Józef Hartman, Warsaw, June 1938, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/2/1695/0/2

Holiday on the Istrian peninsula, August 1938

St. Michael's Villa in Laurana, where Ignacy Mościcki was staying with his family and associates, AJG, ref. no. 4096, item 54

Game of cards, from the right: Ignacy Mościcki, Józef Hartman, Stefan Kryński and the President's daughter-in-law Zofia, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 271-2

From the left: Józef Mościcki, Helena Bobkowska, Zofia Mościcka and Józef Hartman, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 261-7

Józef Hartman and Stefan Kryński, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 261-1

Józef Hartman and Jerzy Lasocki – attaché at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland to the Quirinal in Rome, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 261-5

Józef Hartman, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 261-4

From the left: Józef Hartman, Józef Mościcki and Jan Huber, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 261-3

From the left: Jan Huber, Józef Hartman and Stefan Kryński, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 261-2

In front of the St. Michael Villa, from the right: Józef Hartman, Józef Mościcki, Helena Mościcka, Zofia Mościcka, Helena Bobkowska and Stefan Kryński, AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki ref. no. 15-9-11

Ignacy Mościcki and Józef Hartman, AJG, ref. no. 4026, item 23

Józef Hartman on a catamaran, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 276-6

Józef Hartman and Zofia Mościcka on the Adriatic coast, AAN Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 208-4

From the left: Ignacy Mościcki, Aleksander Bobkowski, Helena Bobkowska, Józef Hartman and Stefan Kryński, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 263-6

President Ignacy Mościcki surrounded by: Bolesław Wieniawa-Długoszowski, Capt. Stefan Kryński, Capt. Józef Hartman and Fr. Jan Humpola, AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 15-9-10

From the left: Capt. Jan Huber, attaché at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland to the Quirinal in Rome Jan Szeliski [?], Fr. Jan Humpola, Capt. Józef Hartman and Capt. Stefan Kryński, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 264-5

Welcome to President Ignacy Mościcki, returning from Italy. In the President's lounge car are: Prime Minister Felicjan Sławoj Składkowski, Deputy Prime Minister Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski and Capt. Józef Hartman, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/2/1697/0/1

Baptism Helena and Ziemowit Śliwiński's daughter Krystyna, at the Royal Castle in Warsaw. Among the guests are: Fr. Jan Humpola, Ignacy Mościcki, Maria Mościcka, Zofia Mościcka, Józef Hartman, Stefan Kryński, Henryk Zaniewski, Lt. Col. Stefan Czerwiński and Henryk Zaniewski, 17 June 1938, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 218-2

Independence Day celebrations in Cieszyn. President Ignacy Mościcki is awarding a decoration to Gen. Władysław Bortnowski in the presence of Gen. Kazimierz Shally, Capt. Józef Hartman and Capt. Stefan Kryński, among other persons, 11 November 1938, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/6/2965/0/6

Capt. Józef Hartman and Capt. Stefan Kryński accompanying President Mościcki during the Independence Day celebrations in Fryštát, 11 November 1938, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/6/2966/0/1

Exchange of New Year wishes at the Royal Castle in Warsaw – President Ignacy Mościcki, Marshal Edward Śmigły-Rydz, Capt. Józef Hartman, 8 January 1939, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/2/1548/0/2

Official opening of the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Zakopane. President Ignacy Mościcki accompanied by the President of the Polish Ski Association, deputy Minister of Communications Aleksander Bobkowski, President of the International Ski Federation (FIS) Nikolai Østgaard and Capt. Józef Hartman. On the right is the Podhale Highlanders Military Training Unit, 11 February 1939, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/5/1448/0/43

President Ignacy Mościcki talking with Gen. Leon Berbecki, the head of the General Administration of Airborne and Antigas Defence League. The President is accompanied by his adjutants: Maj. Józef Hartman and Capt. Stefan Kryński, Warsaw, April 1939, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/7/2947/0/1

Estonian art exhibition opening in the Institute for the Promotion of Art in Warsaw. President Ignacy Mościcki with Maj. Józef Hartman, Gen. Janusz Głuchowski, Gen. Mieczysław Ryś- Trojanowski and Władysław Jaroszewicz, 29 April 1939, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/11/6267/0/1

Opening of the Edward Śmigły-Rydz Pilot School of the Airborne and Antigas Defence League, those present include: Juliusz Ulrych, Gen. Leon Berbecki, Edward Śmigły-Rydz, Jerzy de Tramecourt, Władysław Korsak, Gen. Kazimierz Schally and Maj. Józef Hartman, 4 June 1939, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/7/2697/0/1

Świdnik, Maj. Józef Hartman and ceremony participants, 4 June 1939, photo by Witold Pikiel, AAN Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland ref. no. 158-1

Celebration of the 10th anniversary of PLL LOT. President Ignacy Mościcki is touring the airport in the company of Deputy Minister of Communications Aleksander Bobkowski, director of PLL LOT Wacław Makowski, Maj. Józefa Hartmana, Gen. Kazimierz Schally and Government Commissioner for the Capital City of Warsaw Władysław Jaroszewicz, 15 June 1939, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/8/4171/0/8

President Ignacy Mościcki making a radio broadcast celebrating "Maritime Days", from the left: Capt. Stefan Kryński, Maj. Józef Hartman and Col. Józef Kobyłecki, Warsaw Royal Castle, 29 June 1939, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/2/1529/0/1

Blessing of steelworks plant Zakłady Południowe in Stalowa Wola, June 1939

Maj. Józef Hartman, unknown person, Maria Mościcka, Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski, Kazimierz Papee… and Maria Mościcka's dog Tymek, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 175-2

Józef Hartman and Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 175-5

Ignacy Mościcki is welcomed by workers' representative Franciszek Kulawiec. The President is accompanied by: Maj. Józef Hartman and Gen. Kazimierz Schally, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/8/1767/0/1

Mass. Among those present are: President Ignacy Mościcki, his adjutants Maj. Józef Hartman and Capt. Stefan Kryński, Gen. Aleksander Litwinowicz, Deputy Prime Minister Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski, Maria Mościcka and Gen. Wacław Scewola-Wieczorkiewicz, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/8/1767/0/2

President Mościcki hitting a nail into a pole of a workers flag, assisted by Józef Hartman, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/8/1767/0/4

Ceremony of the blessing of the Chemistry Building and opening of the Inorganic Chemistry Unit of University of Warsaw at 17 Wawelska Street, Warsaw, June 1939

Ceremony of the blessing of the Chemistry Building and opening of the Inorganic Chemistry Unit of University of Warsaw at 17 Wawelska Street, Warsaw, June 1939

Among those present at the ceremony are: dean of the Catholic Theology Faculty, Fr. Piotr Chojnacki (delivering a speech), Ignacy Mościcki, Maj. Józef Hartman, Deputy Prime Minister Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski, Minister Wojciech Świętosławski, Minister Antoni Roman and Col. Edward Czuruk, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/10/3278/0/1

President Ignacy Mościcki, Prof. Kazimierz Jabłczyński and Józef Hartman in the Chemistry Building, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/10/3278/0/3

Ignacy Mościcki in Wisła, August 1939

Ignacy Mościcki in front of the presidential residence Zameczek with Fr. Jan Humpola, Józef Hartman and Stefan Kryński, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/2/1681/0/2

President Ignacy Mościcki in his office, next to him are his adjutants Maj. Józef Hartman and Capt. Stefan Kryński, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/2/1681/0/3

President Ignacy Mościcki, Maria Mościcka, Jan Kubisz, Fr. Jan Humpola, Józef Hartman and Stefan Kryński, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 227-1

Stadium in Spała, 1939

Playful time at the stadium. Józef Hartman with President Mościcki, Maria Mościcka and unknown women, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 233-7

Józef Hartman with unknown women, AAN, Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, ref. no. 276-4

Huntings

Hunting in Pruchna. Józef Hartman in a shooting position, October 1934, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/8/2749/0/5

Hunting in Białowieża. Józef Hartman with the President's dog, February 1937, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/8/2740/0/14

Hunting in Białowieża. Józef Hartman with a hunted wild boar and a fox, February 1937, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/8/2740/0/16

Hunting in the Teschener Kammer forests. President Ignacy Mościcki and Józef Hartman, November 1936, NAC, ref. no. 3/1/0/8/2743/0/1

Józef Hartman, Józef Mościcki and Stefan Kryński with hunted pheasants, 1935, AJG, ref. no. 4033, item 23

Józef Hartman and Józef Mościcki, AJG, ref. no. 4054, item 29

Józef Hartman, Zofia Mościcka and Helena Bobkowska on a hunt, AJG, ref. no. 4054, item 7

The most precious photographs

President Ignacy Mościcki skiing. Photograph inscribed to Józef Hartman: To my dear adjutant Sławomir Hartman as a souvenir, Wisła 4 March 1935, IMościcki, photo by Witold Pikiel, 1929, private archive of the Hartmans

Portrait photographs of Ignacy Mościcki and Maria Mościcka given as a gift to Józef Hartman before he joined the Polish army in France by the former President and his wife on 7 January 1940 in Fribourg as a token of thanks for his faithful service, the Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum in London [Polish: IPMS], archive ref. no. KOL. 604/9

To Major S. Hartman as a memento. IMościcki

Dear and beloved Major Hartman! We are to say goodbye today, which is not going to be easy for me. I grew to love you as if you were my own, favourite son – for your beautiful soul and character. I know your feelings for me have been those of a son toward his father. Now, when the time has come for us to part, after your nearly six- year service at the Castle, I wish to express my gratitude and thank you very much for everything. Godspeed! IM Fribourg , 7 January 1940

Marya Mościcka Fribourg. 7 January 1940.

To Our Dear Major Hartman, Godspeed You!

Chapter – IV 1939-1945

The capitulation of France and getting to Great Britain

— Józef Hartman crossed the Swiss-French border on 10 January 1940, and reached Paris on 12 January. He was sent to the concentration station in Les Sables-d'Olonne and soon after was appointed as an instructor of the anti-tank weapons course in Nemours, where he served as a company commander.

The months-long period of stagnation on the Western Front, the so-called "Phoney War”[37], ended on 10 May 1940 with a sudden attack of Nazi Germany on France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The rapid advances of German troops prevented Hartman from taking part in the French defensive war. After the end of fights, together with Polish sub-units, he managed to get to the port of Le Verdon-sur-Mer near Bordeaux. From there, on 22 June, he embarked to Liverpool, where he arrived on 25 June 1940.

The evacuation of Polish soldiers from France to the United Kingdom, which lasted until 15 July 1940, was carried out in a chaotic manner and under continuous German fire, which prevented some of the troops from withdrawing. The forces evacuated to England were mixed groups of soldiers from various units, without heavy equipment, and often without personal weapons. They had to be reorganised into regular units. Poles began to be grouped in camps in Scotland around the towns of Crawford, Douglas and Biggar. During the process, it turned out that there were fewer privates than officers, which prevented the formation of complete units. In the end, only two complete units were formed: the 1st Rifle Brigade and the 10th Cavalry Brigade. The remaining officers were allocated to "cadre" brigades in the strength of a battalion, which laid the foundations for the future infantry divisions. It was such a unit, i.e. the 14th Regiment of the 5th Cadre Rifle Brigade that Józef Hartmanwas assigned to[38].

As an officer closely related to the pre-war Sanation [Polish: Sanacja, a Polish political movement created in the interwar period by sympathisers of Józef Piłsudski – translator's note] and loyal to Marshal Józef Piłsudski, Hartman had reasons to fear repression from General Władysław Sikorski, who was a particularly devout anti-Piłsudskite. Before World War II, Sikorski had been removed from power and founded the Morges Front in Switzerland in opposition to the Sanation. After the September defeat, concentrating in his hands the power of the Prime Minister, Commander-in-Chief, Minister of the Interior and Minister of Military Affairs, he started a real "witch hunt". He was vigorously assisted by the Deputy Prime Minister, Prof. Stanisław Kot and Colonel (later Brigadier General) Izydor Modelski, responsible for personnel matters. The victims of the anti-Sanation purge were mainly Sikorski's personal opponents, people considered guilty of losing the defensive war of 1939, and even those loosely associated with the Sanation. The officers deemed "discredited" (which was a very broad term) were interned in a special camp in Rothesay on the Isle of Bute ("the Isle of Snakes") near Glasgow. They were consistently denied combat assignments, regardless of their qualifications, condemning them to long-term inactivity[39]. This "settlement of scores" at the time of the ongoing war and the terror of the Nazi-Soviet occupation of Poland was not found improper in any way[40] .

Presumably already in the autumn of 1940, Hartman met his pre-war colleague, Cpt. Maciej Kalenkiewicz[41], who was looking for volunteers for underground operations in occupied Poland. Józef Hartman described this event as follows: After the end of my service in Switzerland and the fast retreat in France, I found myself in England. I'd heard about special camps and being a 100% candidate for one, I felt very pessimistic about the future. As God would have it, I met Cpt. Maciej Kalenkiewicz, with whom I had taken a parachute course in Jabłonna in the Balloon Battalion in 1934. Cpt. Kalenkiewicz and Cpt. Górski[42] worked in the staff, focusing on air landings, parachute operations and an attack on Auschwitz. It was thanks to them that I reported to Commander-in-Chief General Sikorski[43].

Before undergoing complete training for being dropped into Poland, Hartman completed preparatory service in the Czechoslovak army between 12 and 28 January 1941, in the 1st Infantry Battalion in Leamington Spa. No detailed information is available on the joint parachute jumps with the Czechs. It was probably just a show, not part of the training. A regular course was held three months later in Ringway as part of sabotage training. In his notes from the stay with his Czechoslovak allies, Hartman made an interesting observation:

In January 1941, by order of Commander-in-Chief Gen. Władysław Sikorski, I was undergoing preparatory service in the Czechoslovak Army in Great Britain, in the are aof Coventry–Leamington Spa–Strafford. There were four Polish officers there, me included. At the end of January, Czechs organised and threw a great dinner party for friends. President Edward Benesz and General Władysław Sikorski were present, too. Atdinner, Gen. Władysław Sikorski was sitting on the right-hand side of President Benesz, and I was seated on his left, with the Czechoslovak commander, Col. Barowski sitting on my left. As keepsakes, we received special cards of friendship bearing the colours of the flags of both our nations, signed by Beneszand Gen. Sikorski.

Throughout the entire time, President Benesz talked to the Commander-in-Chief. After the meal, there was a tour of the area taken up by the Czechoslovak Army. At one point, General Sikorski informed me that I was to go to Ringway in February to make joint jumps with the Czechoslovaks. I took the liberty to say to General Sikorski: "Sir, I am sure that the dinner offered an excellent opportunity to have a long, cordial and fruitful conversation with President Benesz". To which General Sikorski replied: "You are right – the conversation was long, but by no means cordial and fruitful. He will never renounce his great love for Stalin”[44]. From that period, a unique letter was preserved, written on 16 January 1941 by a Czechoslavak officer, addressed to Maj. Józef Hartman, illustrating the rarely documented warmth in Polish-Czechoslovak relations[45].

The idea of communication with occupied Poland and training of future paratroopers

After the September defeat, the efforts of the Polish government in exile were aimed at taking effective measures to free Poland from the German-Soviet occupation. In addition to the formation of regular units of the Polish Army in the allied countries, i.e. France, and following its defeat, in the United Kingdom, efforts were consolidated to prepare a nationwide uprising in the occupied country, which was to break out after the weakening of the occupiers. Before that could happen, however, numerous underground organisations were created. Already during the siege of Warsaw, the Service for Poland's Victory [Polish: Służba Zwycięstwu Polski] was established, only to be later disbanded by General Sikorski as bearing too much resemblance to the Sanation movement. It was replaced by the Union of Armed Struggle [Polish: Związek Walki Zbrojnej], based on the Polish Military Organisation and subsequently transformed into the Home Army [Polish: Armia Krajowa] in 1942. Its task was to conduct intelligence, subversion and sabotage activities and organise forces for armed intervention in the future. Very soon, it was recognised that the coordination of such activities required ongoing communication between the government in exile and the leadership in occupied Poland. Before the defeat of France, it seemed that establishing air connections would be fairly simple. The situation changed radically after the rapid campaign of German troops in Europe, which led not only to the fall of France, but also the occupation of Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway, among other countries. What was more, the Germans were preparing an invasion through the English Channel. There were regular air raids on London. The RAF's victory in the Battle of Britain prevented the Germans from invading the British Isles. The government of the United Kingdom, led by Winston Churchill, was determined to wage a total war against Hitler. It was also decided to use sabotage and intelligence methods to combat the enemy, based on close cooperation with the local resistance movements.

As a consequence of this new reality, changes were introduced in the organisation of the Polish military authorities, with the appointment on 29 June 1940 of the Independent National Department, responsible for maintaining contact with the occupied country. The Department, headed by Colonel Tadeusz Klimecki, initially reported to the Headquarters of the Union of Armed Struggle. However, after the resignation of General Kazimierz Sosnkowski on 25 July 1940, the Department was incorporated in the Commander-in-Chief's Staff as Division 6[46]. Within its framework was the "S" Unit, which was responsible for air communication with the country. Because it did not have its own instructors and equipment, it was completely dependent on the Polish section of the British Special Operations Executive.

The largest influence on the development of the idea of communication with Poland was a group of young Polish officers, mostly Capt. Maciej Kalenkiewicz and Capt. Jan Górski. Their innovative plans for the liberation of the country, developed at the end of 1939, were not immediately appreciated by the relevant authorities. It was only in the British Isles that the whole idea was seriously considered. It was proposed that local insurgent armies supported by elite paratroopers and aviation should play a key role in liberating the occupied European countries. Their operation would be coordinated with the attack of regular troops. These airborne units would successively hit the dispersed German forces, with subversive and sabotage operations and bombings of communication networks preventing the consolidation of larger enemy forces. Although this plan was not entirely realistic, it made an impression on both Polish and British staff officers. Eventually, only the part concerning preparatory activities was adopted, as it was also proposed that, in addition to the development of air forces, constant provision of specialists and supplies for the needs of the underground armies should be ensured. The soldiers who decided to participate in the project to be airlifted to their homeland were called the Cichociemni [English: Silent Unseen].[47]. The origin of the name remains obscure – some derive it from the special-ops, "silent-and-dark" fighting methods of the paratroopers, others from the trainees' obligation to keep the project confidential after returning to their original units. Either way, the name stuck, gaining great respect, and became the one by which special forces paratroopers dropped into Poland began to be known.

Father of the cichociemni

Józef Hartman was one of the first Poles to undergo full sabotage training. After being transferred to the 4th Cadre Rifle Brigade[48], which was responsible for the organisation and manning of the majority of courses, he completed the following training: shooting course (from February 1941 in Inverlochy Castle) and a course on organising underground resistance (from 9 March to 3 April 1941 in Briggens), being among the 15 officers who managed to complete it[49]. During the latter course (on 1 April) he was sworn in as a Union of Armed Struggle soldier and adopted the nom de guerre "Sławek". Then, after a short vacation, he was sent to Ringway for parachute training, which took place between 12 and 24 May. Having already undergone a parachute course before the war, he had a fair amount of experience, considering the circumstances. He completed his training despite a serious leg injury suffered after one of the jumps, when the wind carried him away to the hangar. He was also among the first 163 paratroopers awarded the newly established Parachutist Badge [Polish: Znak Spadochronowy]. He took part in the first Polish paratrooper landing demonstration on 23 September 1941[50]. In addition, Col. Stanisław Sosabowski authorised Hartman to wear parachute signs, i.e.: the relevant badges, beret and cap band. At the end of May, he was sent to Dunkeld to attend a communications course for the officers of the 4th Cadre Rifle Brigade, organised in cooperation with the 1st Rifle Brigade. He did not complete the course, as he was transferred to Division 6 of the Commander- in-Chief's Staff.

Józef Hartman had versatile skills, experience and the right aptitude to be sent to Poland and join the underground resistance movement. However, there was one factor that absolutely disqualified him. As a pre-war adjutant to the President of the Republic of Poland, he had appeared in hundreds of photographs, widely published in the press. The Gestapo and the Abwehr were in possession of photographs of all major pre-war Polish officers, which made the risk of exposure too great in his case. General Sikorski considered the idea of parachuting Hartman to Poland a suicide mission, concluding emphatically: Instead of sending him, you might as well shoot him in the head straight away[51]. As a result, instead of landing in Poland, Hartman only participated in two special-operations expeditions to the French coast. Unfortunately, details of these missions remain classified until this day. His superiors, unable to use him in combat operations in Poland, entrusted him with management and training tasks. In the years 1941-1943, Hartman held the following positions: head of the underground resistance course in Briggens, the Polish commander of the STS[52] at Audley End House (together with his English counterpart, Lt. Col. Terry Roper-Caldbeck), head of the Training Department of the Commander-in-Chief's Staff and head of a department in the Special Division of the Commander-in-Chief's Staff.

In his early days of service in Division 6, Hartman was met coldly by certain officers, including Lt. Col. Jan Jaźwiński[53], who wrote in his Diary: The head of the course, Maj. Hartman, one of the former adjutants of the Polish President, is a cultured man, but soft and incapable of constructive initiative. He even blindly follows Ulanicki. (...) The head of the course, Maj. Hartman and the instructors do not have the new borders of the General Governorate. My training program and detailed instructions have not been used, lying idle in his briefcase. I asked Major Hartman: "Why did you neglect to use these documents?". He replied: "Colonel Ulanicki ordered me to strictly follow his instructions." I asked: "What were his instructions?" Hartman: "Nothing on paper". He's devoted all his time on the course to confidential conversations with paratroopers, exploring their attitude to the Commander-in-Chief, to Mikołajczyk and to Modelski's propaganda writings, which claim that the Union of Armed Struggle is controlled by former members of the Legions and that it does nothing good for Poland etc., agitating (...) On the morning of 19 January, I left for the inspection of the clearance course. Maj. Perkins arrived a moment later. Out of 20 candidates, we found 12 to be unprepared. Maj. Hartman said at the conference with Perkins: "I cannot do anything, Lt. Col. Ulanicki runs the course himself, I am just a pushover here”[54].

Gradually, however, his high qualifications were recognised. The performance of paratroopers improved significantly during his time as the head of the course. For example, he wanted every Cichociemny to be able to drive a car, as well as to ride a motorcycle and... a bicycle[55]. Contrary to appearances, it was not a common skill due to the high price of bicycles and their limited availability in pre-war Poland[56].

The stages of the Cichociemni training were well illustrated by the words of Col. Józef Hartman in one of the 1960s broadcasts on Radio Free Europe: Each candidate – of course, a volunteer – had to, first of all, be in excellent physical and mental condition. The actual parachute training, including both day and night-time jumps, was preceded by a very thorough gymnastics and sports warm-up. Those candidates who were selected for service in the country underwent various Special Division courses, as well as commando courses. During the former they were taught subversion, sabotage, mining and demining, communications, special shooting techniques, hand-to-hand combat, how to ride a motorcycle, intelligence methods, special photography and languages. [...] Before being sent to Poland, each operative underwent the so-called acclimatisation. It was about practical knowledge. He learned about life in the occupied country, memorised prices of basic commodities, familiarised himself with train schedules, fees on trams, buses and so on. Each of them made a jump wearing clothes that had either been covertly imported from Poland or made to look exactly the same. [...] Those who volunteered to work in the country were really "handsome boys, all carefully selected [expression taken from translated lyrics of a Polish war song "Wojenko, wojenko" – translator's note]". They were recruited from the best men we had in the West.[57]

Not all candidates completed the course, finding it hard to withstand the psychological pressure or due to accidents during the exhausting training. Parachute jumps were particularly dangerous, with several paratroopers killed as a result of parachute malfunctions. Some of the trainees simply lacked the qualities needed for underground work. Interestingly, the covert skills of the future "Father of the Cichociemni" were described as "average”[58] by the head of training course in Briggens.

The training, in addition to physical preparation, also included practising fast shooting (e.g. on the run or from the hip) using various types of weapons, both Allied and German, the use of explosives, opening safes, driving vehicles, hand- to-hand combat (including ju-jitsu), crossing water obstacles, mountain climbing, topography, communications etc. In addition, trainees also underwent the so-called "root course" in the mountains of Scotland, during which they had to spend a dozen or so days in the open, eating only what they had managed to find, hunt or catch. Many of the exercises were practical in nature and involved, for example, "capturing" and then "blowing up" some building "defended" by the British. Such drills helped the future paratroopers develop their ingenuity and cunning, teaching them how to cope in different unexpected situations. Complementary courses were also conducted: black propaganda[59], changing appearance or home production of explosives, very useful in the reality of occupied Poland.

Each Cichociemny had what is known as a cover story, a false identity that had to become second nature to him. During the training, they were subjected to sudden "interrogations", often in the middle of the night or after drinking, during which they had to lie convincingly, giving false information about their families, places of residence and employment, sticking to the previously memorised "cover story". They were often "interrogated" in pairs, in isolation from each other in order to verify the consistency of their responses. As it was recognised that bestial Gestapo torture could break even the strongest of men, all paratroopers were issued with cyanide capsules. This was not excessive caution – out of 112 Cichociemni killed in Poland, 10 had to take the poison to avoid the possibility of exposing their fellow soldiers and the organisation.

Hartman actively participated in the training of his students. His paternal attitude to subordinates earned him the nickname "Papa". After some time, he was honoured with the name "Father of the Cichociemni[60]". He was generally very well liked, he even gained the respect of British officers, who were usually ill- disposed towards foreigners. In recognition of his excellent work results, he received another promotion (to the rank of lieutenant colonel on 1 March 1944). In July, the head Division 6 of the Commander-in-Chief's Staff, Lt. Col. Marian Utnik appointed him as his deputy. On 2 December 1945, Józef Hartman was transferred to the Division of Vocational Training of the Commander-in-Chief's Staff, and, in 1946, he was named the head of the Special Liquidation Committee of the General Staff[61]. He was highly valued for his exceptional merits in the training, command and personal fields: Extremely composed and balanced, very serious, a keen observer with sound judgement, highly intelligent, affectionate, extremely loyal to his superiors and with an approachable attitude towards subordinates, who like him very much. He is extremely conscientious, accurate and reliable. He has considerable military knowledge and is tactically well-prepared. He has the makings of a great battle commander. As the commander of a "cadre" company, he achieved very good results. An outstanding company commander. He is suited for the position of a battalion commander and work in the staff[62]. After the disbanding of the Polish Armed Forces in the West on 18 January 1947, Hartman enlisted in the Polish Resettlement Corps[63]. The nearly 30-year-long military service of Józef Hartman ended on 13 August 1948. He received his last promotion – to colonel – from General Władysław Anders in 1964[64].

[37] Phoney War (French: Drôle de guerre – literally: strange, funny war, German: Sitzkrieg – literally: sitting war) – a colloquial definition of the situation that took place on the Western Front in the first period of World War II after a declaration of war against the Third Reich by France and Great Britain on 3 September 1939, followed by the cessation of actual war on land (the so-called Saar Offensive) in the period from October 1939 to the French campaign in May 1940. Military activities were limited to reconnaissance flights and incidental aerial bombings, but mainly consisted in dropping propaganda leaflets on Nazi Germany. French troops relied on the defensive qualities of the border fortifications at the Maginot Line. The morale of soldiers and society was undermined by the anti-war propaganda of the French Communist Party. The prolonged inactivity allowed the German army to supplement the losses suffered in the war with Poland and prepare an attack on France. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dziwna_wojna (accessed on 21 September 2017).

[38] R. Lewicki, W. Markert, op. cit., pp. 40-41.

[39] Gen. Ludomił Rayski may serve as an example. The pre-war commander of the Polish Air Force and a distinguished military and sports pilot, he was denied even a basic pilot assignment. Interned on the isle of Bute, he was released after the intervention of the British authorities and joined the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was only after the death of General Sikorski in 1943 that he joined the Polish Air Force, where he became the commander of the Polish Air Force for the Middle East. Then, he voluntarily flown a number of supply missions for the Warsaw Uprising insurgents. Gen. Rayski's case review and rehabilitation process began in February 1944, but he was only acquitted of all charges nine days before his death – he died in London on 11 April 1977.

[40] See also: Władysław Pobóg-Malinowski, Najnowsza historia polityczna Polski: okres 1939-1945, Wydawnictwo Nasza Przyszłość, 1990, chapter: Na ziemi cudzej i własnej, throughout.

[41] Maciej Kalenkiewicz (1906-1944), noms de guerre "Bóbr”, "Kotwica”, "Kotwicz” and "Maciej” – a Polish Army soldier and officer, member of Maj. Dubrzański's partisan Detached Unit of the Polish Army [Polish: Oddział Wydzielony Wojska Polskiego], a Cichociemny and an engineer. He was parachuted into occupied Poland during the operation code-named "Jacket" on the night between 27 and 28 December 1941. He was killed by the Soviets during the Battle at Surkonty.

[42] Jan Górski (1905-1945), noms de guerre "Chomik”, "Deribas”, "Maciej” and "Samowar” – a Polish Army sapper major and an engineer who, together with Capt. Kalenkiewiecz, initiated the formation of the Cichociemni special operations sabotage and intelligence units. He was parachuted into the area of Grodzisk Mazowiecki on the night between 14 and 15 March 1943. He was killed by the German occupier, with the exact circumstances of his death remaining unclear. According to one version, he was executed by shooting. Another account has it that he was killed during an attempt to escape from the Lengenfeld camp (a subcamp of the Flossenbürg concentration camp), where he was imprisoned.

[43] Part the autobiography written by Józef Hartman in 1972. Selected by Roman Lewicki, London 20 May 2001, AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 15/2.

[44] Józef Hartman, Polska – Czesi, AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 15/2.

[45] AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 15/1.

[46] Division 6 was created on 29 April 1940 within the framework of the Commander-in-Chief's Staff. Initially, it was under the command of General K. Sosnkowski. However, after his resignation from the government and being removed from command, on behalf of the Commander-in-Chief, of the underground military operations in occupied Poland, the division was transferred under the command of General T. Klimecki. After the Gibraltar plane crash, General Stanisław Kopański was appointed as the Chief of Staff. From 22 May 1944 until the end of the war, the unit remained under the command of the deputy Chief of Staff of the Commander-in-Chief for domestic affairs. The position was entrusted to General Stanisław Tater, who was transferred from Poland in air operation "Bridge No. 1". Division 6 acted mainly as a liaison between the Commander-in-Chief in exile and the Supreme Commander of the Home Army [Polish: Komendant Główny Armii Krajowej]. Therefore, its main tasks included maintaining constant radio and courier communication with Poland, providing support for operations planned by Supreme Commander of the Home Army or ordered by the Commander-in- Chief, and, consequently, maintaining air links with the country. The trained Cichociemni paratroopers, all funds and supplies for the resistance movement, as well as those needed to facilitate communication with the Government Delegation for Poland [Polish: Delegatura Rządu na Kraj] were to be transported by air. Division 6 also trained emissaries and political couriers, who were to be later dispatched to occupied Poland along with the necessary propaganda materials and money from the civil budget. Division 6 worked closely with the remaining divisions of the Commander-in-Chief's Staff in all areas that concerned the Home Army; it also cooperated with the SOE. In addition, it acted as a go-between for the Home Army and the BBC station when broadcasting secret radio messages for individual units and divisions both on the ground and in prisoner-of-war camps. It also administered funds for the Home Army. The heads of Division 6 were, in order of service: Col. Józef Smoleński – from June 1940 to 15 December 1941; Lt. Col. Tadeusz Rudnicki – from 15 December 1941 to 27 March 1942; Lt. Col. Michał Protasewicz – from 27 March 1942 to 10 July 1944; Lt. Col. Marian Utnik – from 10 July 1944 until the disbanding of the unit in 1945. See also: http://www.cichociemni.ovh.org/oddzial.html (accessed on 3 May 2016).

[47] R. Lewicki, W. Markert, op. cit., pp. 43-48.

[48] Formed on 5 August 1940, the 4th Cadre Rifle Brigade was commanded by Col. Stanisław Sosabowski. Its training programme included sabotage, subversion and parachute jumps. The following courses were organised: SOE underground struggle course in Briggens, sabotage course in Inverlochy Castle (near Fort William, Scotland) and, around 14 March 1941, parachute training in Largo House, the so-called. "Monkey Grove". See also: http://zeszetykombatanckie.pl/cichociemni-spadochroniarze-armii-ska (accessed on 3 May 2016).

[49] I. Valentine, Baza 43. Cichociemni, Wydawnictwo „Wołoszański” 2004, p. 58.

[50] Following this, the 4th Cadre Rifle Brigade was transformed into the 1st Parachute Brigade by Gen. Sikorski.

[51] J. Tucholski, Cichociemni. Wydawnictwo Dolnośląskie, Wrocław 2010, 4th edition, p. 87.

[52] STS – Special Training School

[53] Jan Jaźwiński was born on 15 June 1905 in an estate in Kutyłowo-Skupie, in the Ostrów Mazowiecka county and died on 25 August 1985 in Los Angeles. He was an officer of the Polish Army, veteran of the Polish-Bolshevik war of 1920, a graduate of the Officers School of Engineering in Warsaw (he graduated third in his class of 28), the Faculty of Civil Engineering at the Warsaw University of Technology and of the Higher War School in Warsaw. After receiving the diploma of an officer of the General Staff of the 13th promotion in 1934, he was assigned to the Command of the Corps District 8 (Toruń) as unit head. In 1936, he married lawyer Wanda Goethel. In 1938, after completing a period of preliminary service, he was assigned to Division 2 (intelligence) of the General Staff in Warsaw. In the September campaign of 1939, he was detailed to the General Staff's Communications. He carried out 86 rail transport operations and 2 evacuation transports to destination stations during a Luftwaffe bombing and under Wehrmacht artillery fire. In 1940, he organised and trained a battalion of sappers in France. In Great Britain, he was the progenitor of the idea to send trained officers to occupied Poland by air. He was among the first to undergo a parachute course and received a Polish parachutist badge with number 5, with the words To You, Homeland engraved on its back. After the Allied landing in Italy at the beginning of January 1944, he was appointed as a commander of a transit base near Brindisi, which served, instead of England, as a take-off point for planes carrying supplies for Poland. After his resignation from the position of the commander of the base, he was transferred to the 2nd Corps of Gen. Władysław Anders. In September 1944, he was assigned to the British Sappers Training Centre, following which he was detailed by General Anders to Division 3 of the 2nd Corps Staff. After the war, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. Following demobilisation, he settled in England and, in 1950, he graduated from the civil engineering department at Polish University College. In 1952, he emigrated to Canada, and later, in 1960, to California, where he worked as a civil engineer until mid-1972. He died in Los Angeles, but his ashes were brought to Canada and rest in the Park Lawn cemetery in Toronto.

[54] Jan Jaźwiński, Dramat dowódcy. Pamiętnik oficera Sztabu Oddziału Wywiadowczego i Specjalnego, volume I: June 1905 – January 1944, Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences in Canada [Polish: Polski Instytut Naukowy w Kanadzie], Montreal 2012, pp. 320–321, 337.

[55] I. Valentine, op. cit., p. 93.

[56] The price of a bicycle produced by the Polish State Armaments Factories [Polish: Państwowe Wytwórnie Uzbrojenia] in the 1930s was about 120-140 zlotys, the equivalent of a month's wages for a factory worker. The most expensive models – military type 10 and school-popular type 21 cost 200 and 188 zlotys respectively. According to the Small Statistical Yearbook, in 1939, there were only 1.3 million registered bicycles in Poland for a population of 35 million. In many poorer regions of the country, for example in the Eastern Borderlands, a bicycle was a rarity, used only by postmen, policemen and soldiers. As quoted in: Miłosz J. Zieliński, Bicycles in the Second Polish Republic – www.miloszzielinski.pl/pliki/rowery_w_ii_rp.pdf (accessed on 14 September 2017).

[57] "Operation Wachlarz” (part 2). Broadcast devoted to a special sabotage group of the Home Army, active in the Eastern Borderlands of the pre-war Republic of Poland (autumn 1941 - spring 1943), prepared by Józef Garliński, 21 June 1964. NAC, ref. no. 3/36/0/2/1553/2, available for listening at: http://www.polskieradio.pl/68/2461/Audio/291499.

[58] Maj. Józef Hartman's record file from the underground resistance course in Briggens, SPP, ref. no. Kol. 23/67.

[59] Black propaganda is a kind of propaganda which, in order to obtain the right psychological effect, purports to emanate from a source other than the true source. An example could be the fabrication of German publications by the Polish resistance movement during World War II in Operation N [Polish: Akcja N] or a German leaflet written in Polish during the Warsaw Uprising, with false "orders" from General Tadeusz Bor-Komorowski – https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czarna_propaganda (accessed on: 21 September 2017).

[60] R. Lewicki, W. Markert, op. cit., p. 64.

[61] The Special Liquidation Committee was established on 15 December 1945 from the former Special Division and operated until 1949. It was headed by the Division head, Col. Marian Utnik. Its tasks included: "liquidation of foreign branches of the former Special Division, preparation of accounting, financial and material closures, transferring the assets of the Division to the relevant units and institutions as ordered by the Chief of Staff of the Commander-in-Chief, sorting out personnel matters and the archives of the Special Division, securing documents, as well as maintaining contact with the SOE, especially in matters of providing assistance to Poles in England". It ended its activity with the return of M. Utnik to Poland. See also: W. Roman, Dzieje i zawartość zespołu akt Oddziału VI Sztabu Głównego Naczelnego Wodza z lat 1940–1949, http://archiwumcaw.wp.mil.pl/biuletyn/b17/b17_7.pdf (accessed on: 29 May 2016).

[62] Personal records of Józef Hartman: Data sheet. Opinion for 1940, The Ministry of Defence (MoD), ref. no. Polish/1148.

[63] The Polish Resettlement Corps (PRC) – a unit of the British Army existing between 1946-1949, created to ease the transition of the demobilised soldiers of the Polish Armed Forces in the West from military into civilian life in Great Britain or abroad. Corps soldiers could, at any time, return to Poland or move to any other country, join the British Army, according to the rules in force, or take up employment in the United Kingdom. As part of the Corps, professional courses were organised by teachers selected by the Ministry of Labour, including training for disabled soldiers. The questionnaire completed by PRC members contained questions about education, command of languages and additional skills, work or hobby-related (drawing, painting, electrical engineering, radio technology, watchmaking, gardening, cooking and shoemaking), as well as professional preferences. Participation in the PRC was used as a pretext by the Polish communist authorities to deprive 76 officers of the Polish Armed Forces in the West of citizenship. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polski_Korpus_Przysposobienia_i_Rozmieszczenia (accessed on 13 September 2017).

[64] AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 15/1.

Briggens. Maj. Hartman (on the left) and Capt. Edwards during exercises, 1941, IPMS, ref. no. 604/9

Briggens. Maj. Józef Hartman with Lt. Jerzy Zubrzycki (first on the left) and Lt. Aleksander Ihnatowicz, 1941, IPMS, ref. no. 604/9

Briggens. Maj. Józef Hartman with Lt. Jerzy Zubrzycki and an unknown officer, 1941, IPMS, ref. no. 604/9

Audley End. Parachutist Józef Hartman, 1941–1943, AJG, ref. no. 4001

Audley End. A group of officers at the entrance to the palace, from the left: Capt. Jan Lipiński, Capt. Maksymilian Kruczała (wearing glasses), Col. Michał Protasewicz (with a file/a briefcase), Lt. Col. Marian Wieroński (in a beret), officer from the British personnel of Base 43 Col. Angus Kennedy, Maj. Józef Hartman, Lt. Col. Terry Roper-Caldbeck and Lt. Col. Stefan Piotrowski, 1942–1943, IPMS, ref. no. 604/9

Audley End. Maj. Józef Hartman during practice with the Thompson machine gun, 1941–1943, IPMS, ref. no. 604/9

Audley End. Gen. Władysław Sikorski's visit to the Cichociemni training centre. Commander of the centre Maj. Józef Hartman reporting to Gen. Władysław Sikorski, 28 August 1942, CAW WBH – list no. 2381/13, app. 104, ref. no. A.27902

Audley End. A group of Cichociemni instructors, from the left: Lt. Mieczysław Różański, Capt. Maksymilian Kruczała, Lt. Eugeniusz Janczyszyn, 2nd Lt. Jerzy Zubrzycki, Lt. Aleksander Ihnatowicz, Maj. Józef Hartman, Lt. Jan Kazimierski, Lt. Antoni Pospieszalski and Lt. Col. Stefan Piotrowski, 1942–1943, AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 15-9-3

Audley End. A group of Cichociemni instructors, from the left: 2nd Lt. Jerzy Zubrzycki, Capt. Zygmunt Oranowski, Maj. Józef Hartman, Lt. Antoni Pospieszalski and Lt. Jan Kazimierski, 1942–1943, AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 15-9-6

Audley End. A group of Cichociemni instructors, from the left: Capt. Zygmunt Oranowski, Maj. Józef Hartman, Capt. Maksymilian Kruczała, 2nd Lt. Jerzy Zubrzycki and Lt. Jan Kazimierski, 1942–1943, CAW WBH – list no. 2381/13, app. 104, ref. no. A.31989

Audley End. From the right: Gen. Tadeusz Klimecki, Lt. Jan Podolski, Maj. Józef Hartman and Capt. Marian Utnik, 1942–1943, AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 15-9-8

Audley End. Maj. Józef Hartman talking to President Władysław Raczkiewicz during his visit to the centre, 1942–1943, AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 15-9-4

Audley End. Commanders of the Cichociemni training centre: British – Lt. Col. Terry Roper-Caldbeck and his Polish counterpart – Maj. Józef Hartman, together with the special course instructor, Capt. Jan Lipiński, 1942–1943, AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 15-9-7

Deputy head of the Commander-in-Chief's Division 6, Lt. Col. Józef Hartman during the ceremony of awarding Home Army's Officer Cadet badge to Prime Minister Stanisław Mikołajczyk. Also present are: courier from Poland Tadeusz Chciuk-Celt, Kazimierz Sabbat and a member of the Chief Committee of the Polish Scouting Association in London, Wojciech Dłużewski, London, 28 August 1944, NAC, ref. no. 3/18/0/-/204/2

Chapter V

In exile

— The situation of many soldiers of the Polish Armed Forces who decided to remain in exile was very difficult. Well used to army life after many years of service, often since World War I, they experienced problems adjusting to civilian life in a foreign country. This was especially true of older officers with no other occupation and unable to work physically. Polish soldiers could not return to Poland for fear of persecution by the communist authorities, which did not recognise the London-based government in exile and the Polish Armed Forces in the West. On the other hand, the United Kingdom's economic plight after the war made supporting legions of foreigners a heavy burden for the devastated country. Thus, Poles were encouraged to go to the British Dominions (Canada, Australia and New Zealand) and countries outside the Empire. In addition, many Britons did not understand or did not want to understand the complexity of Polish politics and the problems of Polish-Soviet relations. They considered the communist-controlled Provisional Government of National Unity [Polish: Tymczasowy Rząd Jedności Narodowej] to be a legitimate, pluralistic Polish government and regarded the rigged election of 1947 as the proper fulfilment of the Yalta agreements. An important role was also played by Soviet propaganda, which discredited the exile community and stressed the importance of international policy considerations, warning against damaging relations with the USSR, especially in view of the weakened position of the United Kingdom within the Grand Alliance. The presence of former Polish soldiers and the London-based Polish government in exile, which had ceased to be recognised by the British authorities, was viewed as an obstacle to resuming a peaceful life.

Józef Hartman delayed the decision to return to Poland. This was due to several reasons. First of all, having hold a variety of high-profile posts before and during World War II, he feared persecution by the Polish People's Republic's [Polish: Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL] authorities, hostile towards the pre- war elites and the army in exile. Communist propaganda deliberately compared the "soldier masses" which were encouraged to return to the country to "reactionary Sanation officers", considered traitors. In addition, he learned about slanderous texts written about him in the communist media[65].

Secondly, Hartman felt responsible for his subordinates, especially for those who had fled the country and needed help with the formalities related to the right of residence in England. He was personally engaged in solving each problem individually, devoting a lot of time to face-to-face conversations with former paratroopers. It was in such situations that his characteristic diligence and conscientiousness, combined with ordinary human kindness and an innate empathy, were best shown.

In the end, the risk of communist persecution and willingness to help his subordinates stopped Hartman from returning to Poland. His fears were not unfounded, considering that a total of ten Cichociemni paratroopers were killed in Stalin's Poland, often after fake "trials", which were, in fact, judicial murders. The fear of communist torture prisons outweighed his longing for home and Hartman remained in the British Isles until his death.

Józef Hartman decided to settle in London. On 15 February 1947, he married Grace Thorpe, first married name Leborgne, the widow of English test pilot Robert Leborgne[66]. Thanks to his marriage to a British citizen, he avoided many problems with immigration authorities. His wife and stepdaughter Josephine[67] helped him to adjust to civilian life in England, so difficult for a professional soldier. They nursed him in illness and supported his later veteran activities. This is what he wrote about them in one of his letters to Maria Mościcka: Graceand Josephine are indeed women of exceptional kindness, with a special attitude to everything Polish and me. I am very happy that I found such wonderful great Poles among English women[68].

Being a highly qualified officer, who could speak English, as well as French and Russian[69], Hartman found civilian life particularly hard, especially after the intensive, selfless service during the training of the Cichociemni. He left the army at the age of 50, making it difficult for him to find a suitable occupation in exile, as was the fate of many Polish soldiers and officers in the UK. He was not entitled to a British military pension since he had not served in the British Army. Like many of his subordinates and fellow soldiers, he did odd jobs until he reached full retirement age and received minimal benefits. He tried to take every job he could find, no matter how menial. Due to the scarcity of sources, his exact employment details are difficult to ascertain. All that is known for sure is that he worked as an orderly at a hospital and washed dishes in a restaurant[70]. Shortly after the war, the Hartmans bought a house with money from Józef's mustering- out pay, with the intention of running a Bed and Breakfast guesthouse[71]. Unfortunately, the investment did not turn out as hoped[72]. As Hartman's stepdaughter recalled, Józef and Grace "had no head for business." Hartman delayed the decision to became a British citizen for a long time so as not to set a bad example for his subordinates. However, he eventually did so in 1959 due to retirement considerations. Difficulty finding a job was not Hartman's only concern in Great Britain. He often felt lost in the huge foreign metropolis, as indicated by his letter to Maria Mościcka: [...] It is difficult to describe this city. There are parks, gardens and backyards, and yet it is a city. Grim, gray, dirty and foggy. A melting pot of thousands of different races, with a million different viruses, bacteria and God knows what. Clamour on the ground, noise in the air. People are walking and driving like crazy. They call all this the beginning of the world of tomorrow![73] Despite his general dislike of London, he had a few favourite places in the British capital, including Regent's Park, where he admired the roses and the zoological garden, and the Queen's oak forest in Windsor, which he praised in a letter to Maria Mościcka of 11 July 1967[74].

Hartman found it very painful to witness the divisions and eternal disputes within the Polish exile community, which failed to become more united despite the difficult times. What is more, the colonel's health deteriorated considerably after the war as a result of the wounds suffered in 1917 and 1920, as well as his injuries during World War II, especially the unfortunate parachute jump in 1941, when the wind carried him away onto the hangar roof, resulting in two fractured ankles. He had also sustained damage to both inner ears, causing balance problems. As he put it in a letter to former President Mościcki of 23 December 1945: My illness is strange–balance. It will hit"Sławeczek" in the street out of the blue, making him stagger as if he drank a double shot of vodka. He suffered from asthma, which he contracted in 1942 during one of the special operations, when he was dropped into the English Channel instead of the French coast. He also experienced cardiac problems. Perhaps the most serious blow to his health, however, was the car accident on 29 August 1965, in which he fractured both legs, forcing him to undergo two major operations and spend eight months in hospital. As a consequence, he had to walk with a cane for the rest of his life.

In exile, Hartman worked hard physically and, at the same time, was active in the veteran community. He still felt very attached to his subordinates and enjoyed their great respect. Antoni Pospieszalski, a journalist, former Cichociemny and a friend of Hartman, went as far as to compare this feeling to the affection soldiers had for Marshal Józef Piłsudski[75].

Hartman was extremely active in the London-based Home Army Cichociemni Paratroopers Club. He investigated the fate of former paratroopers and wrote articles about them for various expat periodicals. He was a member of the Verification Committee for Former Home Army Soldiers, whose task was to determine the ranks and decorations that had been awarded. He sought to spread the knowledge of the brave deeds and martyrdom of the Cichociemni, as well as to ensure a proper celebration of their day (15 February). During remembrance ceremonies, he also commemorated paratroopers murdered by the communist regime, one striking example being General Leopold Okulicki[76]. The legacy of the London Cichociemni Club includes a large number of notes made by Hartman, containing training details, lists of students etc[77]. For as long as his health allowed, he paid visits to his former subordinates and their families, especially the widows. He, too, was frequently visited by them. As a special token of remembrance, the colonel planted a rose bush in his backyard whenever he learned about the death of one of the Cichociemni. Throughout his life, he planted over one hundred such bushes. This led to occasional misunderstandings, with Hartman planting a bush upon the news of the supposed death of a paratrooper only to find out that he had been misinformed due to poor information flow in the exile community and that the given Cichociemny was still alive. Until the end of his life, despite his deteriorating health, Hartman maintained active correspondence with other paratroopers, scattered all over the world. He also met with former employees of the Military Cabinet and the Civil Chancellery, who were particularly fond of Stanisław Zduńczyk's café "Belweder".

He was especially concerned for those of his companions who remained in Poland. The subordinates appreciated and reciprocated the colonel's interest in their fate. They were grateful for his efforts to help them and supported him, especially after the death of his wife, which left him alone. This is best illustrated by the speech delivered by Capt. Józef Zabielski at the Polish Hearth Club on 19 March 1976 during the colonel's name-day celebrations: A troubadour with a guitar in his hand brought his music to the people, arousing feelings of faith, joy and hope. He stepped through life boldly, wanting nothing in return. And when he lost his sight, he played the same magical melodies from memory, with great devotion, believing that everyone was listening to him attentively. One day he stopped at the seashore, where it appeared to him that a large crowd was listening to him, admiring and applauding his music. Suddenly, the guitar slipped out of his hands and crashed on the rocks, producing the most beautiful chord...

This most beautiful chord is the melodies we share together. It is the most beautiful chapter in our lives – the Cichociemni's positive contribution to the war effort and the fight for our country.

You knew each of us well, you knew how to speak to us. Having explored the mysteries of psychology, you mastered the great art of choosing the right words. Knowledgeably, you touched the most sensitive strings of our emotions. You were not a wizard, but, in every way, a subtle man, a genius teacher and, above all, a gentleman. How little kindness you need to show to win somebody over. This can be done using the right words, voice and soon.

In your full and rich life, your one personal trait has particularly stood out, marking the fabric of your life like a golden thread. It is your good, kind heart. Your subordinates adored you and were ready to follow you blindly. Also your other qualities, such as friendliness, diligence and meticulousness were recognised by your superiors, earning you numerous distinctions. Life itself elevated you to the highest and most honourable positions.

Do you remember the day of 19 March before the war? It was a really beautiful day of celebration. Spring was slowly coming, trees were starting to green up, the mood was festive, with smiling friends all around you. These were unforgettable and moving moments for you. It seems that it was only yesterday. You in your Podhale uniform, with your cape flying in the wind as you moved through life with grace. You were being looked at with admiration and many a woman's heart beat faster at the sight of you and your kind, smiling face. 19 March was a day of joy for everyone in Poland. This was so because of the affection we all felt for Marshal Józef Piłsudski, even more so on his name day. You saw him as the ideal of a human being, a great patriot and a tireless architect of our country.

Łazienki Park, hot summer and the intoxicating scent of flowers. There was a crowd of people in Aleje Ujazdowskie, watching an infantry parade. Rifles and sabres were gleaming in the sun. The faces of the soldiers were beaming with pride, with their banners respectfully lowered before the holder of the highest office, President Mościcki. You were standing behind him – a proud, faithful, still and bright figure.

Whenever I had the chance to talk to you, you radiated calm and thoughtfulness. Your unwearying kindness was immediately apparent. You treated everyone equally. Those coming out of your office were profoundly impressed by the conversation they had had with such an outstanding officer, holding such a responsible position.

Times changed with the war, forcing you to travel south. But you have not changed at all, you have remained loyal until the last days. You can be compared to a faithful Napoleon's guard.

In 1939, when the flames of war engulfed the entire country, it was particularly difficult to protect the President and take care of him right until the departure for Switzerland. You were the last adjutant to the President of the Republic of Poland.

While in Switzerland, you provided a dedicated service to your country. On 12 January 1940, you arrived in France and, from a concentration point, you got to Paris. Then there was an anti-tank weapons course. You took an active part in the fight against the Germans, and when you got to Great Britain, you were entrusted with a particularly difficult and significant task: Officer's Legion, Cadre Brigade, Parachute Brigade, Fort William, and the courses in Briggens, where you were appointed as a commander of the special training school of the Commander-in-Chief's Staff.

Today you are not alone in your small apartment in London. We, the Cichociemni who have gathered here, wish to replace your family. Our faith in common ideals brought us together, forever binding us to the Club. We raise a toast to your health with joy, remembering what a good commander you have been, skilfully combining the clarity of mind with a good heart. We look up to you as a role model. May every commander be like you.

Is it not moving that you keep alive the memory of the Cichociemni, planting a new rosebush in front of your house whenever one of us is taken from this world?

I wish you a lot of happiness and, above all, much health. Rest assured that you will always be like a father to our great Cichociemni family […].

Col. Józef Hartman's name day, London, 19 March 1976

Polish Hearth Club. Józef Hartman with his subordinates and their families, AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 9-1-1

Józef Zabielski giving a name day present to Józef Hartman. Visible among the guests is Adolf Pilch (second on the left in the foreground), AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 9-1-2

Name day guests, including Józef Hartman (in the middle), Jacek Bętkowski (to the right of J. Hartman), Józef Zabielski (to the right of J. Bętkowski) and Maria Zabielska (on the left, dark-haired), AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 9-1-3

Colonel Hartman's activity abroad was not limited to his former subordinates. He remained a faithful soldier of Marshal Józef Piłsudski, keeping in contact with his family. He wrote about this in one of his letters to Maria Mościcka: I have a great respect for Mrs Wanda Piłsudska and Mrs Jadwiga Jaraczewska. (...) I adore them greatly, as they bring back the memories of the happiest days of my soldier life. When I looked at the family gathered together: Mrs Wanda and the Jaraczewskis with their children – it seemed to me that there had never been a more beautiful family. I love Joasia and Krzysztof very much, although it so happens that we do not know each other very well. I am happy that Joasia is going to visit you, Madam First Lady. She is, after all, our most beloved child, the most beautiful girl, so dear and forever tied with the memory of the Commandant[79].

He also defended the good name of the Marshal and President Mościcki, condemning the belligerent, libellous publications of brothers Karol and Wacław Zbyszewski, for which they dubbed him the former president's "flunky". He took part in the establishment of the Józef Piłsudski Institute in London and actively supported it. He was also raising funds for the Aleksandra Piłsudska Fund[80]. After the library in the Mabledon hospital, where Wanda Piłsudska worked as a psychiatrist, burned down in 1968, he helped to restore the library's collection, sending out books and magazines which he had acquired over the years. He also kept alive the memory of President Ignacy Mościcki. Even as the war continued and shortly thereafter, Hartman and President Mościcki, as well as his wife Maria were in correspondence. With varying regularity, they exchanged news about the fate of their friends, current life situation and plans for the future. After the war, Hartman organised ceremonies in England in remembrance of the late president, discussing all details with the president's widow. Mrs Mościcka appreciated the commitment of the faithful adjutant. This is evidenced by the fact that in 1965, when Col. Hartman had an accident and complained about the cold, she sent him one of her late husband's most treasured possessions – the fur that the president wore when hunting. The colonel was greatly touched by this present, although he hesitated before accepting such a personal gift. The exchange of correspondence lasted until the end of their lives, providing comfort in exile. It is significant that despite personal friendship with Maria Mościcka, Hartman always treated her with all honours due to a wife of the president, addressing her as "Madam First Lady" in personal letters. The president's widow outlived "Sławek" by only 7 months. She died in Switzerland on 24 November 1979.

Hartman's activity in exile did not escape the attention of the communist authorities and their secret services. An eminent officer who had trained the Cichociemni, a former adjutant to the Sanation President and an ardent activist in exile, he was a natural candidate for surveillance, suspected of purported extensive espionage activities, which he did not – and would never – conduct. He was under investigation in the 1952 "Koral" operation, aimed at former "twos" and "sixes" (officers of Divisions 2 and 6), who allegedly collaborated with British intelligence. They were supposed to have created a network of agents sent to Poland as part of the repatriation process in order to conduct sabotage activities. In total, 41 people were surveilled by 12 agents. The investigation lasted until the 1960s[81]. The Father of the Cichociemni found the accusations of his alleged espionage, which appeared in various media, very distressing.

Colonel Józef Hartman earned the respect and friendship not only of Poles, but also of the English. Gradually, he became part of the local London community. He acted as a returning officer during elections. He participated in the work of the War Office, which he mentioned briefly in one of his letters: Dear beloved Madam First Lady, today I am at the War Office to help write the history of the war. They bring me here and drive me back in a very presentable car[82]". He also had the honour of being invited by Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, to attend veterans' celebrations, where he was seated in a box near the royal family.

The last five years of Col. Hartman's life were particularly difficult. His stepdaughter Josephine, employed at the British Ministry of Foreign Affairs, left for Sweden. A devastating blow was the death of his wife Grace in 1974, which caused his health to deteriorate rapidly, despite the caring attention of his subordinates and English neighbours. His modest retirement pension was not enough to cover even basic needs. Even when his wife was still alive, he took extra jobs and looked after her when she became seriously ill with anaemia. After her death, he lived very modestly in order to be able to pay the bills. He even asked the landlord to lower the rent. He had occasional moments of doubt, but he never succumbed to depression. He endured the hardships of everyday life with soldierly spirit and an innate optimism. However, he never ceased longing for his homeland, as expressed in his letters to his family: I will always – always – remember your stay in London! I will be, as I am every minute of the year, in Poland in Tarnawa, behind the house of Capiga [an inhabitant of Tarnawa; there is a cemetery about 200 metres behind his property – author's note], where our relatives are buried. I only live here, while Poland and the family are there[83].

Józef Hartman died on 24 April 1979 in his London apartment at 10 Ambassador Close in Hounslow West. Antoni Pospieszalski, a former Cichociemny and a journalist, who came to visit him, found him sitting at the kitchen table, his head resting on his shoulders, as if he were asleep. But I did not even feel sad. I knew at that moment that Colonel Hartman was receiving a report from his fallen paratroopers. There was no greater joy for him.

"Sławek" died as he lived – quietly and modestly, not unlike his "beloved Cichociemni, Poland's most beautiful soldiers". During the funeral ceremony at the South West Middle Essex Crematorium Chapel on 1 May 1979, his body was cremated in a coffin covered with the Polish white-and-red flag. On 5 May, Prelate Kazimierz Sołowiej held a service for him at St. Andrew Bobola Church in London. Afterwards, the funeral procession headed towards New Brentford Cemetery[84].

The urn with his ashes was affixed to the grave headstone of his wife Grace. A rose bush was planted on the grave, just as Col. Hartman did after the death of each of his subordinates[85].

A person of humble origins, Col. Hartman became a member of the political elites, even though landed gentry background was still an advantage in the Second Polish Republic, especially among officers. He came from a very poor region near Kielce. The modest conditions of his childhood and youth had a major effect on his personality. In his letters to his mother he wrote that the example set by his hard-working parents shaped his attitude towards performing his duties and work (see Appendix 1).

A staunch supporter of Piłsudski, Hartman was selflessly loyal to the Marshal and the President. His service to Poland and the country's head of state took precedence over his personal life.

Being a highly-qualified, idealistic officer, he found his post-war life in exile particularly difficult. He was one of the soldiers who fought for Poland's independence only to be later condemned to political oblivion and miserable existence by the Tehran and Yalta betrayals. A specialist in the training of commandos, instead of using his knowledge and experience in military service, he had to work physically, suffering poverty and hardship, especially in the face of his increasingly deteriorating health. All this made the "espionage" accusations from the communist authorities even more painful. Despite all the adversities, Hartman remained an optimist until the end of his life. One could say that he personified the best qualities of the passing generation of interwar Poland, he was the Zawisza Czarny of his time [a Polish knight, regarded as a model of knightly virtues – translator's note]. It was such people who were described as "having thrown their life's fate on the pyre" in a famous song of the Polish Legions.

[65] The content of the following message may serve as an example: Warsaw, Polish Telegraphic Agency [Polish: Polska Agencja Telegraficzna, PAT]. The Minister of Public Security [Stanisław] Radkiewicz answered a series of questions asked by a PAT correspondent regarding the important background of acts of political terror in Poland (...). There are all grounds to believe that there is a close connection between the perpetrators of the criminal acts and the Polish Staffs outside the country, the General Staff of the Armed Forces in London and the Staff of Anders. (...) The relationship between the London staff and the Freedom and Independence organisation [Polish: WIN, Wolność i Niezawisłość, a Polish underground anti-communist organisation – translator's note] has been established beyond any doubt (...) What is significant is that the leaders of these bands are not only members of the infamous Central Division 6 in London, which deals with national affairs and is headed by Gen. Kopański, but also that, until the last moment, they had kept close contact with this staff, receiving clear orders from Gen. Kopański, Gen. Pełczyński, Col. Utnik, Col. Nowicki, Col. Hartman and others, who remain in England until this day. See: Nasłuch radia warszawskiego z dnia 14 lutego 1946 r. Kulisy działalności band dywersyjnych w Polsce, AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 15/11.

[66] Grace Mary, née Thorpe, first married name Leborgne, second married name Hartman was born on 5 May 1908 in Lincolnshire and died on 23 October 1974 in London. She graduated from Lincoln Private School. She moved to London after marrying test pilot Robert Leborgne, who was killed in 1938 in a plane crash near Bristol. Until the outbreak of the war, she worked in Winston Churchill's office. During World War II, she joined the SOE and was assigned to the Polish section. She met Józef Hartman at a ball at Audley End. They got married on 15 February 1947. After the war, she worked in a charity organisation helping people suffering from multiple sclerosis.

[67] Grace Josephine Jane Larsson, née Leborgne, was born on 10 December 1936 in Liverpool. She graduated from the Salesian School in Tring, Hertfordshire. She worked in the British Ministry of Foreign Affairs for 15 years, including in London, Malaysia, Cyprus and Scandinavia. In 1969 she met her future husband, Swedish entrepreneur Hans - Ola Larsson, whom she married in 1971.

[68] Józef Hartman's letter to Maria Mościcka of 8 November 1963, AJG, ref. no. 4056, item 27.

[69] In his resume, included in Wspomnienia written in the 1970s in London, Józef Hartman described his language skills as follows: "Languages spoken and written: Polish, Russian, English, a command of Czech and French" Wspomnienia, IJPL, Collection of Józefa Hartman, no. 142. According to Josephine Larsson, Józef Hartman learned English only after arriving in the British Isles. Based on memories of Josephine Larsson included in the e-mail of 19 November 2017 (in the authors' collection).

[70] Memories of Josephine Larsson included in the e-mail of 21 March 2013 (in the authors' collection) and I. Valentine, Baza 43. Cichociemni, Wydawnictwo „Wołoszański” 2004, p. 168.

[71] Bed and breakfast, B&B, a traditional lodging establishment popular in Anglo-Saxon countries, often run by a family, with some of the rooms made available to guests and a traditional British breakfast (fried eggs with bacon, toasts, baked tomatoes, sausages and beans). B&Bs, whose tradition dates back many years, are characterised by a homely atmosphere. They can be the main source of income for the owners or provide extra income, for example in the summer.

[72] Memories of Josephine Larsson included in the e-mail of 30 March 2015 (in the authors' collection).

[73] Józef Hartman's letter to Maria Mościcka of 6 March 1964, AJG, ref. no. 4056.

[74] Józef Hartman's letter to Maria Mościcka of 11 July 1967, AJG, ref. no. 4056, item 220.

[75] Antoni Pospieszalski, Ostatnie lata „Sławka” (recollection of the late Col. Józef Hartman), Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 15/2

[76] "How many times before the annual Day of the Cichociemni / 15 February / did he repeat the following words: You must speak strongly and with great affection. Let everyone know what the Cichociemni were like, how they served. During the memorable evening of 316, he read out the names of the fallen Cichociemni... Brigadier General Leopold Okulicki ... and voices echoed in response: murdered in the Soviet prison in 1946. Sławek wanted to shake the conscience of the world with his loud voice". Ibid.

[77] R. Lewicki, W. Markert, Józef Sławomir Hartman, 1898–1979. Adiutant prezydenta i Ojciec Cichociemnych, Oficyna Wydawnicza „Ajaks”, Pruszków 2004, pp. 69-70.

[79] Józef Hartman's letter to Maria Mościcka of 8 February 1967, AJG, ref. no. 4056, item 187.

[80] The Aleksandra Piłsudska Fund was established at the meeting of the Council of the Józef Piłsudski Institute on 29 February 1964, at the request of Lt. Gen. Bronisław Sosnkowski (honorary chairman) and with the support of the family of the late Aleksandra Piłsudska. The purpose of the fund was to publish studies showing Poland's achievements during the twenty years of its independent existence in the interwar period. This involved raising funds and keeping accounting records. Following the issue of a publication, the work was to be handed over to the Józef Piłsudski Institute in London, together with the capital surplus and profits from the sales.

[81] Sławomir Cenckiewicz, Polski Londyn na celowniku służb, http://www.videofact.com/polska/cenckiewicz15.htm (accessed on 25 June 2016).

[82] Józef Hartman's letter to Maria Mościcka of 15 September 1969, AJG, ref. no. 4056.

[83] Józefa Hartman's Christmas card to his nephew Witold Hartman, 1971. Private archive of Witold Hartman.

[84] New Brentford Cemetery, Sutton Lane, Hounslow, MDDX (lot 370 C. C., an extraordinary coincidence, as the abbreviation CC stands for the Cichociemni). "Farewell to Col. Hartman", AAN, Files of Stanisław Grocholski, ref. no. 1121.

[85] R. Lewicki, W. Markert, op. cit., pp. 77-78.

Józef Hartman with his future wife Grace Leborgne in Hyde Park in London.

Engagement pictures taken in 1945.

Lt. Col. Józef Hartman, AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 15-9-2

Grace Leborgne, AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 15-9-16

Grace Leborgne and Józef Hartman, AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 15-9-33

Grace Leborgne and Józef Hartman, AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 15-9-15

Grace Leborgne and Józef Hartman, AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 15-9-31

Col. Józef Hartman's stepdaughter Josephine, 1959, photo by Józef Hartman, AJG, ref. no. 4090, item 18

Józef Hartman with his roses, London, 1967, photo by Josephine Larsson, AJG, ref. no. 4090, item 13

Rose garden and spruce "Spała" in front of the house at 10 Ambassador Close in Hounslow West, in which Hartman lived, London, 1969, AJG, ref. no. 4090, item 20

Józef Hartman with his roses, London, 29 August 1972, private archive of the Hartmans

Józef and Grace Hartman at a wedding of her relative, London, 28 August 1965, photo by Josephine Larsson, AJG, ref. no. 4090, item 14

Józef Hartman with his wife Grace and stepdaughter Josephine in front of the apartment in Hounslow, London, 1965, AJG, ref. no. 4090, item 16

Józef Hartman at his wife's grave, 1974, New Brentford cemetery in London, private archive of the Hartmans

Józef Hartman with Eng. Ziemowit Śliwiński in front of the apartment in Hounslow, London, 1960s, AJG, ref. no. 4090, item 19

Józef Hartman wearing Ignacy Mościcki's coat, London, 1967, AJG, ref. no. 4090, item 12

Polish Hearth Club. A meeting to celebrate the granting of funds to the Aleksandra Piłsudska Fund: Edward Czuruk (third on the left), Józef Hartman (fifth on the left), Grace Hartman (sixth on the left), Gen. Janusz Głuchowski (eighth on the left), Nadratowski and Lubomirski. Seated are, from the right: Wanda Piłsudska, Jadwiga Jaraczewska, Maria Głuchowska, Lubomirska and two unknown persons, London, 1964, AJG, ref. no. 4056, item 37

Veterans meeting at the Polish Hearth Club. Among those present are: Gen. Władysław Anders (third on the right), Gen. Tadeusz Bora-Komorowski (second on the right), Irena Komorowska and Józef Hartman, London, 1960s, AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 9-7-1

Józef Hartman among his former subordinates - members of the Home Army Cichociemni Club in London and those visiting from Poland. Standing from the left are: Józef Zabielski, Zdzisław Luszowicz, Alfred Pokultinis, Jacek Bętkowski and Adam Benrad. Seated from the left are: Karol Dorwski, Stanisław Kolasiński, Bronisław Konik (from Warsaw), Kazimierz Iranek-Osmecki and Józef Hartman, London, June 1976, AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 9-6-12-2

Dinner at the Polish Social and Cultural Association, from the right: Jacek Bętkowski, Bruno Mark Nadolczak, Józef Hartman and an unknown person, London, 19 March 1976, AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 9-6-8-4

Service at St. Andrew Bobola Church in London, from the left: Józef Zabielski, unknown person, Bruno Mark Nadolczak, Józef Hartman, Edward Czuruk and Gen. Tadeusz Pełczyński, London, 19 March 1976, AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 9-1-4

Meeting of the Home Army Cichociemni Paratroopers Club in London. Speaking is Jacek Bętkowski. Among those seated at the table are: Józef Hartman (first on the left), Kazimierz Iranek-Osmecki (second on the left) and Antoni Pospieszalski (third on the left), London, 1970s, photo by Wl. Bednarski, AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 9-8-1

Members of the Home Army Cichociemni Paratroopers Club at a ceremony commemorating 316 Cichociemni paratroopers, from the right: Jacek Bętkowski, Józef Hartman, Antoni Pospieszalski, Roman Lewicki, Benon Łastowski, Kazimierz Iranek-Osmecki, Stanisław Kolasiński, Józef Zabielski, unknown person, Adolf Pilchand two unknown persons, London, 1970s, photo by Wl. Bednarski, AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 9-8-2

Cichociemni paratroopers and their families during a dinner at the Polish Social and Cultural Association, London, 19 February 1978

From the left: Sue Ryder, Józef Hartman, Halina Czarnocka, Kazimierz Iranek- Osmecki and Janina Konopacka, AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 9-4-1

Seated from the right: Józef Hartman, Halina Czarnocka and Kazimierz Iranek-Osmecki. Among those standing are: Jacek Bętkowski (first on the left), Aleksander Ihnatowicz (second on the left), Józef Zabielski (third on the left), Janina Konopacka (standing behind J. Hartman, in a dark blouse), Franciszek Rybka (with a moustache, on the left, behind J. Konopacka) and Józef Garliński (wearing a light suit, in the background), AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 9-4-1-1

Col. Józef Hartman, Sue Ryder and president of the Cichociemni Club, Col. Jacek Bętkowski, AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 9-4-2

Col. Hartman's subordinates attending his funeral at New Brentford cemetery, including: Adam Benrad (first on the left), Antoni Pospieszalski (second on the left), Roman Lewicki (fourth on the left) and Aleksander Ihnatowicz (first on the right), London, 5 May 1979, AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 15-1-2

Grave of Col. Józef Hartman and his wife Grace at New Brentford cemetery, London, 5 May 1979, AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 15-1-1

Afterword

— While processing historical photographs in the National Digital Archives, my attention was caught by Colonel Józef Hartman, who was often not identified in the pictures. Looking for information about him, I came across his first biography by Roman Lewicki and Wojciech Markert Józef Sławomir Hartman 1898–1979. Adiutant prezydenta i Ojciec Cichociemnych. The colonel was associated with the Cichociemni, special operations Polish paratroopers, who I have been interested in for a long time. Also, I found his exceptional attitude to his subordinates very moving. There was some conflicting information about his life, starting with the middle name he used. To resolve the discrepancies, I decided to consult source materials, beginning with the documents available in the New Files Archive. Further threads emerged, which led me to other archives. It turned out that material about Józef Hartman – photographs, letters, memoirs, publications, recordings and films – is stored not only in state, emigration and private archives, but also in libraries and museums. I also received invaluable help from the Colonel's family, who provided me with useful information, as well as more photographs and his badges. Alas, many of the mementos have not survived, including the Colonel's medals and uniforms, which is why the large collection of letters he left behind is of such significance. Especially noteworthy is his correspondence with Maria Mościcka, held in the Jasna Góra Archive in Częstochowa, and letters to his subordinates and relatives, which can be found in various archives, including The New Files Archive, the General Sikorski Polish Institute and Museum in London and the Hartman family's collection.

Józef Hartman's archival legacy is important as a source giving the historical background of the times in which he lived. It was a unique experience for me to listen to his memories preserved in the archives of Radio Free Europe. This indomitable man and soldier had an appealingly warm yet firm voice. I hope that this book is not the last publication devoted to this remarkable individual.

Katarzyna Brąkowska

Appendices

Appendix 1

Józef Hartman's letter to his mother Małgorzata Hartman of 10 June 1936

Residence of the President of the Republic of Poland in Spała

Spała, 10 June 1936

Dear Mother,

I promised myself that I would come over soon, even just for a while.

It so happens that my fellow adjutant has been down with the flu for the past 2 weeks and I cannot leave. And on 14 June I am travelling to Krynica with Mr President for 3 weeks. So, let me at least wish you all the best on your name day in this letter. I hope that better times will come for you. May you enjoy many years of good health and live to see better days.

On the anniversary of Father's death, have a mass said for him and remember about his grave.

I have had a lot of expenses lately, but I will not forget to get you a present.

I will also send one for Antoś or bring him some money for his help with the renovation.

I received good letters from Staś and Jadzia.

Dear mother, please tell everyone that I asked them to make your life easier.

I take my service very seriously but believe me – this is only because I was brought up to work hard and because I want to be able to help you.

Love,

Józef

Give my regards to Jadzia, Antoś and Tadeusz.

Appendix 2

Excerpt from Józef Hartman's letter to his mother Małgorzata Hartman and his siblings of 31 May 1950

321, Bath Road, Hounslow West, Middlesex, Gr. Britain

My Dearest Mother, My Dear Beloved,

[...] Now that I cannot return to you, I am going through difficult times, working very hard and struggling to make a living. My health is so-so, I have a caring wife, but I miss you all. I am near London, alone all day. When I am at work, I have a lot of time to think about you, Father and the rest of the family. I remember everything, both the joy and the sadness, as well as your and Father's great sacrifice for me, for us.

I remember it all and want to take this opportunity, before your name day, to wish you a long life in good health, comfort and peace after years of hard work. And what I wish for myself is for God to let me see you again, hold you close to my heart and kiss your beloved hands. From a distance, one sees Father, Mother, Family and their Homeland more clearly. I will pray for you on your name day. God bless you.

With love,

Grace and Józef

Hounslow, 31.5.1950

Appendix 3

Letter of Lt. Col. Henryk Krajewski[1], a Cichociemny, to Helena Popiel Dechoszczak of 11 December 1987

Wołomin 11.12.1987 r.

Dear Helenka,

It will be my pleasure to tell you about Maj. Hartman. I remember him as a great officer and friend in all respects.

We met before the war in 1935 during a battalion commanders course in Rembertów, to which he was assigned as an adjutant to President Mościcki. Of course, having completed the course, he returned to his previous duties at the Castle. He remained an adjutant until the crossing of the border by the government.

We met for the second time in England while I was undergoing parachute training. Major Hartman was the "Polish Commander" back then (with English colonel Kennedy being his counterpart). We talked a lot during the course – naturally, about current issues arising from our situation. Our assessments complemented one another, one can even say that they were the same. He was a great supporter of Marshal Piłsudski, of which he made no secret. The authorities there noticed and respected him, yet he was overlooked. I think that General Sosnkowski had a big say in how the courses were staffed, as he was in charge of domestic affairs as the vice President in exile.

He was kindly disposed towards the "Cichociemni", always honest and sincere. This became particularly evident after the war. Let me stress that all my fellow "CC" companions back home spoke about the major with great fondness. He was devastated not to be able to take part in paratrooper operations in Poland. It had rightly been decided that he was too recognisable in Poland after having appeared in public as a personal adjutant to the President. Indeed, the image of him, tall, in his Podhale Rifles hat with a large eagle feather attached to it, standing near the President, remains etched in my memory.

Therefore, he joined the English commandos (or maybe it was already a special unit of Polish commandos back then), to take part in combat operations carried out outside Poland. When the operation in Africa was being prepared, he landed in the sea far from land. After that, he was ill, with complications. He told me about it when we talked in London in 1973. I could tell that he really wished he could have been sent to Poland like his other colleagues.

After the war he stayed in London. He feared being punished for things he had not done if he were to return the country. He devoted much of his time in London to helping his fellow colleagues back in Poland with formalities related to their military service records and decorations. He was always very modest. His colleagues respected him.

J. Piotrowski, a colleague of mine and a former "CC" lives in Wrocław [...] – maybe he also knew Maj. Hartman.

The Major died and was buried in London. I found two photographs in which he is pictured. They were taken after my departure to Poland (January 1942). I left them for the Major's Family. Best regards, Henryk

[1] Henryk Krajewski, noms de guerre "Wicher", "Eryk", "Bąk", "Trzaska" and "Leśny", alias Henryk Turowski, Henryk Jezierski, Henryk Rogowski, Wasyl Biszko (7 July 1898 – 16 December 1989), a Polish Army infantry lieutenant colonel and a Cichociemny.

Appendix 4

Colonel Józef Hartman as remembered by his nephew Witold Hartman – a poem[2]

My recollection of my uncle Colonel Józef Hartman – "Sławek" Adjutant to the President of the Republic of Poland Ignacy Mościcki

I was too little to remember you

It was 1939 and the war was almost there

You came in your parade uniform

To bid farewell to my mother and father

You knew very well what awaited Poland

And though few will see what that meant

You kept your oath and stood your guard

At the side of your beloved President

You held me in your arms, I'm told

And when, a toddler, I clung close

I saw a flash of medals on your chest

The most glorious was the one I chose

You told my parents

"He has a keen eye,” and then you added

"Maybe he will follow in his uncle's footsteps

and become a Polish soldier like I did".

What pain and despair must it have been

For you to leave your Homeland

To tread the winding path of war

Never to return to Poland

I remember you from a photograph

And will always picture you that way

Clad in a Podhale Rifles uniform

By the President you did stay

The war and your life thereafter

In times of cold and dark

You never ceased fighting for Poland

Father of Cichociemni, you made your mark

On the English soil far away

You sacrificed your health and life's part

For Poland, always on your mind

In your soul and in your heart

Yet when the war was over

Your hopes of returning home futile

You had to remain in England forever

Once a hero, now – an exile

When we met many years later

You were bedridden and weak

You opened your heart before me

Though at first you did not want to speak

There were rose bushes in your garden

You tended them with great care

Each one a tribute to your Cichociemni

Their fight to free Poland and soldierly despair

There were talks and confessions

And holding back tears in our eyes

So far away from Poland

I heard your words of goodbye

Ringing in my ears until this day

Never will they fade away

"I gave my life and youth to Poland eagerly

Yet here I am, forgotten, serve your country well

But remember to love your family as dearly”

Through the window, on the verge of tears

Train already leaving Hounslow West

We waved to each other in silence

I paid tribute to him as I knew best

What he said to me, his last will

Shall stay with me until my dying breath

Words of a Pole, a Patriot, a Hero

Colonel and my dear uncle, right until his death

Three principles guided him in life

Anyone who knew him will attest

God, Honour and Fatherland

Poland's motto was his vest

Though you remained forever

Far away in a foreign grave

Our love for you will linger

Memory of you we will save

Yes, thoughts and memories prevail

Like a hidden wound profound

You were loyal to the end

And to Poland ever bound

And to Warsaw too, I think

The city of your happy days

The memories of it, I am sure

Accompanied you to your grave

PS.

It pains me now to think

Of your gravesite in exile

No English spruce or fir can rustle

With a comparable grace

To those that grow in Kielce region

Your little homeland, your birthplace

[2] Private archive of the Hartmans.

Appendix 5

List of decorations awarded to Józef Hartman[3]

POLISH

1. Cross of Valour [Polish: Krzyż Walecznych] for the first time – for his service and work in the Polish Military Organisation and suffered wounds.

2. Cross of Valour for the second time – in Volunteer Battalion, for his bravery in the 1920 war

3. Cross of Valour for the third time – in the 2nd Regiment of Podhale Rifles, for his bravery and wounds suffered in the battle of Kuźnice.

4. Cross of Valour for the fourth time – in 1926 for wounds suffered while protecting Marshal Józefa Piłsudski in Sulejówek.

5. 1928 – Commemorative Medal for the Polish-Soviet war of 1918–1920.

6. 1928 – 10th Anniversary of Independence Medal.

7. 1928 – Silver Cross of Merit [Polish: Srebrny Krzyż Zasługi].

8. 1934 – Cross of Independence [Krzyż Niepodległości].

9. 1937 – Order of Polonia Restituta, the Knight's Cross [Krzyż Kawalerski Orderu Odrodzenia Polski].

10. 1938 – Medal for Long Service [Medal za Długoletnią Służbę].

11. 1943 – Gold Cross of Merit with Swords [Złoty Krzyż Zasługi z Mieczami].

12. 1947 – Army Medal [Medal Wojska].

13. 1974 – Order of Polonia Restituta, the Officer's Cross [Krzyż Oficerski Orderu Odrodzenia Polski].
BRITISH

14. 1947 – The War 1939–1945 Medal – awarded for service in the British army during World War II.

15. 1947 – Defence Medal – awarded for service in defence of Great Britain or its colonies.

16. 1948 – Order of the British Empire, Officer.
BELGIAN

17. 1935 – Order of the Crown, 4th class.
FRENCH

18. 1939 – Legion of Honour, 5th class.
ESTONIAN

19. 1935 – Order of the Cross of the Eagle, 4th class.

20. 1935 – Order of the Estonian Red Cross, 2nd class, 1st grade.
ROMANIAN

21. 1938 – Order of Merit.

22. 1938 – Order of the Star of Romania, 4th class.

23. 1939 – Commemorative Medal of King Carol II, 2nd class.

24. 1939 – Order of the Crown of Romania, 4th class.
HUNGARIAN

25. 1938 – Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary, 4th class.
ITALIAN

26. 1939 – Order of the Crown of Italy, 3rd class.

[3] Based on a list contained in the Files of Stanisław Grocholski, AAN, ref. no.1121, as well as a list in the form of a table prepared by Józef Hartman, AAN, Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. no. 15/2.

Bibliography

Sources

Archiwum Akt Nowych w Warszawie, AAN – Files of Roman Lewicki, ref. nos. 15/1, 15/2, 15/11; Files of Stanisław Grocholski, ref. no. 1121.

Archiwum Państwowe w Kielcach, vital records of the Roman Catholic parish in Tarnawa, ref. no. 113, vital records of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Kielce, ref. no. 6.

Centralne Archiwum Wojskowe Wojskowego Biura Historycznego (CAW WBH) w Rembertowie – personal filesof Józef Hartman, ref. no. AP. 1769/89/1709.

Archiwum Jasnogórskie w Częstochowie (AJG) – Archive of Ignacy and Maria Mościcki, ref. nos. 4006, 4056.

Studium Polski Podziemnej (SPP) – personal files of Józef Hartman, ref. nos. TP2/528, Kol. 23/67.

Instytut Polski i Muzeum im. gen. Sikorskiego w Londynie (IPMS) – archival collection of Józef Hartman, ref. nos. KOL. 604, B.I.1A/3.

Archiwum Instytutu Józefa Piłsudskiego w Londynie (AIJPL), collection of Józef Hartman, no. 142.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD), personal records of Józef Hartman, ref. no. Polish/1148.

Private archive of the Hartmans – archival collection of Mirosława Hudyma and Artur Hartman.

Memories of Josephine Larson included in emails from 2013–2018 – in the authors' collection.

Publications

Ajnenkiel Andrzej, Polska po przewrocie majowym. Zarys dziejów politycznych Polski 1926- 1939, Warsaw 1980.

Bałuk Stefan "Starba", Cichociemni – spadochroniarze Armii Krajowej [in:] Zeszyty Kombatanckie, vol. 39 [online] [accessed on: 3 May 2016], <http://zeszytykombatanckie.pl/cichociemni-spadochroniarze-armii-krajowej>.

Cichociemni< <http://www.cichociemni.ovh.org/oddzial.html> [accessed on: 3 May 2016].

Comte Henryk, Zwierzenia adiutanta. W Belwederze i na Zamku, Warsaw 1976.

Chojnowski Andrzej, Wróbel Piotr, Prezydenci i premierzy Drugiej Rzeczypospolitej, Wrocław–Warsaw–Cracow 1992.

Drogi cichociemnych, edited by Kazimierz Iranek-Osmecki, Warsaw 2010.

Garlicki Andrzej, Prezydent Ignacy Mościcki [online] [accessed on: 31 July 2017], <http://web.archive.org/web/20090105201533/>.

Garliński Józef, Politycy i żołnierze, London 1968.

Jaźwiński Jan, Dramat dowódcy. Pamiętnik oficera Sztabu Oddziału Wywiadowczego i Specjalnego. Czerwiec 1905 – styczeń 1944, vol. 1, Montreal 2012.

Kondracki Tadeusz, Historia Stowarzyszenia Polskich Kombatantów w Wielkiej Brytanii, London 1996.

Kondracki Tadeusz, „Mała Polska” nad Tamizą. Dwa stulecia polskiej obecności w Wielkiej Brytanii, Warsaw 2009.

Lewicki Roman, Markert Wojciech, Józef Sławomir Hartman 1898–1979. Adiutant prezydentai Ojciec Cichociemnych, Pruszków 2004.

Pobóg-Malinowski Władysław, Najnowsza historia polityczna Polski, Bydgoszcz 1990.

Roman Wanda, Dzieje i zawartość zespołu akt Oddziału VI Sztabu Głównego Naczelnego Wodzazlat 1940–1949 [online] [accessed on: 29 May 2016], <http://archiwumcaw.wp.mil.pl/biuletyn/b17/b17_7.pdf>.

Szwedowski Stefan, Dzieje Ruchu Zetowego w Polsce, manuscript in the collection of Biblioteka Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego [Warsaw University Library], Manuscript Division (BUW RpS), no. 1745.

Tucholski Jędrzej, Cichociemni. Historia legendarnych spadochroniarzy, 4th edition, Wrocław 2010.

Valentine Ian, Baza 43. Cichociemni, Warsaw 2005.

Zabielski Józef Gabriel"Żbik", Wrócą orły. Cichociemni w poezji, London 1980.

Articles

Brąkowska Katarzyna, Wspomnienie płk. Józefa Hartmana o marszałku Józefie Piłsudskim, Bulletin of Instytut Józefa Piłsudskiego w Londynie no. 125 for the period from October 2011 to December 2012.

Cenckiewicz Sławomir, Polski Londyn na celowniku służb [online] [accessed on: 25 June 2016], <http://www.videofact.com/polska/cenckiewicz15.htm >.

JPM, Śp. ppłk Józef S. Hartman, "Spadochron" 1979, no. 2.

Kuffel Romana Krystyna, Rozbitkowie, "Temat Miesiąca". Information Bulletin, editors: the Council of Specialists of the European Forum of Women Business Owners 2008, no. 9, p. 11 [online] [accessed on: 3 May 2016], <http://62.129.200.133/pl/pict/tm/2008/tm_2008_09.pdf>.

Lewicki Roman, Płk Józef Hartman. Wspomnienia Cichociemnego, "Tydzień Polski" 2001, 11 August.

Pospieszalski Antoni, Ojciec Cichociemnych, "Wiadomości" 1979 of 2/9/16 September.

Zieliński Miłosz J., Rowery w II Rzeczypospolitej [online] [accessed on: 14 September 2017], <www.miloszzielinski.pl/pliki/rowery_w_ii_rp.pdf>.

Radiobroadcasts

Operation Wachlarz. Broadcast devoted to a special sabotage group of the Home Army active in the Eastern Borderlands of the pre-war Republic of Poland (autumn 1941 – spring 1943), prepared by Józef Garliński, 21 June 1964. NAC, ref. no. 3/36/0/2/1553/2, available for listening at: <http://www.polskieradio.pl/68/2461/Audio/291499> [accessed on: 21 September 2017].

Col. J. Hartman's recollection of the day of death of Marshal Józef Piłsudski on 12 May 1935 – materials for the documentary series "Witnesses to History". A broadcast from the archive of Radio Free Europe, London, 22 May 1965, NAC, ref. no. 3/36/0/2/3686/1, available at Radia Wolności site <http://www.polskieradio.pl/68/2461/Audio/294180>.

„Colonel Józef Hartman”

Book published by the National Digital Archives in cooperation with Polish Home Army Cichociemni Paratroopers Foundation.

Strategic Partner: Militaria.pl

Acting director:

Radosław Kałużniak

The photographs come from the National Digital Archives in Warsaw, the Archive of New Files in Warsaw, the Central Military Archives, the Military Historical Office in Rembertów, the Archive of the Pauline Order in Jasna Góra, the Polish Institute and the Museum. gen. Sikorski in London, the Józef Piłsudski Institute in London, private archive of Hartmans, private archive of Adam Junosza-Kowalewski.

Texts:

Katarzyna Brąkowska, Łukasz Karolewski

Selection of photographs and descriptions for photos:

Katarzyna Brąkowska

Coordination:

Malwina Rozwadowska

Monika Mossakowska-Biało

Graphic design:

Marcin Zatorski

Editing:

Maria Porajska-Hałka

Translation:

Izabela Szewczyk, Robert Sikorski

Print:

Drukarnia Kontra s.c

Album printed on Arctic Volume white 150 g/m^2 paper

This project is part of the commemoration of the centennial of the regainingof independence

From the series of albums of the National Digital Archives were published: „100x100” 2018, „Independent by Poddębski”, 2017; „Narcyz Witczak-Witaczyński”, 2016; „PRL by Grażyna Rutowska”, 2015

The authors of the album have made every effort to determine the authors of all photographs and not to omit any of them. However, if we have not succeeded, please contact us to immediately complete the site.

ISBN: 978-83-927590-8-9

Warsaw 2018