On the night of 22 to 23 April 1943, Colonel Tadeusz Kurcyusz – Chief NSZ died

Tadeusz Kurciusz, known by the pseudonyms “Fiszer”, “Morski”, “Mars”, “Żegota”, was 1 of the most crucial figures of the Polish independency underground during the Second planet War. His military activity, from his service in the Russian army, through the co-creation of conspiracy structures to the leadership of the National Armed Forces (NSZ), demonstrates his multifaceted commitment to the fight for Poland's independence.

Born on October 15, 1881, in Warsaw in an intellectual family, Tadeusz Kurciusz was the boy of Louis Kurciusz and Michalina from the home of Fiszer, sister of the well-known Warsaw philosopher Franc Fiszer. In 1909 he graduated in engineering from Liège, Belgium. The outbreak of planet War I active him in military service – initially in the Russian army, and then as a staff officer of the First Polish Corps under General Dowbor-Muśnicki.

After Poland regained its independency in 1918, Kurcyusz was included in the structures of the Polish Army, serving in the General Staff. He was, among others, the head of the adjutantura, manager of the mobilization paper, and later chief of staff of the Cavalry Inspectorate and 1st Division of General Haller Army Rifles. He graduated from the Higher War School in Warsaw, earning the title of Officer of the General Staff. From 1924 he served as General Military Railway Commissioner.

During the May coup in 1926, he sided with legal authorities. A year later, he took command of the 27th Field Artillery Regiment in Włodzimierz Volyński. In 1931 he retired, however, remaining an active associate of the Kombatant community.

He became active in the independency conspiracy from mid-1940, initially in the Secret Polish Army. He then assumed the position of Chief of Staff of the Confederate Military Divisions and later the Armed Confederation. After merging KZ with ZWZ, he became head of communication at the Chief Command of the Armed Forces-National Army.

In August 1942, he was arrested by Gestapo and imprisoned in Pawiak. Saved by his household and friends, he left prison in December 1942. At the time, beyond the structures of the AK, he became active with the National Armed Forces.

On 1 August 1943, Tadeusz Kurcyusz took the position of Chief NSZ after the arrest of Colonel Ignacy Oziewicz “Czesław”. As “Morski” and later “gen. Mars” and “Żegota”, he reorganized the leadership structures and unified the organisation’s activities. His leadership fell on a crucial period in which the NSZ had to face the realities of the changing war situation – the russian offensive and the request to regulate relations with the National Army.

In the "General Order No. 3" issued on 15 January 1944, he stressed that russian troops in Poland should be treated as hostile forces, but recommending avoiding open clashes with the Red Army due to geopolitical conditions. During his word of office, talks began with the Home Army office on the integration of NSZ from the AK. Although Kurcyusz did not participate straight in the negotiations (due to his erstwhile conflict with the AK), he took an oath on 31 March 1944, and General Tadeusz Komorowski “Bór” appointed him as an NSZ agent. A single order was issued on April 15, 1944. Despite his plans to dismiss him, Kurcyus remained in office until his death on April 23, 1944.

Tadeusz Kurciusz died abruptly of a heart attack on the night of April 22, 1944. He was buried at the Military Cemetery in Powązki in Warsaw. Posthumously promoted to Brigadier General by the NSZ Political Council.

The character of Tadeusz Kurciusz, his military career and leadership in the National Armed Forces show the complexity of the Polish war conspiracy. This is an example of a man who subjected his full life to the service of Poland – from the fronts of the First planet War, through the structures of the Second Poland, to the fight in the occupied country.

Andrzej Lamecki