Tadeusz Ungar was a pre-war activist of the All-Polish Youth Fighting on the side of Gen. Franco in Spain and then awarded the Virtuti Militari Award in the course of combats within the 1st Division of Grenadiers Gen. Maczka in France. present it remains a forgotten figure, and Poles associate mainly with compatriots who supported the Spanish left during the civilian war. It is worth reminding that Polish nationalists besides had their share in the Frankist crusade.
All-Polish with Gen. Franco
Tadeusz Ungar was known for his impetuous character and love of street activism. He was a law student and rapidly became active in the activities of the Association of Academic Youth of All Poland. For his militant activity, he was wanted by the sanitation police before which he fled to Czechoslovakia. However, there was a deficiency of national activity in the young ideonics.
In 1936, the Spanish civilian War began. Tadeusz Ungar, as a nationalist, sympathized with Franco's troops and wanted to support the Francoist's conflict with communism. However, the journey to Spain was very costly and could not afford it. So he applied to the Communists, pretending to be a volunteer ready to fight on the Republican side. Komintern financed the transports of volunteers and so the AllPolandn got to Spain, where he immediately fled to join the Frankist troops. He adopted the nickname “Kowalski” to emphasize his Polishness. It was besides an expression of modesty. Ungar did not consider himself to be peculiar compared to the remainder of his countrymen, just as a common Kowalski. All the time Ungar, fighting for national and Catholic ideas on Spanish dirt did not forget to service Poland. He constantly contacted Polish intelligence. His reports were later used, among others, in works, later deputy chief of the General Staff of the HR, Colonel Stefan Massor.
It is worth noting that Ungar was not the only Pole fighting on Franco's side, although Poles on the Frankist side were much little than on the left. This was mainly due to the fact that Polish citizenship was threatened for serving in another's army. The communists fighting under the 13th global Brigade of Jan Dąbrowski did not mind. Especially since many of them had already left, mostly to France. Nationals, which was natural from an perfect perspective, were more hard to renounce their citizenship to fight for another Homeland. However, there were exceptions, specified as Tadeusz Ungar, who had to flee the country and continued his national activity in another country.
There were besides members of the abroad Legion who were the backbone of the Frankist army. Among them was among others. Antoni Pardowho had previously tried to settle in Uruguay and then enlisted in the Spanish abroad Legion. After the war he was granted Spanish citizenship. Among the Frankists, almost 3 weeks spent besides 1 of the most crucial publicists of the interwar national movement, Jęrzej Giertych. Polish nationalists clearly identified with the ideas of movements of the Frankist camp and were keenly curious in this conflict, which resulted in the publication of the book created from the collection of Gierty's correspondence from Spain in 1937.
"The triumph of the Spanish people depends to a large degree on the destiny of Europe, the destiny of Western civilization, the destiny of Catholic faith. So our fates too” - wrote Jędrzej Giertych
Heroes after the civilian War
Tadeusz Ungar did not die during the civilian war, which consumed hundreds of thousands of lives. After its completion in 1939, the head of the Polish counterintelligence assigned him to work for the 2nd General Staff of the Polish Army in Berlin. Before the war began, he returned to Poland and participated in the September Campaign. After the business of Poland by the communists and the 3rd Reich, Romania entered France.
During planet War II, he fought bravely against the Nazis alongside the Free French de Gaulle as part of the Polish Army in France. He was awarded Virtuti Militari for a "suicide" return to enemy territory to reflect a good fellow. The French, on the another hand, marked it prestigious Croix de Guerre.
After the end of planet War II, he could not return to his homeland. The communists would most likely haunt and kill him like many another nationalists in the country. His family, after reporting to the Jews cooperating with the USSR, NKVD took the wagons eastward. Tadeusz Ungar lived in the U.S., where he continued active Polish activities for the remainder of his life. He died in 1994 and was buried at Our woman of Czestochowa Cemetery in Pennsylvania. In 1997 another well-known Polish activist, Zdzisław Zakrzewski established in the United States Tadeusz Ungar Foundation, in memory of the hero of France, Spain and Poland.
Rafał Buca
