Comic-book heroes tend to have special powers, which let them fight to defend weaker and disadvantaged members of society. The epitome of such fictional characters is Superman. This ordinary, shy journalist who, when called upon in the fight against evil, became this extraordinary being, this superhero. Władysław Raczkiewicz, the hero of our comic-book, differs from Superman in one very important way. He was not a fictional character. He lived and functioned for real. Many times, he was called upon to battle against the enemy, weapon in hand like in 1920 in the battle against the Bolsheviks, during which time, following in the footsteps of former borderland heroes (like Kmicic or Colonel Wołodyjowski), he formed a volunteer battalion that fought to defend Vilnius. However, we are looking at a different time in his life. A time that was tragic, but also unique. A time when he really had to show superhuman strength. On September 30, 1939, when, by breaking international laws and agreements, German and Soviet invaders divided Poland between themselves, Władysław Raczkiewicz assumed the office of the President of the Polish government -in-exile and thus, thwarted the plans of the aggressors who claimed that Poland had now ceased to exist. However, Poland did still exist. It had a president and an appointed government, an army (which Raczkiewicz and General Władysław Sikorski first established in France before its fall and then later in Great Britain) and an underground state that operated on occupied territory and recognised the Polish government-in-exile. Few people knew that the tragedy of Poland was intertwined with the personal drama of the President of the Polish government-in-exile. A few months before the outbreak of the war, while governor of the Pomeranian Voivodeship in Toruń, Raczkiewicz had learned that he was suffering from leukemia. A very serious illness still today, but back then, when chemotherapy or bone marrow transplants were not an option, it simply meant a death sentence. Doctors were able to extend Raczkiewicz’s life by several years, but they could not effectively relieve his suffering. Despite his diagnosis, Władysław Raczkiewicz did not even hesitate for a moment, as the only candidate accepted by Polish politicians and by French allies to take on the burden of leading Poland in one of its most difficult periods in history. He died on June 6, 1947 in Ruthin, Wales. He was buried at the Polish Aviators’ Cemetery in Newark, Great Britain. A superhero among superheroes.
E H T F O R E D N U FO
P T A GRE
IA N A R OME
Piotr Całbecki Marshal of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship
text
Maciej Jasiński illustrations
ISBN 978-83-949231-8-1
Jacek Michalski