Bronislaw Karwowski ps. Grom - Polish soldier of the independence underground during World War II and the post-war anti-communist underground , retired Major of the Polish Army, veteran activist, long-term member of the Supreme Council of the Association of Soldiers of the National Armed Forces.

Biography

He was born on March 10 , 1924 in Klimaszewnica as the son of Aleksander and Jadwiga. Before the war, he lived at ul. Peaceful in Łomża and was a student at the gymnasium at ul. Bernatowicz. He also belonged to the cathedral choir led by Fr. Marian Jasionowski. During the war, he stayed with his parents in Łomża. 

From 1942, he was associated with the Home Army underground (he was a member of the " Independent Poland " organization subordinated to the Home Army ), being responsible, among other things, for distributing the underground press, collecting weapons and intelligence services.

In May 1944 he was arrested, but he managed to escape from the transport to Łomża and since then he was active in the forest unit operating near the village of Mikuty, taking part in military operations against German troops. After the end of the German occupation, he was active in the anti-communist conspiracy within the National Military Union . 

From November 1945 he served in the unit of Henryk Jastrzębski pseud. "Too bad." He was a soldier of the Special Action Ambulance. 

In 1946, he was the deputy head of the economic department in the "Bałtyk" district of the Olsztyn NZW, and in March 1947 he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant .

In April 1947, he made a disclosure under the amnesty at PUBP in Ostrołęka and left for Szczecin , but in 1948 he was arrested and in May 1949 - by the judgment of the Military District Court, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison, loss of public, civic and honorary rights for 3 years and forfeiture property to the State Treasury. 

Eventually, the Supreme Military Court in Warsaw reduced the sentence to 4 years, which he spent until 1952 in the prison in Wronki. 

In order not to go crazy, he solved mathematical problems on the cell door.

After leaving prison , he was still controlled by the Security Service throughout the period of the People's Republic of Poland . 

In the years 1956-1959 he was investigated by the District Delegation for Public Security in Dąbrowa Białostocka.

The Provincial Court in Białystok, by order of July 19, 1991, annulled the judgments of the Military District Court and the Supreme Military Court and decided that the actions of Bronisław Karwowski were actions for the independent existence of the Polish State.

After the systemic transformation, he was the chairman of the District of the World Union of Home Army Soldiers in Dąbrowa Białostocka, and was a long-term member of the Supreme Council of the NSZ Soldiers Association, remaining in the rank of captain and then major.

In August 2018, at the age of 94, despite a serious illness he led his granddaughter Joanna down the aisle during the wedding ceremony. Just before introducing her to the church, he announced:

I've been waiting for this moment, I'm glad I lived to see it.

He died on September 1, 2018. He was buried on September 3 at 14:00 at the parish cemetery in Dąbrowa Białostocka with military assistance and a salvo of honor.

Selected awards 

• Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1992),
• Silver Cross of Merit with Swords (twice in 1944 and 1995).
• Bronze Cross of Merit with Swords (1949).
• Partisan Cross (1995).
• Cross of the Home Army (1984),
• Army Medal (1948),
• Cross of National Armed Deed,
• Badge of the Białystok Home Army District (1948)
• Medal "For merits for the defense of the country" (2018)