Kazimierz Stanisław Szpądrowski
Lieutenant Colonel of the Polish Army • 1899 – 1940
“An unyielding intelligence officer. Faithful to his oath to God and Country until the very end.”
Biography and documentation of the life of an officer of the Polish Army and Military Intelligence (Second Department of the General Staff), executed in Moscow by the NKVD for refusing to reveal military secrets.
Biography
Kazimierz Stanisław Szpądrowski was born on March 1, 1899, in Krościenko nad Dunajcem (then Galicia, Austria-Hungary). He came from a family of local teachers, Ignacy and Teresa (née Zarzycka). Between 1912 and 1914, he actively served in the Wadowice Rifle Squads while attending the local high school. Orphaned early, he graduated with honors in 1916 and volunteered for Józef Piłsudski's Polish Legions.
Following the oath crisis and draft in the Austrian army (until November 5, 1918), he volunteered as a warrant officer (chorąży) in the Polish Army. By decree of Commander-in-Chief Józef Piłsudski of January 16, 1919, he was officially admitted into the Polish Army from the former Austro-Hungarian army and commissioned as a Second Lieutenant. He served in the 1st PAP (Warsaw), 6th PAP, and finally the 7th PAP in Częstochowa, where he married Halina Laskowska on April 7, 1923. For outstanding bravery in the Polish-Soviet War (March 31 – Sept 25, 1919 and Feb 16, 1920 – March 14, 1921), he was awarded the Cross of Valour and the War Medal. From 1923 to 1930, he served as an instructor and adjutant at the Artillery Cadet School in Toruń, recognized by Gen. Dąbkowski as "the best officer of the 7th PAP".
In 1932, he graduated from the Higher War College with a degree as an artillery officer and was assigned to Section II of the General Staff (military intelligence). From 1933, he took an active part in intelligence operations on key strategic directions, including the German one. His dedicated service in the structures of Polish military intelligence, followed by his uncompromising stance in Soviet captivity, earned him a permanent place in the history of Polish defense.
Intelligence Operations
In July 1935, he took over the leadership of Station No. 4 in Katowice, where he directed offensive intelligence and counterintelligence against the Third Reich, coordinating a network of over 70 agents and expanding the Technical Section (1/6 of the staff). Due to his uncompromising stance and persistent warning to the headquarters in Warsaw about the scale of the German war threat (which superiors deemed excessive criticism), he was recalled from Katowice on February 1, 1939, and disciplinarily transferred to the 6th Heavy Artillery Regiment in Lviv. In the face of war, he took the position of deputy chief, and then chief of intelligence (Section II) of the 'Kraków' Army.
Under his leadership (after taking over the post from Lt. Col. Karol Piasecki), the station had about 30 personnel, of which 16 were directly involved in offensive intelligence, and 5 served in the Technical Section, which Szpądrowski expanded to ensure the unit's operational independence. Szpądrowski significantly expanded the intelligence network in Germany—in November 1937 the outpost had only 3 active mobilization agents in the Reich, while a year later it had 62 general agents and 28 mobilization agents. Operations were facilitated by intense border traffic using circulation cards and close cooperation with local smuggling groups. The outpost had officer posts in Chorzów, Katowice (later moved to Cieszyn), Częstochowa, Ostrów Wielkopolski, and Nowy Targ, with an average monthly budget of 25.8–28 thousand PLN.
War decoration and posthumous honors
- 1921: Cross of Valour (for outstanding bravery in the Polish-Soviet War)
- 1930: Silver Cross of Merit (for outstanding service in the 7th PAP and the Artillery Cadet School in Toruń)
- 1932: Medal of Independence
- 1937: Gold Cross of Merit (for exceptional intelligence achievements at Station IV in Katowice)
- 1920s: Commemorative Medal for the War of 1918–1921 and Decade of Regained Independence Medal
- 1985: September Campaign Cross 1939 (posthumously, London)
- 1998: Posthumous promotion to Lt. Col. (presented on the 100th anniversary of his birth, Feb 14, 1999, in the Chapel at Jasna Góra by chaplain Fr. Dr. Maj. Jan Golonka)
- 2009: Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (posthumously by President Lech Kaczyński)
- 2016: Plaque of the most distinguished graduates of the Marcin Wadowita Gymnasium in Wadowice, placed next to Karol Wojtyła (Pope John Paul II)
Key achievements of Station No. 4:
Inspirational Game 'Per-Pethe' (1935)
Allowed Polish intelligence to map the personnel and operational methods of the Gestapo post in Bytom.
Forefield Map (1937)
A detailed map at 1:300,000 scale showing the deployment of security forces and assembly points in the event of German mobilization.
Reconnaissance of Reich Fortifications
Locating German fortification work directorates, new bunkers southeast of Nowa Sól, and earthworks east of Frankfurt an der Oder.
Reports on Wehrmacht Movements (1938)
Ongoing tracking of the return of the VIII Army Corps units after the Sudetenland operation, obtaining mobilization cards, and decoding German cover addresses.
Localization of Wartime Telephone Exchanges
Detection of special wartime telephone exchanges built in the basements of county administration buildings, courts, and municipal offices in German Silesia.
Official Military Appraisals
“Captain Szpądrowski is the best officer of the 7th Heavy Artillery Regiment. He possesses a unique talent for teaching. He is characterized by outstanding ambition and conscientiousness, achieving excellent results in training and service.”
Gen. Mieczysław Dąbkowski (1930)“A strongly defined personality, high authority. Very industrious, conscientious... Suitable for a Chief of Staff of a division.”
Gen. Tadeusz Kutrzeba (Commander of the War College, 1932)“Thanks to his constantly demonstrated zeal in work and dedication to the needs of the service in a degree significantly exceeding the average measure... he achieved outstanding intelligence results under difficult conditions.”
Lt. Col. Wilhelm Heinrich (Chief of Station II, 1938)Chronological Timeline
Birth and Early Years
Krościenko nad Dunajcem. Place of birth (March 1, 1899) and early childhood years in the family home in the Podhale region.
Wadowice Period
School years and studies at the local Gymnasium. Active in local Rifle Squads. In December 1916, passes high school graduation exam with honors.
Joining the Polish Legions
Enlists as a volunteer in Józef Piłsudski's Polish Legions in Góra Kalwaria. Begins service in an artillery battery, shaping his career for years to come.
Fight for Independence & Commissioning
In November 1918, volunteers for the reborn Polish Army in Warsaw. By decree of Commander-in-Chief Józef Piłsudski of January 16, 1919, the former Austro-Hungarian warrant officer is officially admitted into the Polish Army and commissioned as Second Lieutenant. Takes active part in the Polish-Soviet War, ending as Lieutenant with the Cross of Valour.
Military Training in Toruń
From February to December, undergoes intensive military training, successfully completing the Course at the School of Junior Artillery Officers.
Częstochowa & Marriage
Assigned to the 7th Field Artillery Regiment. Marries Halina Laskowska (their son Stanisław is born in 1924).
Cadre Service in Toruń
Long-term service at the Artillery Officers' School in Toruń. Serves as instructor, platoon leader, and from 1928 as school adjutant with the rank of captain.
General War College
Elite studies at the War College in Warsaw, graduating as a certified staff officer in 1932. Assigned to Section II of the General Staff (military intelligence).
Intelligence in Silesia
Directs Outpost No. 4 in Katowice. Expands the Technical Section, commands over 70 agents, counters German diversion (e.g. Freikorps), and conducts economic espionage against the Third Reich.
Disciplinary Recall
Due to his persistent warnings to Warsaw about the scale of the German threat (deemed "excessive criticism"), he is recalled from Katowice and reassigned to the 6th Heavy Artillery Regiment in Lviv.
War Mobilization
Serves in the 6th Heavy Artillery Regiment in Lviv, while designated as Deputy Chief of Intelligence (Section II) for the newly forming Army 'Kraków'.
Chief of Intelligence, 'Kraków' Army
Assigned as Chief of Section II (Intelligence and Counterintelligence) of the 'Kraków' Army staff, coordinating intelligence on attacking German forces.
Evacuation & Defense of Lviv
Evacuation of staff eastward. Sent on a special mission from Zamość to Lviv to retrieve documents, participating in Lviv's defense. Captured by Soviets after surrender.
Starobielsk POW Camp
Detained in the NKVD prisoner-of-war camp. In early 1940, Soviet intelligence identifies him as a high-ranking intelligence officer, isolating him from other POWs.
Lefortovo Prison & Death
Transported to Lefortovo Prison in Moscow. Subjected to cruel investigation and torture by the NKVD, he did not reveal any intelligence secrets. Shot on December 25, 1940. Buried in a mass grave at the Don Cemetery in Moscow.
The London Katyn List
Presumed dead, listed in the first 'Katyn List' compiled by Adam Moszyński and published in London.
Legal Rehabilitation
At the request of Andrzej's son and thanks to the support of the Polish Section of the "Memorial" Association in Moscow, the Chief Military Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation is rehabilitating the major due to the lack of signs of a crime. In the 1990s, Russia destroys and denies the existence of these documents in the archives.
Posthumous Promotion
The Polish Minister of National Defense posthumously promotes him to Lieutenant Colonel (ppłk) for outstanding heroism in captivity.
Commander's Cross of OOP
President of Poland Lech Kaczyński posthumously awards him the Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.
Unyielding Stance During Lefortovo Interrogations (1940)
Discovered in January 1940 at Starobielsk camp to be a key intelligence officer, he was rushed to Moscow. At Lefortovo, he underwent 9 demanding interrogations. Excerpts from NKVD files testify to his heroic stance:
“The oath I took does not permit me to answer questions concerning the secret activities of the Second Department... I will only answer questions unrelated to the Second Department's work and which are not classified... I cannot give names.” (February 10, 1940)
Lefortowo, 10.02.1940“Regardless of the fact that the Polish State has ceased to exist—I swore my oath to my Country and to God, and under all circumstances I consider it my duty to keep secret everything contained in that oath.” (October 9, 1940)
Lefortowo, 09.10.1940“I did not engage in intelligence work to the detriment of the USSR and I do not plead guilty... I acted for the good of my State. I entered intelligence work by order of my superiors.” (Final Statement, November 20, 1940)
Ostatnie Słowo, Kolegium Wojskowe ZSRR, 20.11.1940Pursuit of Truth
Lt. Col. Kazimierz Szpądrowski took part in the defense of Lviv against the Germans, but after the city's surrender on September 22, 1939, he was taken into Soviet captivity at the Starobielsk camp. Identified as a Polish military intelligence officer (Section II), he was soon transported to Lefortovo Prison in Moscow. After a brutal investigation, he was sentenced to death on November 20, 1940, and executed on December 25, 1940. His body was cremated, and his ashes were placed in a mass grave at the Donskoy Cemetery in Moscow.
On February 25, 1992, at the request of Andrzej's son and thanks to the support of the "Memorial" Association, the Chief Military Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation rehabilitated Kazimierz Szpądrowski in the absence of any signs of a crime, stating that he conscientiously fulfilled his duties in the interest of the sovereign Polish state.
However, inconvenient documents began to disappear. In the years 1995–1999, the Russian military prosecutor's office withdrew its earlier findings, claiming in subsequent letters to the family that the rehabilitation case had never been considered and, finally, that there was no information about Szpądrowski in the archives. This indicates that the intelligence officer's files were deliberately destroyed or classified in the archives of the Chief Military Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation. At the last minute in 1996, Anna Grishina, head of the Polish Section of the "Memorial" Association in Moscow, risking her safety, contributed to finding and copying the protocols. Anna Grishina died in unknown circumstances on January 21, 2000 in Moscow. Previously, she had agreed with Andrzej Szpądrowski that she would come to Częstochowa and bring more documents, obtained with great effort, regarding certified major Kazimierz Szpądrowski. She received a special formal invitation for this occasion. However, she never arrived, and correspondence with her ended suddenly in October 1996.
Fate of documents and erasing of traces
After the official rehabilitation of Lt. Col. Szpądrowski in 1992, the Russian Military Prosecutor's Office retracted its findings in the late 1990s. They claimed the rehabilitation never occurred, and the files vanished from the KGB/FSB archives, demonstrating the systematic destruction of records regarding Polish intelligence officers.
Historical Gallery & Documents
Archive photographs and document scans related to Lt. Col. Kazimierz Szpądrowski, including the presidential order and NKVD trial documents.
Katyn Remembered – The President's Pen
Memory of Lt. Col. Kazimierz Szpądrowski lives on in subsequent generations. In May 2010, his grandson, Marcin Szpądrowski, received the main prize in the historical competition "Katyń We Remember. Małopolska" for a work dedicated to his Grandfather entitled "Grandpa, Dad, I still remember", which was based on the earlier work of his late father, Andrzej Szpądrowski. The prize in this competition was the last pen of Polish President Lech Kaczyński, promised and prepared just before his tragic death in the Smolensk air crash on April 10, 2010. The history of this pen serves as a symbolic bridge connecting the Katyn massacre of 1940 with the Smolensk tragedy of 2010.
In March 2019, this award-winning work was officially published as a scientific publication entitled "We are going into the fight of life, the community of the Wadowice Junior High School on the way to Independence" edited by Dr. Konrad Meus, serving as a lasting tribute to historical memory.
The Fight for Truth and the Order
In 2007, President Lech Kaczyński posthumously promoted 8,000 victims of the Katyn massacre, but Kazimierz's name was missing because lists were based solely on the Cemetery Books of Katyn, Charkow, and Miednoje. Kazimierz had been executed at Moscow's Lefortovo prison and buried at the Don Cemetery. Only after 1.5 years of letters and interventions by his grandson Marcin Szpądrowski in the Military Department, with the support of director Małgorzata Moskal and Maj. Mirosław Demediuk, was this corrected, and Lt. Col. Szpądrowski was awarded the Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.
First prize in the national contest 'Katyn – We Remember', awarded to his grandson Marcin Szpądrowski in 2010.
Poetry of Remembrance
Memento
For you these words, my children, grand-descendants,
To save from cold oblivion's dark space
Grandfathers, ancestors, to keep remembrance
Of pedigree, and of your roots and place.
They gave their lives in those forgotten lands:
Katyn, Miednoje, Charkow's quiet plain,
So we could hold our freedom in our hands,
So that your tomorrow brings no pain.
From Ostashkov, Kozelsk, and Starobielsk camps,
From gulags lost, where light no longer shines,
Let this warning echo like guiding lamps:
Live for your Country and for God's designs!
— Andrzej Szpądrowski
Reflection
Humiliated, yet proud, they trod the path
Of the final march to Katyn's forest gray.
Until the order stopped them with cold wrath:
'Stand still, Poles!' – then guns did play.
But they did not die, they fell asleep in Lord.
The Lord granted them a martyr's crown of light.
Resurrected, like Poland, they rose by sword
And live in us, like Honor and Country's might.
I did not see mounds or monuments in Katyn,
I did not see a flowery carpet there.
The grass turns green among the pines so thin;
Like granite, memory lasts in Polish hearts everywhere.
— Andrzej Szpądrowski