GenerałTadeusz Komorowski (1 June 1895 – 24 August 1966), better known by the name Bór-Komorowski (after one of his wartime code-names: Bór – "The Forest") was a Polish military leader.[1] He was appointed commander in chief a day before the capitulation of the Warsaw Uprising and following World War II, 32nd Prime Minister of Poland, 3rd Polish government-in-exile in London.[2]
After taking part in the fighting against the German invasion of Poland at the beginning of World War II in 1939, Komorowski, with the code-name Bór, helped organise the Polish underground in the Kraków area. In July 1941 he became deputy commander of the Home Army (Armia Krajowa or "AK"), and in March 1943 gained appointment as its commander, with the rank of Brigadier-General.[1] He was sympathetic to the right-wing, antisemitic National Party. As commander of the Home Army, Komorowski reversed the pro-Jewish policies of his predecessor, Stefan Rowecki. Komorowski opposed aid to Jews seeking to mount ghetto uprisings and favoured the exclusion of Jews from the organisation. American historian Joshua D. Zimmerman accuses Komorowski of characterising Jewish partisans as "communist, pro-Soviet elements" and having "chilling indifference" to the ongoing Holocaust.[4]
In mid 1944, as Soviet forces advanced into central Poland, the Polish government-in-exile in London instructed Bór-Komorowski to prepare for an armed uprising in Warsaw. The government-in-exile wished to return to a capital city liberated by Poles, not seized by the Soviets, and prevent the Communist take-over of Poland which Stalin had planned.[5] The Warsaw uprising began on Komorowski's order on 1 August 1944 and the insurgents of the AK seized control of most of central Warsaw.
After the war Bór-Komorowski moved to London, where he played an active role in Polish émigré circles. From 1947 to 1949 he served as Prime Minister of the Polish government-in-exile, which no longer had diplomatic recognition from most Western European countries. He wrote the story of his experiences in The Secret Army (1950). After the war he was an upholsterer.
Death
He died in London on 24 August 1966, aged 71,[2] and was buried in Gunnersbury Cemetery (also known as (New) Kensington Cemetery).
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