Cyryl Czarkowski-Golejewski was born at Lviv which before 1939 was part of Poland. His father, was also a land owner: Tadeusz Czarkowski-Golejewski had, in addition, become involved in politics, serving as a member of the Diet of Galicia and Lodomeria between 1908 and 1913, during the time when the entire region was still part of the Austrian empire. His mother, born Marii Zaleskiej (1862-1893), also had an aristocratic background. Cyryl's younger brother, , was a cavalry officer who in 1940 also fell victim to the Katyn massacre.