page_title: Karol Świerczewski
section_title: General in the Red Army
hierarchical_section_title: Karol Świerczewski / Life / General in the Red Army
caption_attribution_description: Polski: Generałowie Ludowego Wojska Polskiego Michał Rola-Żymierski, Marian Spychalski, Karol Świerczewski stojący nad Nysą Łużycką w 1945 r.
context_page_description: Karol Wacław Świerczewski was a Pole serving as a Red Army general. He was a Bolshevik party member and Soviet officer in the wars fought abroad by the Soviet Union including the one against Polish as well as Ukrainian Republics and in Republican Spain. In 1939 he participated in the Soviet invasion of Poland again. At the end of World War II in Europe he was installed as one of leaders of the Soviet-sponsored Polish Provisional Government of National Unity. Soon later, Świerczewski died in a country-road ambush shot by the militants from OUN-UPA. He was an icon of communist propaganda for the following several decades.
context_section_description: Following the outbreak of the Second World War and the Soviet invasion of Poland, Świerczewski served as general in the Soviet Army. His Russian commanders, seeing Świerczewski's apparent incompetence and worsening alcoholism, moved him to a reserve command away from the front lines—the decision was made by General Georgi Zhukov himself. The fact that Świerczewski gave most of his orders under influence of alcohol had tragic consequences for his soldiers, described in General Zygmunt Berling's book Wspomnienia (Memories).
   
  In 1943 he became one of the generals charged with the creation of the Soviet-controlled Polish Armed Forces in the East, the 1st Polish Army. His alcoholism and disregard for the life and health of his soldiers stirred conflict with Zygmunt Berling, and led to his removal from command on several occasions. Świerczewski's alcoholism-related orders gained criticism from other Polish generals as well, including General Aleksander Waszkiewicz.
  In 1944 he became one of the leaders of the Polish Workers' Party and the government of People's Republic of Poland. In the winter of 1944 and the spring of 1945 he led the Polish Second Army during the fighting for western Poland and the Battle of Berlin. His leadership in the Battle of Bautzen (Budziszyn) has been severely criticized by modern historians, and he is held responsible for the Second Army's very heavy casualties in that engagement. While commanding, he might have been drunk, and was temporarily relieved of his command. However, due to important backing in the Soviet political apparatus (Main Intelligence Directorate or NKVD), not only did he retain his command, but his mistakes were hushed up, and after the war he was glorified as a hero.
  In February 1946 Świerczewski became the Deputy Defense Minister of Poland. He was involved in the persecution of the anti-communist underground movement in Poland, and signed many death sentences, while establishing the communist regime.
caption: Michał Rola-Żymierski, Marian Spychalski and Karol Świerczewski (from left to right)
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