The remains of the LtCol Maksymilian Ciężki (Ciezki), Polish army officer that contributed to decrypting German Enigma ciphers during WWII, have been laid at the cemetery in his home town Szamotuly.
The urn with the ashes of the Wielkopolskie uprising participant and chief of the Cipher Bureau was ceremonially buried on 23rd November in the Crypt of the Wielkopolska Insurgents. One of the town's squares also got his name.
Several persons contributed to bringing Polish hero's ashes back to Poland, including, Prof. Wladyslaw Bartoszewski, Vice Marshal of the Polish Senate Prof. Marek Ziolkowski and chief of the Wielkopolska province Piotr Florek. The ceremonies were held under the honourary patronage of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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LtCol Maksymilian Ciezki, found by his contemporaries an outstanding officer and specialist, is now almost completely forgotten. His work was one of the greatest secrets of the Interwar Poland. After the war, he died in exile in obscurity and poverty. He even did not know that two out of his three sons died during WWII.
During WWI Ciezki was incorporated to the German Army, yet soon joined Wielkopolskie Uprising. During the Polish-Soviet war he held responsibility for liaison between Polish forces fighting in the east. In the reborn Poland, Ciezki developed his skills as a chief of the Cipher Bureau of the Polish Armed Forces.
He was one of the co-organizers of the deciphering course for Math students among which were Marian Rejewski, Jerzy Różycki and Henryk Zygalski that broke the "Enigma" encrypting machine code, which has greatly contributed to the Allies' victory.
Caught by the Germans, he did not spill the Enigma secret. Liberated by the US forces, could not return to his native country, as the Communist services searched for him. Decided to live in the English province but did not accept British nationality that was offered to him.
source: MON ( Polish Ministry of Defence )
The urn with the ashes of the Wielkopolskie uprising participant and chief of the Cipher Bureau was ceremonially buried on 23rd November in the Crypt of the Wielkopolska Insurgents. One of the town's squares also got his name.
Several persons contributed to bringing Polish hero's ashes back to Poland, including, Prof. Wladyslaw Bartoszewski, Vice Marshal of the Polish Senate Prof. Marek Ziolkowski and chief of the Wielkopolska province Piotr Florek. The ceremonies were held under the honourary patronage of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
***
LtCol Maksymilian Ciezki, found by his contemporaries an outstanding officer and specialist, is now almost completely forgotten. His work was one of the greatest secrets of the Interwar Poland. After the war, he died in exile in obscurity and poverty. He even did not know that two out of his three sons died during WWII.
During WWI Ciezki was incorporated to the German Army, yet soon joined Wielkopolskie Uprising. During the Polish-Soviet war he held responsibility for liaison between Polish forces fighting in the east. In the reborn Poland, Ciezki developed his skills as a chief of the Cipher Bureau of the Polish Armed Forces.
He was one of the co-organizers of the deciphering course for Math students among which were Marian Rejewski, Jerzy Różycki and Henryk Zygalski that broke the "Enigma" encrypting machine code, which has greatly contributed to the Allies' victory.
Caught by the Germans, he did not spill the Enigma secret. Liberated by the US forces, could not return to his native country, as the Communist services searched for him. Decided to live in the English province but did not accept British nationality that was offered to him.
source: MON ( Polish Ministry of Defence )
