General Myron Tarnavsky in the Polish captivity (1918–1921)

Abstract

This article attempts to characterize the fate of the general Myron Tarnavsky during his Polish captivity in the camps of Dąbie and Tuchola. He was interned on two occasions: the first time was at the end of 1918, and the second time was in July of 1920. First internment was connected with the end of the First World War. In the November 1918 Tarnavsky was stationed on the Greater Ukraine, where he commanded the 16 Mazur Infantry Regiment of Austro-Hungarian army. He successfully relocated the regiment to Krakow, but upon his return to Lviv, he was discovered and sent to the camp of Dąbie, located on the outskirts of Krakow. Unfortunately, there is a paucity of information regarding his sojourn in that locale. Conversely, there are numerous sources that cover the period of his second sojourn in the Tuchola camp, where he was imprisoned from July 1920 until February 1921. After he had returned from Greater Ukraine to Eastern Galicia in July, 1920, he was immediately arrested by Polish gendarmerie and sent again to the prisoners-of-war camp, this time to Tuchola. Mentioned camp was located in Pomorze, far away from Eastern Galicia, and was established by Polish authorities in March 1920. In May and June 1920 2,5 thousands of officers and soldiers from the ranks of Red Ukrainian Halych Army were imprisoned in the camp. They were disarmed by the Polish forces during Kyiv Offensive of 1920. General Tarnavsky arrived to the Tuchola camp on July 22, 1920. All officers gathered and honored him as their commander for an extended period. During his imprisonment, all interned officers of UHA at the camp paid respect to him as he was the highest rank Ukrainian officer imprisoned there, although he rarely participated in the camp’s activities. The only case in which Tarnavsky was involved that was of a greater magnitude was the case of Major Wilhelm Lobkowitz. General Tarnavsky was released from captivity in February 1921.