Jan Piwnik

Jan Piwnik (1912–1944) was a Polish World War II soldier, a cichociemny and a notable leader of the Home Army in the Świętokrzyskie Mountains. He used the nickname Ponury ("Gloomy" or "Grim") and Donat.

Biography

Major. Jan (John) Piwnik, was born on August 31, 1912. Janowice the village, district opatowski, Kielce Voivodeship (1919–39), Second Polish Republic. Son of John, a farmer, and Sophia Kłonica. In 1933, he graduated from a reserve NCO artillery school in Włodzimierz Wołyński. In 1935, he joined the Polish police, where he served as an officer.

Mobilized in 1939, during the invasion of Poland by Germany, he commanded a motorized unit of the police. When the Soviets also attacked, on September 23, he and his unit crossed the Hungarian border and were interned.

Piwnik managed to escape from the internment camp. In November 1939, he reported to the Polish Government in Exile in Paris. He joined the Polish Army, reconstituted in France at that time and was assigned to the 4th Rifle Brigade (en cadre). After evacuation to Great Britain following the fall of France, he joined the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade under General Stanisław Sosabowski.