Soldiers
About 5,000 Poles fought in that unit. The Brigade was named after the 19th century Polish general Jarosław Dąbrowski. The unit was formed as Dąbrowski's battalion in October 1936; in June 1937 it was reorganised into the 150th Brigade, which in addition to two Polish battalions (Dąbrowski's and Palefox's) included also a Hungarian (Rakosy's) and a Belgian-French (Marty's) one. In August it was renamed again to the 13th Dąbrowski's International Brigade. The brigade was demobilized in 1938 but volunteered back to service in 1939. On 9 January it crossed the French border and was finally dissolved; most of its soldiers were interned.
Most of Dąbrowszczacy were Polish communists. For their communist orientation they were condemned by the Second Polish Republic, which cancelled the citizenship of many of them (in spite of the fact, that Poland was second biggest arms supplier to the Republic, just after USSR). On the other hand, they were portrayed as heroes in the People's Republic of Poland; many of them served in the Berling Army, Armia Ludowa and Gwardia Ludowa during the Second World War.
Read more about this topic: Dabrowski Battalion
Famous quotes containing the word soldiers:
“Bravery in simple soldiers is a dangerous trade, to which they have bound themselves to get their livelihood.”
—François, Duc De La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680)
“Children play soldier. That makes sense. But why do soldiers play children?”
—Karl Kraus (1874–1936)