Emil Rauer

1925 anniversary celebrations of the Civic Guard and Police. Emil Rauer (the shorter figure, in the inspector's uniform with shoulder straps) and Commander Czyniowski present their report to President Stanisław Wojciechowski.

Emil Ignacy Rauer (31 July 1870 – 13 December 1943) was a Polish industrialist, creator and commander of a railway protection formation, social activist, and independence fighter. He was initially a partner in companies producing metal decorations, milling machines, and later ammunition factories for the military. He was a long-time member of various leadership positions in the Sokół movement. During World War I, he co-founded and held various high positions in the Civic Guard and National Guard. He participated in the creation of the Railway Guard, which he later commanded after it was transformed into the Railway Security Guard. He led this formation during the Polish-Soviet War. Later, he was also a prominent activist in veteran organizations of the Second Polish Republic. In 1942, he was arrested by the Germans and imprisoned for about six months in Pawiak prison. A few months after his release, he died.

Childhood and youth Emil Rauer was born on 31 July 1870 in the village of in the Puławy County (then the Nowoaleksandryjski County), as the son of Karol Rauer and Maria (née Pilny). He attended secondary school in Warsaw, where he was an active participant in self-education circles. By around 1910, Emil Rauer became the sole shareholder of the company. In 1911, he was part of the board of the Warsaw Mutual Insurance Society for Mines. Skoryna was the father of his second wife, Jadwiga (whom he married in 1910). The company ceased operations in 1918, but according to Jarosław Zieliński, it continued to function in the interwar period under the name Mill Machinery Manufacturing Company "Młynotwórnia". According to contemporary press articles, it essentially became a branch of the Poznań-based Joint-Stock Company of the Mill Machinery Factory "Młynotwórnia".

In 1921, Rauer, along with others, founded the Metal Industry "Granat" Joint-Stock Company in Warsaw. Initially, the company produced metalware and mechanical toys. Emil Rauer remained on the board of "Granat" until 1939. In the autumn of 1915, he founded the sixth branch of Sokół in the Praga district of Warsaw, where he remained president for many years. Additionally, in January 1925, Rauer became the commander of the Order and Discipline Guard, On 2 December 1924, the Union of Polish Associations of the Republic of Poland secretly placed a stone slab inscribed To the Unknown Soldier beneath the Prince Józef Poniatowski Monument in front of the Saxon Palace. Three days later, Rauer anonymously added an eternal flame to the site. By the end of April 1919, the Railway Guard was militarized and transformed into the Railway Security Guard, tasked with protecting railway infrastructure.

Private life

Emil Rauer was married three times. His first wife was Bronisława (née Car), whom he married on 21 August 1897. She died in 1901, and they had a daughter, Janina, who died in childhood. His second marriage was to Jadwiga (née Skoryna), daughter of industrialist and social activist Cezary Skoryna (1841–1903). They married on 9 June 1910 but later divorced. He was released on 10 May 1943 in such a poor state that, according to the Polish Biographical Dictionary, he died in Warsaw in the autumn of the same year. Cross of Valour Cross of Independence (23 December 1933)