Henryk Minkiewicz

Henryk Minkiewicz (19 January 1880 – 9 April 1940) was a Polish socialist politician and a general of the Polish Army. Former commander of the Border Defence Corps, he was among the Polish officers murdered in the Katyń massacre.

Life Henryk Minkiewicz was born on 19 January 1880 in Suwałki, then in the Russian Empire in to the family of a tax official. His older brother was the biologist Romuald. and imprisoned in Kozielsk concentration camp.

As one of the highest-ranking officers in Soviet captivity, he served as the representative of all the inmates. On 7 April 1940, together with the fourth transport of Polish officers, he was transported to the Katyn woods and murdered, probably on 9 April 1940, aged sixty. Among the Katyn victims were 14 Polish generals including Leon Billewicz, Bronisław Bohaterewicz, Xawery Czernicki (admiral), Stanisław Haller, Aleksander Kowalewski, Alojzy Wir-Konas, Kazimierz Orlik-Łukoski, Konstanty Plisowski, Rudolf Prich (murdered in Lviv), Franciszek Sikorski, Leonard Skierski, Piotr Skuratowicz, and Mieczysław Smorawiński.

Awards and decorations