Władysław Raginis

Władysław Raginis (June 27, 1908 – September 10, 1939) was a Polish military commander during the invasion of Poland in 1939. He commanded a small force holding the Polish fortified defense positions against a vastly larger German force during the Battle of Wizna. Because the positions were held at great cost for three days before being annihilated with few survivors, Wizna is referred to as the Polish Thermopylae and Captain Raginis as a modern Leonidas. of the Jaunborne (Neu-Born) Manor near Dźwińsk (Daugavpils), Courland Governorate, Russian Empire (present-day , Saliena Parish, Augšdaugava Municipality, Latvia) to a landowning family with patriotic traditions. Turning to his men in the shelter, Raginis thanked them for their bravery, and for doing their duty. He then ordered them to surrender and leave the shelter - he would keep his word and not surrender.

Cultural references

The heroic struggle and death of Raginis has inspired a number of films and videos: Film documentary titled "Wierność" (1969)