Anatol Tarnowiecki (1907-1991) was a military professional before the war. He graduated in 1938 as a second lieutenant from the Cadet School for Non-Commissioned Officers in Bydgoszcz. As a top student, he was honored with a saber – a gift from the President of the Republic of Poland. He was sent to serve in Vilnius in the ranks of the 6th Legions’ Infantry Regiment. He had a wife and three children. In September 1939, his unit was interned in Lithuania. The wife died and the children were left without both parents.
After the Soviet occupation of Lithuania, Tarnowiecki was sent to the camp in Kozielsk, and then to Griazowiec. Here he lived to see the arrival of General Władysław Anders, who visited the camp on August 25, 1941. Together with the Polish army, he left the USSR and went to Iran.
Anatol Tarnowiecki was most likely one of those who bought a small Syrian bear – the future, legendary Corporal Wojtek – from Iranian shepherds. The report that he gave the bear to Irena Bokiewicz seems to be credible. Wojtek the bear later served in the 22nd Artillery Supply Company, and after some time he even attained the rank of corporal. After the war and demobilization, he was given to the Edinburgh Zoo.
Anatol Tarnowiecki became the Commander of the 3rd Company of the 6th Battalion of the 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division. At the head of his company, he took part in the assault on Monte Cassino. During the battle he was seriously wounded. After healing, he returned to the Italian front. In November 1944, he took part in the fighting between Ancona and Bologna. He was seriously injured again. For his participation in the Italian campaign, he received the Virtuti Militari and the Cross of Valour. He was also awarded the Monte Cassino Cross and the Cross of Merit with Swords.
Captain Anatol Tarnowiecki returned to Poland only in February 1949. He managed to find children he had not seen for almost 10 years. They lived in Cieplice in Lower Silesia. He worked here as a teacher for many years. He died in 1991 and was buried at the parish cemetery of the Piarist Fathers in Cieplice.
In addition to photographs of Captain Tarnowiecki, several of his letters written from Italy and England to his girlfriend in the Middle East have been preserved in the Sybir Memorial Museum in Białystok.
