Wojciech Kania

Who was Wojciech Kania?

Wojciech Kania – major of Polish Armed Forces in the West, promoted to the rank of podpułkownik after the war.

Kania was a son of Józef and Katarzyna. In 1932 he graduated from gymnasium in Bielsko-Biała and joined the military service. He completed the Dywizyjny Kurs Podchorążych while assigned to the 4 Pułk Strzelców Podhalańskich in Cieszyn, and then joined the Szkoła Podchorążych Piechoty school. After graduating in 1935 he obtained the rank of podporucznik and was assigned to the 4 PSP.

In September 1939, in the rank of porucznik, he commanded an anti-armor company of the 4 PSP. On 16 September he was captured after a battle fought near Dzikowo. After seven days of captivity he escaped from a train transport near Bieżanów and returned to his home region.

In Łodygowice he engaged in underground activity of the ZWZ. On 13 January 1940 he tried to escape from the country crossing the border near the mountain of Pilsko but was captured by Slovakian police and sent back. In March, after the Easter, he tried to escape again. He managed to get to Budapest and acquire false identity documents there. Through Yugoslavia he got to Split and from there to Lebanon on board of the Greek ship Patris.