Rudolf Prich | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Born | (1881-08-06)6 August 1881 |
| Died | 1940(1940-00-00) (aged 58–59) |
| Allegiance |  Poland |
| Branch | .png) Austro-Hungarian Army Polish Army |
| Years of service | 1902-1935 1939-1940 |
| Rank |  Major General |
| Battles / wars | World War I Polish–Soviet War 1939 Defensive War |
| Awards |  Polonia Restituta (Officer's Cross) Gold Cross of Merit Commemorative Medalfor the War of 1919-1921  Medal Dziesięciolecia Odzyskanej Niepodległości |
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Rudolf Prich (6 August 1881 – 1940)[1] was a Polish military officer and amajor general (pol.generał dywizji) of thePolish Army. He was among the Polish officers who were murdered by theSoviet Union during theKatyń massacre.[1]
Prich was born in 1881 inOpava,Austrian Silesia. During his youth, he joined theAustro-Hungarian Army, where he served with distinction during theGreat War. In April 1919, he returned to Poland and joined the Polish Army. During the opening stages of thePolish-Bolshevik War between December 1919 and April 1920, he served as the head of the1st Detachment of the General Staff, responsible for organization and mobilization of forces. Between April 1920 and 1922 in the Polish ministry of military affairs, after thePeace of Riga he remained in the army.
In 1923, after a year of service at the post of commanding officer of the26th Infantry Division, he was promoted to the rank ofgenerał brygady. After theMay Coup d'État of 1926, he was sent to the Centre for Artillery Training inToruń, where he served as one of the professors and a specialist inanti-air artillery. Promoted to the rank ofgenerał dywizji in 1928, he retired from active service in 1935.
After the outbreak of thePolish Defensive War, he returned to duty and on 11 September, was made the commander of all the Polish forces defending the area ofLwów. He held that post until relieved on 16 September, and then took part in thebattle of Lwów as a commander of one of the areas of defence of the besieged city. After the capitulation of the Polish forces had been negotiated on 22 September 1939, Prich was to be released home along with other reserve and retired officers, which was a lie.
Contrary to the terms of the capitulation he was arrested by theNKVD and held in various prisons in the city. He was murdered in the spring of 1940, aged fifty-eight, during theKatyń massacre. Among the Katyn victims were 14 Polish generals includingLeon Billewicz,Bronisław Bohaterewicz,Xawery Czernicki (admiral),Stanisław Haller, Aleksander Kowalewski,Henryk Minkiewicz,Kazimierz Orlik-Łukoski,Konstanty Plisowski,Alojzy Wir-Konas,Franciszek Sikorski,Leonard Skierski,Piotr Skuratowicz, andMieczysław Smorawiński.[2]