Gdynia Maritime University GMU

An unknown and highly significant fact has recently been uncovered about the life of the well-known captain of the Dar Pomorza Kazimierz Jurkiewicz (1953 - 1977)

Documents have been found showing that during the Second World War, he was a soldier in the underground National Armed Forces (NSZ). On 17 May 2024, an NSZ cross was unveiled on the Captain’s grave.

Captain Jurkiewicz’s participation in the activity of the underground independence movement was, until now, completely unknown, even to his immediate family. The information is not included in official biographies and the Captain himself never mentioned it. In communist Poland, revealing such facts could result in grave consequences.

Attending the ceremony for the unveiling of the Cross on behalf of the University were: The Deputy Rector for Science, Dr Sambor Guze, the curator of the Hall of Tradition, Ms Joanna Stasiak, and bearing the University Banner, the GMU Guard of Honour.

Taking part in the ceremony for the decoration of the grave with the NSZ Cross were the Captain's daughter, Małgorzata Łobodzińska-Jurkiewicz and son Andrzej Jurkiewicz with their families, the banner of a Gdynia primary school whose name bears the name of the Captain, representatives of the NSZ Soldiers’ Association, and two previous captains of the Dar Młodzieży, Ireneusz Lewandowski and Marek Menke.

The details of Captain Kazimierz Jurkiewicz’s involvement in the underground resistance movement remain unknown.

Text: Aleksander Gosk