First Cadre Company and Polish Legions 1914-18 in Poland - exhibit in Cracow Poland

In early August 2014 Cracow celebrates the centenary of the foundation of the First Cadre Company, a volunteer army of 144 formed by Józef Piłsudski in Cracow. This was in reaction to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in June 1914 and the outbreak of WWI. Poland at that time was not its own country. Its land had been divided up between the Austro-Hungarians in the south (including Cracow), the Russians in the east and the Prussians in the west. Various volunteer armies formed in Poland, basing their political allegiance on their location. The Polish legions formed in the south were allied with the Austro-Hungarian army. They wanted to operate independently of Austrian authorities, yet still be their allies. It was a fine line to tow.

On August 6, 1914 the First Cadre Company left for combat from Cracow and marched to the Russian partition around Michałowice. They knocked down a border post and kept going towards Kielce, a city in Polish territory.

The Polish legions were comprised of men with varying backgrounds. All were volunteers. There were artists, doctors and tradesmen. They all felt a call to volunteer for the legions and they filled many different roles in the organization. 

A group of Legion soldiers founded an amateur photography society at the Carpathian (mountains) Front in 1914. They wanted to document what was going on at the front and in daily life as a soldier.  This was the beginning of Polish war reporting.

In the Museum of the History of Photography in Cracow (Józefitów street) there is currently a special exhibit on photographs taken by Polish Legion soldiers. They show all aspects of life as a soldier- from pictures in the trenches and at the front to pictures with local citizens, parades and lounging around.

Many soldiers took pictures. Three names stood out as photographers in this exhibit - Jan Włodek, Tadeusz Pawlas and Leopold Rudke. It was Jan Włodek's family that donated 100 photos from their private collection to this museum. The collection contained his photographs as well as photographs by others (including Pawlas and Rudke). 

I was very surprised to see pictures of Marian Żegota Januszajtis. He was lieutenant colonel in one of the volunteer.  A good friend of mine is related to him.  According to her he was the youngest officer in the Legions. He ended up following Polish government officials to London and helped form the Polish government in exile (during WWII). Members of his family still live in London. The pictures of Marian in the museum were taken in the Ukraine. Here are the 2 photos of Marian.

Marian is sitting down with a cap on.

I asked a guide at the museum about these photos of Marian. She said that the photos were part of Jan Włodek's collection, but photographed by Leopold Rudke.

Jan Włodek had an interesting background. He was a member of the automobile unit of the military in the Legions. In other words he got to drive the fancy Fiats around. He was also an amateur photographer. In 1917 he created a Polish diplomatic agency at The Hague. I am not sure what they did. He was also involved with a committee for refugees and POWs in the Netherlands during WW

He became a professor at Jagiellonian University in 1936 and was arrested in 1939 as part of the Nazis roundup of Jagiellonian professors. He was sent to Sachsenhausen concentration camp. In 1940 he was released from the camp. Shortly thereafter he died of poor health.

Another of the famous 3 photographers, Tadeusz Pawlas, was trained as a doctor. He volunteered for the Legion. Later in 1945 he started the Medical Academy in Gdańsk.

Leopold Rudke, who took the photos of Marian Januszajtis, was also a doctor and volunteer for the Legions.

Another interesting character in the Legions was Stanisław Janowski. He was an artist - a painter, stage designer and lecturer at the School of Drama in Cracow. He also volunteered for the Legion.

Famous leaders of the Polish Legions included Józef Piłsudski, Władysław Sikorski,Józef Haller and Friedrich von Bernhardi.

Some of the soldiers and military leaders of the Legions continued their military service after WWI and became part of what became the official Polish Army.

In 1918 Poland regained its independence and became a country again.