Army General Ivan Czerniachowski, hero or criminal?

Abstract

Career of the general of the army of Ivan Czerniachowski, who was one of the youngest generals in military history, was quite brilliant. In connection with his person, many questions arise. Was he a hero or a criminal? Why did his monument at Pieniężno evoke such emotions? On April 24, 1944, Ivan Czerniachowski was appointed commander of the Third Belarusian Front. He commanded the Vilnius and Kaunas operation. However, for us, Ivan Czerniachowski is not a positive figure, because he led to the arrest of the command and soldiers of the Home Army in the Vilnius region. Although the operation was managed by the NKVD, the role of Czerniachowski in this story is clearly negative. In January 1945, the Third Belarusian Front took part in the East Prussian operation and broke up the German defense in the northern part of Prussia. The Third Belarussian Front, which was commanded by Czerniachowski, was given the task of liquidating the surrounded German armies. On February 18, Czerniachowski went on an inspection, despite many warnings about the shooting of the road. He ordered the driver to go in the direction of Pieniężno. The General was killed by a wounded artillery. After the Second World War, many residents of Vilnius region arrived in Warmia. Among them were soldiers of the Home Army, who perfectly remembered the role of Czerniachowski in the disarmament and arrest of Polish officers and soldiers in Vilnius. In 1971 a monument was erected commemorating the death of a general in Pieniężno at the intersection of roads. Until 1990, local party authorities organized rallies and folding flowers several times a year. In January 2014, the city council in Pieniężno decided to demolish the monument.