Ppłk Jan Kanty Lasota – wybitna postać krakowskiej konspiracji wojskowej

Abstract

LIEUTENANT-COLONEL JAN KANTY LASOTA – DISTINGUISHED FIGURE OF THE KRAKÓW WAR CONSPIRACY

Lieutenant-colonel Jan Kanty Lasota (1899–1950) pseudonym Kanty, Jan Kanty, Pan Jan, Przyzba, devoted all his life to the affairs of his homeland, serving from the earliest years in scouting and the Polish Legions, and after the regaining of independence in 1918 in the ranks of the resurrected Polish Army. Initially he performed his duties in the armour tanks, then in the infantry units, then in the Border Protection Corps and finally he performed the function of the commander of the local Academic Legion in Lublin. He served during the September campaign of 1939 in the ranks of 93PP as the commander of the 2nd battalion in the Lublin region. Straight from the battlefield he set about co-creating in Lublin the Organisation of the White Eagle and the Service for the Victory of Poland. Since the beginning of 1940 he worked in the Kraków conspiracy. In the founded Union for Armed Struggle he performed various functions in the intelligence of the No. 4 Area and the Kraków District; since 1941 he was the head of the 2nd branch of the staff of the headquarters of the District. He achieved much success in this area. In 1943 he was nominated deputy commander and the head of the staff of the headquarters of the Kraków District of the Home Army. He performed the function until his arrest by the Soviet security powers on the 18th of April 1945. He was escorted to Moscow and sentenced to 8 years of prison. He died in Karaganda on the 18th of May 1950. His wife, Michalina, remained in Poland and until her death in 1986 she was the guardian of the memory of her husband. According to the historians of the services at home lieutenant-colonel Jan Kanty Lasota belonged to the leading figures of the conspiratorial army. He was awarded the War Medal Virtuti Militari of the 5th class.