Yesterdays Useful Idiots - parallels and a warning to todays EU?

 

Tadeusz Olszowski and the Great Sejm: The Tragedy of the "Useful Fools"

During the pivotal Great Sejm (1788–1792), the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth faced a looming existential threat from neighboring empires. The nation split into two fierce ideological camps over how to save the state, and Tadeusz Olszowski (belonging to the older Prus II Wilczekosy branch) stood firmly on the conservative, anti-reform side of this historical divide.

The Defense of "Golden Liberties"

While progressive reformers pushed for a modernized, centralized state, Tadeusz and his political allies operated within the Hetman Party (Stronnictwo Hetmańskie). They believed that Poland’s true strength lay in its ancient system of noble democracy, known as the "Golden Liberties" (Złota Wolność).

When the landmark Constitution of May 3, 1791 was passed, Tadeusz actively opposed it. He and his faction viewed its core reforms—specifically the abolition of the liberum veto (the right of any single noble to block legislation) and the strengthening of the royal government—as a dangerous step toward tyranny that would strip the nobility of their historic privileges.

The Geopolitical Trap

Driven by a blind obsession with stopping these centralizing reforms, the conservative leadership made a catastrophic geopolitical miscalculation. In 1792, they formed the infamous Targowica Confederation (Konfederacja Targowicka) and formally appealed to Russian Empress Catherine the Great for military intervention to overthrow the new Constitution.

• The "Useful Idiots" of St. Petersburg: While mid-tier noblemen like Tadeusz likely believed they were genuinely defending traditional freedom, they acted as classic "useful fools" for foreign powers.

• The Cost of Division: The Russian Empire did not care about noble democracy; it simply used the internal chaos and the conservatives' invitation as the perfect excuse to march imperial troops into Poland.

Instead of saving traditional liberties, the conservative opposition paralyzed the Commonwealth's unified defense. Their actions broke the state from within and paved the way directly for the Second and Third Partitions, which erased Poland from the map for 123 years.

Source: Gemini, Google and ChatGTP - may require review

Major Władysław Jan Olszowski (also known as Władysław Prus-Olszowski, pseudonym "Sokół")

This is an amazing story of a cousin from the older branch of the family - maybe not someone my grandfather would know which is sad.

Pretty amazing story 

The military dossier of Major Władysław Jan Olszowski (also known as Władysław Prus-Olszowski, pseudonym "Sokół") paints the picture of a highly experienced, tactical veteran whose quick actions saved a critical sector of downtown Warsaw. [1, 2, 3] 

The verified combat records from the [Warsaw Uprising Museum (Muzeum Powstania Warszawskiego)](https://www.1944.pl/powstancze-biogramy/wladyslaw-olszowski,32319.html) and military archives reveal deep structural details about his service. [4, 5] 

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1. Pre-Uprising Background & Profile

Major Olszowski was not a young, untrained insurgent; he was an elite pre-war cavalry officer (rotmistrz). Born on March 9, 1891, he had already fought in World War I, the Russian Civil War (with the legendary 5th Siberian Rifle Division), and the Polish-Soviet War of 1920. [1, 2, 5] 

* Pre-Uprising Address: Records list his home immediately before the outbreak at ul. Nowogrodzka 3 m. 11 in central Warsaw.

* Double Affiliation: In the underground, he held ranks both in the Home Army (Armia Krajowa - AK) and the Security Corps (Korpus Bezpieczeństwa - KB), a closely allied military resistance organization. [3, 4, 5] 

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2. Hour "W" and the Creation of Batalion "Sokół"

On August 1, 1944, at 5:00 PM (Hour "W"), the uprising officially exploded. In the specific sector around Bracka and Nowogrodzka streets, planned insurgent units failed to arrive or deploy properly due to intense German firepower. [6, 7] 

* The Ad-Hoc Mobilization: Realizing the tactical vacuum, Major Olszowski took immediate personal command of the sector. He began manually assembling scattered fighters on the spot. [7] 

* Birth of the Battalion: By 9:00 PM on August 1st, his makeshift group numbered a dozen men. Over the next few days, isolated soldiers who could not reach their original units flocked to him. This unit grew rapidly into a feared assault force officially named Batalion Szturmowy KB "Sokół" (The "Falcon" Assault Battalion), named explicitly after his combat handle. [4, 7] 

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3. Order of Battle and Combat Path

Major Olszowski’s battalion operated in one of the most heavily shelled, heavily contested zones of the city. [4] 

| Military Metric [4, 7] | Service Record Details |

|---|---|

| Command Structure | I Obwód "Radwan" (Warsaw District AK) → 2. Rejon "Litwin" (later renamed Sector "Sarna"). |

| Primary Combat Zone | Śródmieście Południe (Downtown South). |

| Headquarters & Stronghold | Secured and defended the tenement courtyards around ul. Bracka. |

| Tactical Role | Urban assault, setting up barricades to isolate German strongholds, and counter-attacks against heavy armored units pushing through central Warsaw. |

Under his direct command, the battalion successfully held their sector for the entire 63 days of the uprising, despite being utterly outgunned by German artillery, tanks, and air support.

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4. Capitulation, Captivity, and Escape

When the Uprising was forced to capitulate in early October 1944, Major Olszowski did not abandon his men.

* The Prisoner Log: He entered German captivity alongside his surviving troops. He was processed under POW Number 101451. [4, 5] 

* Post-War Escape: When the camps were liberated in early 1945, he returned to Poland briefly, securing a job as a river shipping captain (kapitan żeglugi) under the newly formed Communist union. [5] 

* The Final Exile: Realizing that the Soviet secret police (NKVD) and Polish communist authorities were systematically arresting and executing high-ranking AK officers, he fled Poland via a clandestine route in 1946. He spent his final decades in London, where he passed away on March 28, 1967. [1, 4, 5] 

* Are you interested in his pre-WWII creative life (he was actually a documentary filmmaker and [theater actor before the war](https://encyklopediateatru.pl/osoby/61078/wladyslaw-prus-olszowski))? [5, 8] 

[1] [https://pl.wikipedia.org](https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/W%C5%82adys%C5%82aw_Jan_Olszowski)

[2] [https://pl.wikipedia.org](https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/W%C5%82adys%C5%82aw_Jan_Olszowski)

[3] [https://www.1944.pl](https://www.1944.pl/powstancze-biogramy/wladyslaw-olszowski,32319.html)

[4] [https://www.1944.pl](https://www.1944.pl/powstancze-biogramy/wladyslaw-olszowski,32319.html)

[5] [https://pl.wikipedia.org](https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/W%C5%82adys%C5%82aw_Jan_Olszowski)

[6] [https://ipn.gov.pl](https://ipn.gov.pl/pl/aktualnosci/41192,Powstanie-Warszawskie-boj-o-wolna-Polske.html)

[7] [https://dzieje.pl](https://dzieje.pl/aktualnosci/warszawa-upamietniono-zolnierzy-batalionu-sokol)

[8] [https://encyklopediateatru.pl](https://encyklopediateatru.pl/osoby/61078/wladyslaw-prus-olszowski)

I thought we were the nice guys...

Well, maybe his mother liked him but this past Salicath (Saliceti) seems to be an early (and much nastier) version of Herr Flick in Allo' Allo' 

Family legend says we are of Italian descent and from Corsica which seemed strange to me as Corsica is French. But it wasn't always French and Antoine here took on the French cloak seriously and especially during the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution where he was Robespierre's right hand man ..

Good looking chap though..at least in the picture - but he was sent to quench the counter revolution in Toulon and later in Italy...

He died (probably) of poisoning...