CZESŁAW LEONHEREL

Dear Editors!

In response to the appeal of the Editorial Office, I am sending data concerning my wife’s father, featured under no. 3053 on the Katyń list published in “Zorza” (issue 18, dated 30 April 1989).

Józef Aleksander Nelicki, [was] born on 25 February 1901. In 1913, he joined the Kraków Scout Troop of the Jan III Sobieski Secondary School. In November 1918, he joined the 2nd Uhlan Regiment in Zakrzówek as a volunteer. Having passed his secondary school exit examination, he attended the Artillery Officer Cadets School in Sołacz near Poznań (1920-1921); he was then assigned to the Mountain Artillery Unit in Nowy Sącz, as a second lieutenant. In 1922, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant. In 1927, he was assigned to the 6th Field Artillery Regiment, and in the years 1931-1932, he was a judicial officer in the 6th Infantry Division in Kraków. In 1933, he joined the 5th Heavy Artillery Regiment. He was sent to attend a course at the Higher School of the Commissariat in Warsaw in the years 1934-1935, and afterwards was assigned to the commissariat in Poznań as a mobilization officer. On 25 August 1939, he was appointed chief of the commissariat of the Kalisz division and promoted to captain on 1 September. After the defeat of the September Campaign he was interned in the USSR. He died in Katyń – according to the postcard from the Polish Red Cross, dated 1 October 1943 (L. spr. Ew/43/III 5820), he is on the list of the Katyń victims under no. 02566.

He got married (on 20 July 1926) to Irena […], had sons […], and daughters […].

Yours sincerely