A crystal commemorative vase with a dedication to a general of the Polish People's Army. Height 36.5 cm, base diameter 11.5 cm. Dedication: “To Maj. Gen. Z. Ohanowicz. Soldiers of the R. Traugutt Pomeranian Territorial Unit, October 7, 1978: Zbigniew Ohanowicz (born October 7, 1923, in Debesławce, Kolomyia County; died December 24, 2001, in Wrocław) – Major General of the Polish Army.
Biography
Minister of National Defense, General of the Army Wojciech Jaruzelski, observes a tactics class at the Higher Officer School of Mechanized Forces in Wrocław. From right: Gen. Jaruzelski, Major General Zygmunt Zieliński, and Major General Zbigniew Ohanowicz.
He came from the Polish Armenian community. In 1944, he joined the Polish Army in the USSR. After graduating from the Central Officer Candidate School, he became a platoon commander at the 2nd Infantry Officer School. He was then appointed commander of an infantry company and later of a training battalion in the 43rd Infantry Regiment. From 1949, he served as commander of the 32nd Mechanized Regiment. In 1953, he became deputy commander of the 16th Mechanized Division, and later of the 10th Mechanized Division. He was a member of the Polish Workers’ Party (PPR) and later the Polish United Workers’ Party (PZPR).
From 1955 to 1956, he served as commander of the 20th Armored Division in Szczecinek. Subsequently, from 1956 to 1964, he was commander of the 2nd Mechanized Division in Nysa.
In 1963, he graduated by correspondence from the General Staff Academy named after General Karol Świerczewski in Rembertów, defending his thesis on the long-distance redeployment of a mechanized division. That same year, he was promoted to brigadier general. In 1965, he became deputy commander of the Silesian Military District for line units. In 1968, he participated as deputy commander of the Army in the intervention in Czechoslovakia. In 1971, he assumed command of the 10th Armored Division in Opole. From 1973 onward, he again served as deputy commander of the Silesian Military District for line units. In 1975, he was promoted to major general.
Following a car accident involving Major General Henryk Rapacewicz, he temporarily served as acting commander of the Silesian Military District from October 13, 1977, to February 26, 1978. From 1978 to 1979, he served as First Deputy Chief of the Polish Armed Forces’ Main Directorate for Combat Training. In 1979, he handed over his official duties to Brigadier General Kazimierz Makarewicz and subsequently assumed the position of military and air attaché at the Embassy of the People’s Republic of Poland in Budapest. At the turn of 1985 and 1986, he remained at the disposal of the Minister of National Defense. In 1986, he became the People’s Republic of Poland’s government representative for matters concerning the presence of the Soviet Army in Poland. On February 28, 1989, he was retired from active service. From 1993 to 1994, now as a civilian employee, he served as the representative of the commander of the Silesian Military District for matters related to the takeover and management of property left behind by the Russian Federation’s armed forces.
He died in Wrocław and was buried at the municipal cemetery in Oława
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