When history meets politics. Debunking a presidential claim

Former president Andrzej Duda appeared as a guest to mark the second anniversary of Kanał Zero. Once again, the former politician explained why he refused to sign ambassadorial nominations for Bogdan Klich, who currently heads Poland’s mission in Washington as chargé d’affaires ad interim.

We have analyzed in greater detail the dispute over ambassadors involving Donald Tusk and Andrzej Duda, and later Karol Nawrocki. As we noted, the outcome is that only 41 of Poland’s diplomatic missions are currently led by ambassadors. In as many as 54 cases, they are headed by chargés d’affaires ad interim. This directly weakens the effectiveness of Poland’s foreign policy.

Andrzej Duda claimed that Bogdan Klich does not deserve to serve as Poland’s ambassador to the United States because he is “the kind of man under whose tenure as minister more Polish generals died than during the second world war.”

How Andrzej Duda’s presidential office justified its decision on Bogdan Klich

This claim has surfaced repeatedly in public debate. In mid-January 2026, Andrzej Duda said in the studio of wPolsce24 [a right-wing media outlet – ed.]: “They had a problem with me because I did not agree to Mr. Klich. He led to the dismantling of the Polish army – during his time in office, more generals died than during the second world war.”

In the past, the same assertion was echoed by Małgorzata Paprocka, then head of Andrzej Duda’s ofice. In August 2024, speaking on Polish radio she said: “The president’s main objection concerns appointing the former defense minister, Bogdan Klich, to the post in Washington. It is a grim joke. During his tenure, more Polish generals died than during the second world war.” A few days later, she repeated the statement in an interview with Money.pl portal.

This comparison has been circulating in public debate for 15 years

The comparison has been heard at least since 2011. That year, Jacek Bogucki, an MP from Law and Justice (PiS), asked Donald Tusk in the Sejm: “Is it true that under your government more generals died in Poland than during the second world war?”

That same year, Rzeczpospolita daily published an interview by Robert Mazurek with General Sławomir Petelicki. The founder of the GROM special forces unit said that Bogdan Klich was a man who had “brought the army to a catastrophic state, and under whose tenure Poland lost more generals than during the second world war.”

As it turns out, this claim has no basis in fact.

How many generals died during Bogdan Klich’s tenure?

Bogdan Klich served as Poland’s minister of national defense (MON) from 2007 to 2011. It was during this period that the Smolensk air disaster occurred, when a Tu-154 aircraft crashed, killing all 96 people on board.

Among them were ten generals. One additional general died in the Mirosławiec plane crash. In 2008, a military aircraft crashed at the airfield of the 12th Air Base in Mirosławiec. Twenty people were killed, including Andrzej Andrzejewski, commander of the 1st Tactical Aviation Brigade in Świdwin.

So, in total, during the period when Bogdan Klich headed the Ministry of National Defense, 11 generals lost their lives.

How many generals died during the second world war? Estimates by the Museum of the Second World War

Experts from the research department of the WW2 Museum in Gdańsk acknowledge that it is difficult to give a definitive answer to the question of how many Polish generals died during the second world war.

“As framed, the question is imprecise and problematic,” says Aleksandra Trawińska, the museum’s press spokesperson. “We would also have to include those who were killed at execution sites in the east in 1940, as well as reserve generals, those not on active service, and those who died during the occupation.”

What is certain is that, according to the Gdańsk museum, as of 1 September 1939 there were 97 generals on active service in the Polish Armed Forces.

No fewer than 43 generals killed

The WW2 museum in Gdańsk refers to calculations by Jacek Pietrzak, PhD hab. of the Institute of History at the Łódź University.

“On a rapid verification of these data, it should be concluded that no fewer than 43 generals were killed,” says Aleksandra Trawińska.

The spokesperson cites findings from the museum’s research department. “The figure of 43 covers all generals who lost their lives, including eight who were killed while on active service – effectively in combat, on the battlefield,” the Museum of the Second World War explains.

The remainder were generals who were not serving on the front line. These include officers retired from active duty, those in reserve, as well as those murdered at execution sites such as Katyń.

Dr hab. Jacek Pietrzak: more than 50 generals died in total

Dr hab. Jacek Pietrzak, head of the Department of Contemporary Polish History at the University of Łódź, writes in his article that “as a result of Soviet actions alone, as many as 37 Polish generals probably lost their lives.”

As he explains, “this group included 12 prisoners from Kozelsk and Starobelsk murdered in Katyń and Kharkiv, as well as other NKVD prisoners who were murdered, died, or went missing.” In addition, according to his calculations, seven generals were killed during the September campaign of 1939 alone.

“If we add those who died as a result of German actions,” Dr Pietrzak says, “I can state that the total was well above 50. This figure naturally includes those murdered, those who died of natural causes, and those who went missing – in other words, overall wartime losses.”

One prominent example is 1943, when General Władysław Sikorski, then commander-in-chief of the Polish Armed Forces, was killed in an air crash in Gibraltar.

22 Polish generals killed during the second world war

“Polish armed forces suffered enormous losses among their senior command during the second world war. Although the list of fallen and murdered generals is likely incomplete, even a cursory review demonstrates the scale of sacrifice by Polish officers, many of whom fought on the front lines,” says Dr Michał Przeperski, a researcher at the Institute of History with the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN) and the Polish History Museum (MHP).

At our request, the historian compiled a list of Polish generals who were killed or murdered during the second world war. We asked him to specify the place and date of death for each.

The list contains 22 names. Dr Michał Przeperski identified five generals who were killed by German forces during the September 1939 campaign. The remainder lost their lives as a result of Soviet actions, with many murdered in Katyń.

“Generals were murdered not only as military commanders but also as part of the Polish state elite, which the occupiers sought to eliminate in order to more easily subjugate society,” Dr Przeperski explains.

Historians’ data contradict Andrzej Duda’s claim

It is worth recalling that the 11 generals who died between 2007 and 2011 were victims of aviation accidents.

The generals identified by historians were killed or murdered by German or Soviet forces. In the view of each historian, more Polish generals died during the second world war than in the period when Bogdan Klich headed the Ministry of National Defence.

We have reached out to the office of former president Andrzej Duda to request the sources on which he bases his statement. Once we receive a comment, it will be added to this article.

Key Takeaways

1. During the second world war, more Polish generals were killed by German and Soviet forces. The WW2 museum in Gdańsk estimates that at least 43 generals died. Dr hab. Jacek Pietrzak, head of the Department of Contemporary Polish History at the University of Łódź, reports that the total exceeded 50. Dr Michał Przeperski, of the Institute of History at Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN) and the Polish History Museum (MHP), provided us with a list of 22 Polish generals killed during the war, including information on the place and date of their deaths.
2. History is being used in ongoing political disputes. Former president Andrzej Duda consistently asserts that he refused to sign ambassadorial nominations for Bogdan Klich because, during Mr. Klich’s tenure as minister of national defense, more Polish generals died than during the second world war.
3. Between 2007 and 2011, 11 Polish generals died in aviation accidents.