arrested along with a large part of his staff and was sent to Germany. He spent the remaining part of World War II in various Nazi POW camps. Initially in Oflag IV-B Koenigstein and Stalag I-B Hohenstein, he was then transferred to Oflag VIII-E Johannisbrunn. In 1942 he was sent to Oflag VII-A Murnau, from where he undertook numerous escape attempts and was finally sent to Oflag VI-B Dössel. Liberated in 1945, he moved to the United Kingdom, where in April he joined the Polish Armed Forces in the West. Unlike most of his war-time colleagues, in January 1947 he returned to Communist-held Poland. Formally accepted into the army, he was retired and deprived of his pension. He lived in poverty in Gdynia, at times working as a janitor. It was not until the death of Bolesław Bierut and the political thaw of 1956 that Wiktor Thommée was granted with a pension and a flat in Warsaw. He died on 12 September 1962 and was buried in the Alley of the Meritorious in Warsaw's Powązki Military Cemetery. On 1 January 1964 he was posthumously promoted to the rank of division general (Lt.Gen.). Awards Throughout his life, Thommée was awarded with some of the highest Polish military decorations. Among them were: Virtuti Militari (5th and 4th classes) Commanders' Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta Cross of Valour (Krzyż Walecznych), 4 times Gold Cross of Merit (Krzyż Zasługi) Independence Medal References 1881 births 1962 deaths People from Švenčionys People from Sventsyansky Uyezd Polish generals Recipients of the Gold Cross of the Virtuti Militari Commanders of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Recipients of the Gold Cross of Merit (Poland) Recipients of the Medal of Independence World War II prisoners of war held by Germany Polish military personnel of World War II Polish prisoners of war Polish people of French descent Military personnel of the Russian Empire Burials at Powązki Military Cemetery