Stanisław Kawczak (1892–1940) was a Polish patriot, military officer, and lawyer. He was conscripted into the Austrian army at the beginning of WWI and fought on the eastern and southern fronts. Throughout the war, his heart was devoted to the cause of Polish independence. At the end of WWI, the Polish State was recreated, and he fought in the war with the Bolsheviks. His memoirs, Milknące Echa, Wspomnienia z Wojny 1914-1920 (Dying Echoes: Memoirs of the War 1914-1920), were published in 1936, and were described as the best of memoirs about the war by eminent historian Julian Krzyżanowski. The English translation followed in 2019. As World War II approached, Stanisław Kawczak fought against the Nazis in the defense of Brest on the Bug in September 1939. He was subsequently captured by the invading Soviet forces and taken to Starobelsk, a camp in the Soviet Union. He was one of the thousands of Polish officers murdered in April 1940 in what became known as the Katyn Forest Massacre.
To honour his legacy, Stanisław Kawczak’s family created this fund to promote health, education, and the relief of poverty.