IIRP Janusz Kusociński (1907-1940) Photo, Olympic Games 1932 Los Angeles

Photo, 9 cm x 6.5 cm, showing Janusz Kusociński at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Janusz Kusociński winning the Olympic gold medal in the 10,000 meter run in Los Angeles. Kusociński is a colorful figure in the world of sports as well as the history of World War 2. He took his sporting steps amateurishly as a football player and runner in the Workers' Sports Club Sarmata in Warsaw. During the September Campaign, he was drafted into the Machine Gun Company of the 360th Infantry Regiment, taking part in the defense of the Capital. On September 28, 1939, he was awarded the Cross of Valor. In the 1940s he served in the underground organization Wilki under the pseudonym Prawdzic. Captured by the Gestapo, he was tortured in a prison on Szucha Avenue. Transported from Pawiak prison to Palmiry near Warsaw where he was executed by the Germans in the AB action aimed at destroying the intelligentsia in Poland. The condition of the photo can be seen in the scans.