Lieutenant Colonel Zbigniew Rylski (pseudonym "Brzoza")
Honorary Citizen of Warsaw since 20th June 2024.
He was born in Lida. World War II found him in Wołyń, where his father, Major Zygmunt Rylski, became commander of the 1st Battalion of the 43rd Rifle Regiment of the Bayonet Legion in Dubno. Zbigniew Rylski's biography includes numerous heroic deeds, courage, and sacrifice for others. His life was marked by the war and the fight for the freedom of his beloved homeland.
As a participant in the Boy Scouts' and Girl Scouts' War Emergency, he participated in the Defensive War, and after the Soviet aggression of 17 September 1939, while still in the Borderlands, disregarding his own safety, he helped rescue Polish soldiers from the NKVD camps in Dubno. To protect himself against arrest and deportation deep into the USSR, he moved to Warsaw with his mother, brothers, and sister. In 1940 he joined the Grey Ranks, where he was quickly promoted and held important positions. During the Warsaw Uprising he was assigned to the 3rd Wola District. He distinguished himself by his bravery and determination and walked the entire combat route with the "Parasol" battalion. He participated in the defence of the Michler Palace and the Wola cemeteries, becoming a symbol of steadfastness and heroism. On 8 August 1944, during intense fighting in the Protestant cemetery near the Halpert chapel, he rescued the seriously wounded commander, Janusz Brochwicz-Lewiński pseud. "Gryf". He moved him to a paramedic, and then transported him to the St. John of God Church at Bonifraterska Street. During the insurgent fighting, was wounded twice.
He was imprisoned and under surveillance after the war. He was released from prison under an amnesty in March 1947. Despite persecution and repression by the communist regime, he never gave up his fight for truth and dignity. For his heroic deeds, he was awarded many decorations, including the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari War Order, the Officer's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, the Cross of Valour, the Home Army Cross, the Warsaw Uprising Cross, and the Cross of "Merit for the Polish Scouting and Guiding Association".
He is constantly involved in popularising the history of the Warsaw Uprising and working to commemorate the heroes of Poland's struggle for freedom.
Title awarded by resolution of the Council of the Capital City of Warsaw No. VI/107/2024