The only Pole in space, Mirosław Hermaszewski, directed his eyes toward flying objects from a young age. He was born during World War II and lived in Volhynia, where Poles were cruelly murdered.

Mirosław Hermaszewski, the only Pole in space, was born in 1941 in Volhynia (now Ukraine).  Two years after he was born, the Volhynia Massacre – the cruel slaughter committed by Ukrainian nationalists against Poles – came to a culmination.  A unit of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) attacked his home village of Lipniki in March 1943. The mother of the future cosmonaut was shot by a Ukrainian while fleeing with a child in her arms. The murderer thought he had killed her, but did not fatally wound her. Then, she fled to a neighbouring village. She was in shock and did not realise that little Mirek was not with her. It was not until the next day that his father found him. Unfortunately, Mirek’s father was later killed by Ukrainian nationalists. . In total, as many as 19 people from Hermaszewski’s family died.

Passionate about aviation and space flight

Hermaszewski had been interested in aviation since childhood. In the 1960s, he began his military career in the so-called People’s Polish Army. Communist Poland was not a sovereign country at the time. In the 1970s, as the Cold War between the US and the USSR continued, it also moved into space. In 1976, the Soviets qualified Hermaszewski for the international Interkosmos space programme. The Pole underwent training and was launched from Baikonur (now Kazakhstan) into space on 27 June 1978. He spent 7 days, 22 hours, 2 minutes and 59 seconds there. The only Pole in space aboard the Soyuz 30 reached the Soviet Union’s Salut 6 orbital station. He circumnavigated the earth 126 times, took part in aurora research and analysed the effects of being in space on humans. On 5 July 1978, he returned safely to Earth.

Hermaszewski took into space the work of his fellow countryman, Nicolaus Copernicus, “On the rotation of celestial bodies”, and the Polish epic by Adam Mickiewicz titled “Pan Tadeusz”. He later gave this copy to the Pope, John Paul II.

In the service of the communists

Hermaszewski collaborated with the military services of the communist regime in the 1960s. In 1981, he became a member of the Military Council for National Salvation. This body administered Poland during the illegally imposed martial law. At that time, the communists took the army to the streets against protesting Poles – dissatisfied with the communist rule.