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Captain Tadeusz Lutak, considered Poland’s oldest man and the oldest veteran of the Polish Army, died at 109. The Territorial Defence Forces (WOT) announced his death this Monday in a message posted on X.
Known by his nom de guerre ‘Pancerz’ (‘armor’), Lutak had turned 109 on August 29. Born in 1917 in Żarnowa, in southeastern Poland, he witnessed some of the main events in the country’s contemporary history, from World War II to the democratic transformation.
Tadeusz Lutak, the World War II veteran who lived to 109
During World War II, Lutak was part of a tank crew during the September 1939 campaign, when Nazi Germany invaded Poland. He later joined the Polish resistance and led a sabotage group in the Home Army (Armia Krajowa), the main Polish armed underground organization during the German occupation.
It was during that period that he adopted the pseudonym ‘Pancerz’. Lutak later reached the rank of captain and remained actively present in veterans’ circles in his later years, as well as taking part in commemorative events and meetings with young people.
The Territorial Defence Forces’ tribute to Tadeusz Lutak
The Territorial Defence Forces highlighted Lutak’s career and his connection to the country’s history. “The soldier for whom service to the homeland was the value of a lifetime” has “ended his eternal watch,” the WOT said in its statement.
The institution also recalled that Lutak “witnessed the most important events in our history.” His testimony was considered especially valuable because he had lived through different stages of Poland: the interwar period, the German occupation, the period under the communist regime, and the subsequent democratic transformation.
For his participation in armed conflicts and his commitment to historical memory, he received multiple decorations and honors throughout his life, including the Territorial Army Cross, an institution considered the historical heir to the Polish resistance during World War II.
When he became Poland’s oldest man
According to records cited by Polish media, Lutak became Poland’s oldest man in July 2024, after the death of Władysław Fidos, who was 108.
After Lutak’s death, the record of the oldest men again turns attention to other centenarian survivors in Europe. According to the European Supercentenarians Organization, the continent’s oldest man is currently Portuguese Joaquim Varela, born in 1915 and 111 years old.