Aleksander Kowalski was one of the pioneers of Polish ice hockey, an outstanding athlete and a patriot who made history both on the ice and in defence of his homeland. A talented defenceman of the Warsaw AZS and representative of Poland, he repeatedly faced the best teams in the world, building the legend of Polish hockey. His life was brutally interrupted by World War II and the tragedy of Katyn.

In the 1920s and 1930s, Canadians dominated the Olympic ice hockey competition. Before the outbreak of the Second World War, they had only once, in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 1936, let themselves be pushed out of first place, behind Great Britain. They were a powerhouse.

On Sunday 19 January 1930, they took to the ice in Davos to face a European team that included three Poles: Józef Stogowski, Tadeusz Adamowski and Aleksander Kowalski. The match ended in a pogrom for the players from the Old Continent (0:9).

"In the first period, the European players were nervous about meeting an opponent who had won 15 games so far, beating everyone unbeatably, over-competitive and significantly inferior to the Canadians. The winners imposed a very sharp tempo and already in the first second Park scored a goal," reported Przegląd Sportowy.

In the quick loss of the second goal, Kowalski was allegedly involved, who... was just finishing dressing. This does not change the fact that, despite the loss, he was recognised as one of the better players of the European team. And he was generally regarded as a hockey ace in his country at the time.

Agile and well-built
Aleksander Kowalski was born on 7 October 1902 in Warsaw to Józef and Leokadia Kowalczyński. At the age of 22, he graduated from St. Stanislaus Kostka Gymnasium and entered the Faculty of Banking at the Warsaw School of Economics. After completing his education, he worked as a clerk at the Ministry of Railways and later became employed at the Municipal Savings Bank in Warsaw. Before the war, he was even promoted to the position of director of the 5th Branch.

He loved sport. He had a particular fondness for ice hockey, which he practised from 1922 in the Warsaw AZS. During a decade of playing (1923-1933), he won five national championships with the club. These few years were enough to earn him the status of one of the pioneers of ice hockey in Poland. He had excellent physical conditions - 186 cm tall and 78 kg in weight, thanks to which he could successfully cope with the position of a defender. Tadeusz Sachs, the national team coach, said of him:

"He is very agile, fast and not afraid of the opponent. I think that at the next Olympics in 1936 and 1940, Poland will not be off the podium with such good players".

He was also a full-time representative of Poland. He played 31 games for the national team, scoring six goals, although according to Bogdan Tuszyński, he played in 35 more matches. In 1928, he went to Sankt Moritz for the Olympic Games. At the time, the Poles were up against the European champions, Sweden and Czechoslovakia. The first duel ended in a 2:2 draw, although there was no shortage of opinions that the red-and-white team performed better.

"The debjut went perfectly. The Poles even had quite a clear advantage over their opponent, especially in the last two periods of the game. If it wasn't for Sweden's phenomenal goalkeeper -Johansson, Poland would have won the competition with a few goals difference" -- was reported in "Stadjon".

Unfortunately, after losing to Czechoslovakia (2:3), the Vistula hockey team finished third in the qualifying group and dropped out of the tournament.

Their neighbours from the south seemed to be "Poland's nightmare". A year later, during the European Championships in Budapest, Aleksander Kowalski and co. faced this team in the final. After extra time... the Czechoslovaks prevailed.

"When the third period is inconclusive, extra time follows, during which the lucky Dorazil manages to score a goal. Ours go down honourably defeated," wrote the Stadjon.

Second place on the continent was a great success anyway. Alexander fought for the title of best in Europe four times. In addition, he played twice at the world championships and, apart from his appearance in Sankt Moritz, participated in the Olympic tournament in 1932. After defeats to Canada, USA and Germany, they finished fourth and last.

Last letter
After his competitive career ended, he did not part with his beloved sport. He found himself as a PZHL activist and referee. But his life was interrupted by the war...

Aleksander's wife, Janina Kowalska, recalled what the couple's last weeks were like before the outbreak of war.

"Unfortunately, the threat of war was already hanging in the air. In the summer of 1939, one evening Olek said to me: 'There will be a war, I will go and I will not come back.' He considered fighting to defend the Fatherland as his sacred duty. His uniform, his cap, his boots were already prepared so that he could be ready at any moment for the call."

And indeed, in September 1939, while a second lieutenant in reserve, he fought in the 13th Infantry Division. On 25 September he was arrested by the USSR and sent to a POW camp in Kozielsk.

"Finally just before Christmas a letter from him from the Kozelsk camp, from captivity. A letter full of hope that maybe we will see each other soon. I immediately sent the letter and our photographs through the PCK ," the hockey player's wife recounted.

Unfortunately, on the basis of the NKVD list of 3.4.1940, item 31, Aleksander Kowalski was deported to the Katyn Forest and murdered there (3 April 1940). He was identified under the number 2129.

It is also known that he received a letter and photographs sent to him by his wife....