Zbigniew Rylski, a 102‑year‑old Warsaw insurgent known as “Brzoza”, died on 7 November 2025 in Warsaw, marking the end of the living defenders of the Pałacyk Michla complex.
Death in Warsaw
Senior Lieutenant Colonel Zbigniew Rylski, alias “Brzoza”, passed away on Friday, 7 November 2025, in Warsaw. His death was announced by the Territorial Defence Forces.
World War II Service
Rylski fought with the Armia Krajowa during the Warsaw Uprising, notably at Wola where, on 4–6 August 1944, the Parasol battalion defended the Michler mills and Pałacyk Michla at 40 Wolskiego Street—site commemorated by the insurgent ballad “Pałacyk Michla” by Józef Szczepański “Ziutka”. He was the last surviving defender of that site.
Heroic Actions on the Evangelical Cemetery
Despite suffering a severe wound, Rylski rescued the seriously injured platoon commander of the “Gryf” platoon, Janusz Brochwicz‑Lewiński, from the battlefield and carried him to the Bonifraterska hospital. This episode remains one of the most famous of his combat record.
Early Life and Military Career
Born on 23 January 1923 in Lidzie, Rylski joined the Gray Regiments in 1940 and served with the Parasol battalion from 1944. After the uprising he continued fighting with the 2nd Polish Army, being wounded for the third time near Nysa. Post‑war he was detained, tried, and only had the sentence from the 1940s annulled in 1997. He was a knight of the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari.
Family and Legacy
His father, ppłk Zygmunt Rylski, commander of the Praga AK District, is patron of the 181st Light Infantry Battalion of the Warsaw Territorial Defence Forces. The song “Pałacyk Michla”, written on 4 August 1944 by “Ziutka”, became an emblem of Warsaw’s uprising and an unofficial anthem of the Parasol units.
End of an Era
City officials and combatant communities mourn Zbigniew Rylski as one of the last witnesses of the Parasol battalion’s partisan fights, a formation whose legend has shaped Warsaw Uprising memory for generations.