Eugeniusz (Brok) LOKAJSKI

A multi-talented athlete who was adept in a number of track and field disciplines and also as a gymnast, Eugeniusz Lokajski is also known for his contributions, both as a soldier and also as a documenter through his photography, to the 1944 Warsaw Uprising.

Champion of Poland at the javelin in both 1934 and 1935 he recorded a throw of 73.25m in the early summer of 1936 that established him as one the favourites for Berlin. A shoulder injury incurred shortly before the Olympic Games hampered him and he could only finish 7th as a throw of 71m claimed the Olympic title. His shoulder never recovered enough for him to return to serious athletics despite an attempted comeback. He was also a national champion at gymastics in 1934 and 1935.

Conscripted into the Polish Army in 1939 Lokajski served as an infantry commander and was taken prisoner by Soviet forces during the Siege of Brest-Litovsk. He escaped from his captors and returned to his hometown of Warsaw where he ran a photographic business.

He worked as a teacher in one of the illegal "underground universities" set up by the resistance before taking over his late brother's responsibilities transporting arms and munitions. Lokajski commanded his own platoon of soldiers during the uprising but he was also charged by his commanding officer to use his talents as a photographer and record the events in the streets of Warsaw and he also provided portraits of resistance fighter for use of fake documents. He died in 1944 when caught in an artillery barrage during a trip to collect photographic materials. His body was only found in 1945 after the end of the war. Eugeniusz Lokajski was buried in the "Aleja Zasłużonych" (Avenue of the Meritorious) at the Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw.

Personal Best: JT – 73.27 (1936).