Are you curious how the German began to fight with his nation? Well, it started during the First World War, when the hero of this story ended up in court martial. What he did? Well, he preached pro-Polish slogans in... the German army. Fortunately for him, the war was ending and the court did not have time to assemble.

But the war for Trunkhardt was far from over. He returned to his hometown of Rybnik and became involved in the fight for the Polishness of Silesia. The German for the role of the Polish lawyer was indeed perfect. In the Silesian Uprising he fought - how else - on the Polish side. And with great success! He was a polyglot, and this extraordinary knowledge of languages often helped him to outsmart enemy soldiers. No wonder that after the eastern part of Upper Silesia was incorporated into Poland, he was granted Polish citizenship as a reward. What's more, he became a councilor in Rybnik.

After the outbreak of World War II, he became the main enemy of the Reich in these parts. A reward of half a million marks was put on his head. However, he was already active in the Home Army and skilfully avoided ambushes. However, they were never able to catch him.

Unfortunately, after the war, this hero was somewhat forgotten. It's a pity, because what he did for our city is priceless. Trunkhardt was an outstanding journalist and publisher who was strongly involved in the life and development of his region. It was he who saved from oblivion the great monograph of Rybnik, originally published in 1861 by Franciszek Idzikowski. He supplemented it and released it on the market in 1925. This work is still an excellent source of knowledge about the history of the region.