Doomed Soldiers

"We ought to remind about them, at least before God and history."

POPE JOHN PAUL II

The Prologue to the Doomed Soldiers Story:

The project is undertaken to be a presentation encompassing the "Doomed Soldiers" - (Polish - "Żołnierze Wyklęci") , also known as the "Cursed Soldiers" - individuals and organizations such as the Home Army (Polish - Armia Krajowa - AK), National Armed Forces (Polish - Narodowe Siły Zbrojne - NSZ), Freedom And Independence (Polish - Wolność i Niezawisłość - WiN), Association of Armed Struggle (Polish - Związek Walki Zbrojnej - ZWZ), and others, involved in underground operations in Poland against both German Nazi and Communist occupiers, and Polish national collaborators.

In both cases, legitimate governments formed by the will of the people were destroyed, followed by either direct foreign administration or by indigenous parties using and being used by external forces to maintain power - essentially as satraps.

This includes an organizational and command overview of both sides; descriptions of standard and special operations; and the commanders, regular and irregular soldiers, and other agents themselves.

Why were the "Doomed Soldiers" doomed?

The hostile powers of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union were proximate, entered easily and could overrun the Polish nation with massive highly disciplined corps of regular army troops, police organizations established as brigade counter-insurgency teams, and numerous espionage and counter-espionage agencies.

In addition, there were indigenous political organizations, hostile to liberal democracy, seeking power vastly in excessive of popular support and dismissive of "the consent of the governed". Whatever the limitations of a dictatorship BY the proletariat, the dictatorship OVER the proletariat proved repeatedly worse by every measure of a humane social order.

Against these forces were arrayed unsurrendered regular soldiers forced into hiding and joined by irregular soldiers. Jointly and separately these carried on a guerilla war, an Anti-Soviet Insurrection, with limited numbers, money and supplies.

These depended on friendly comrades offering safe quarter, forged documents, surreptitious distribution of communiqués and propaganda, and a host of other services all borne at great jeopardy and personal cost. Surrender meant lengthy internment, death, or both.

Permanent evasion would prove ultimately futile in all instances. With no other friendly force at hand to give aid and reinforcement, all avenues of escape constricted to a weak trickle, the choice was between surrender and death, or battle and death - and thus the soldiers were doomed.

Was the doomed fight futile?

For the combatants and their sympathizers, the answer is yes. None emerged even so much as broken but victorious. No victory could be seen on the horizon from any perch, no matter how high.

Fifteen years would elapse since the last battle in Poland before the mighty and invincible Soviet army would start to break a continent away in Afghanistan - after the attrition of ten years battle against troops having at last the support of reinforcement and material from the outside.

Perhaps in a cultural sense the fight was not so futile. The iron men, brought to power in World War II, who were the binding shackles of the Polish nation became fatigued, rusted out and had their system of tyranny and terror rust with them. Loyal and brave fighters lived on in quiet legend and quieter reverence until their stories could be spoken again with less fearful, more confident and louder voices.

These voices have elected to gamble veneration to win truth; and, as vindicating documents and testimony have come forth, they find they have gained the latter still retaining the former.

And so, to the Doomed Soldiers, Betrayed by World, And Forgotten by God, We Dedicate This Site

“Do not leave the graves of soldiers with broken souls. Do not leave them with a sense of defeat and hopelessness, but with an irrefutable belief that in spirit grow new values; the values are not mine, not yours, but for all of us – the value of belonging to the whole nation. It is necessary to keep the memory of them everlasting and living.” Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły

"The Only Hope" Documentary by Dr. Sławomir Górski, PhD.  

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introduction

Who were the "Doomed Soldiers" of the Polish Armed Underground, what motivated them to continue fighting for independent and democratic Poland after the end of World War II, what legacy did they leave behind, and much more ...

Dictionary of Polish Language Terms, Abbreviations, And Acronyms

The order of presentation is Polish Acronym - Polish Name - English Translation (Partisanship: Role). Some editorial judgment has been used in regard to Polish organizations. Those clearly part of the Polish Communist forces are labeled "Polish Communist". Those closely associated with the Polish Government in Exile or subsequently in resistance to the Polish Communists are labels "Polish Patriot".

Letters from the Underground

"You could never imagine what a mass of men [K.B.W. Korpus Bezpieczeństwa Wewnętrznego - Communist Internal Security Corps] they threw at us, but I firmly believe that this is the right fight, and that God is with us. He keeps on leading us out of situations that should be impossible to survive. It is impossible to believe how many soldiers and equipment they threw against us." NEW!

Attack On Hrubieszów, May 26/27, 1946

The joint WiN and UPA military operation in Hrubieszów became the source of major embarrassment to the Communist “People’s government”, in particular, because at the time, it was perceived to be only a prelude to the main assault, that was yet to come.

An Assault on Włodawa, October 22, 1946

During 1944 -1947, there were 88 major assaults on Communist detention centers and prisons. During more than 100 such operations, the prisoners were not only freed from Communist militia stations, jails, transport convoys and hospitals, but more often-than-not, were saved from certain death. While carrying out these operations, and risking their own lives, the partisans brought freedom to their brothers-in-arms, and their countrymen in general; all in all, around 5,000 individuals were freed.

Armia Krajowa in NKVD/NKGB Documents:

July 6, 1944 NKVD/NKGB Report

July 17, 1944 NKVD/NKGB Report

July 18, 1944 NKVD/NKGB Report

July 20, 1944 NKVD/NKGB Report

Not Only Katyn (Pol. "Nie tylko katyń")

Even though many years have passed since that fateful summer in 1945, the families of the missing haven’t lost hope in finding their loved ones. “I hope that my husband is still alive. He surely is somewhere in Russia. Now, he will come back, because many things have changed over there [in Russia]. We will still see each other in this world” - how strange these words sound coming from the mouth of an old, ailing woman. Others - and they are the majority - only want to know the truth. They want to know where the graves of their relatives are. Are they somewhere far away in the East, in the “inhuman land”, or maybe here, in some unknown corner of the woods ? In July 1945, the units of the NKVD [Rus. Народный комиссариат внутренних дел Narodnyy komissariat vnutrennikh del, NKVD, (НКВД), the Soviet secret police] carried out mass arrests and deportations of people suspected of being members of the Polish Home Army [abr. AK – Armia Krajowa] in the Augustów forest area. During the roundup, as it is called by the locals, thousands were arrested. From among those, hundreds had disappeared without a trace. - “We do not know where to pray for them. Where do we go to light a candle for a father, a husband, or a brother?”- ask the inhabitants of Giby, Płaska, Balinka, Mikaszówka and dozens of other villages in Suwalszczyzna who during the beginning of the first post-World-War-II summer, were surrounded by a cordon of armed Soviet soldiers.

Pt. 1: Before They Came

Pt. 2: The Roundup Begins

Pt. 3: Those Who Survived

Pt. 4: Coincidence or Betrayal

Pt. 5: We Regret to Inform You

Pt. 6: The Commotion Near Giby

Pt. 7: We Will Not Be Silenced

Pt. 8: Wrong Graves

Pt. 9: Other Trails

Pt. 10: The Missing

Pt. 11: Notes & Bibliography

Partisan Unit "Błyskawica"

No units under the command of Major Józef Kuraś, nom de guerre "Ogień" were incorporated into any large post-war underground conspiratorial organization and he himself remained an independent commander. Despite numerous attempts from the Rzeszow Regional National Military Union [acr. NZW] (under the command of Captain Piotr Wozniak nom de guerre "Wir") and the Region VII of the National Armed Forces [acr. NSZ - Norodowe Sily Zbrojne] (under the command of Captain Henryk Flame, nom de guerre "Bartek"), and various representatives of the political headquarters of NSZ in the West, Ogień" wouldn't allow his soldiers to be incorporated into any national underground conspiratorial formation.

Maj. Hieronim Dekutowski "Zapora" (1918 - 1949) In the Net of Communist Intelligence Services

The March 7th marked yet another anniversary of the murder of Major Hieronim Dekutowski “Zapora” and his soldiers at the Mokotów prison in Warsaw. A fierce dispute between historians as to who really betrayed “Zapora” and his men, continues to this day. One thing is certain, however - “Zapora’s” only chance of survival was to escape through Polish-Czech boarder into the American Zone in Germany. But, Dekutowski never made it through having been betrayed ...

Narodowe Zjednoczenie Wojskowe (NZW) - Region XXIII

Formed in the summer of 1946, the XXIII Region of Narodowe Zjednoczenie Wojskowe (NZW) incorporated former Directorate for Diversion soldiers of the Home Army Inspectorate for the cities of Plock and Sierpy with the 11th Operations Group of the National Armed Forces (NSZ - Narodowe Siły Zbrojne). Initially, its network would span the borders of Warsaw and Bydgoszcz voivodeships (districts of Sierpy, Mława, Lipno and Rypin) followed by the districts of Wroclaw, Plock, Plonskie and, partly, districts of Dzialdowo and Ciechanów.

The Death of Captain "Uskok"

Captain Zdzisław Broński, nom de guerre "Uskok" was one of the most active and least compromising commandants of the anti-communist partisan units in the province of Lublin. During 1944-47 his military unit carried out several famous missions against the Communist Regime in the districts of Lubartów and Lublin. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Armia Krajowa (Home Army) 5th and 6th Wilno Brigades: 1944-1952

The Home Army 5th Wilno Brigade [also known as the “Brigade of Death”] commanded by Maj. Zygmunt Szendzielarz nom de guerre “Lupaszka” was one of the most eminent Home Army partisan units active in the Home Army Vilnius Region. During the German occupation, it operated in particularly difficult conditions and had to fight Germans, as well as Soviet partisans, who were fighting the Home Army. The Brigade achieved considerable combat successes fighting the two enemies. Part 2

Hieronim Dekutowski

Hieronim Dekutowski was a commando (Pol. Cichociemny) during the German occupation of Poland in World War II, who defended the people of the Zamość region from repressions. As a commander of the Lublin-Puławy Inspectorate of the Kedyw AK [the Home Army’s Directorate for Diversion], he carried out 83 military operations. After the war, he was one of the most famous heroes of anti-Soviet guerrilla warfare, the best known and the most wanted by the NKVD [the Soviet secret police - (Народный комиссариат внутренних дел, Narodnyy komissariat vnutrennikh del, НКВД] and the UB (Urząd Bezpieczeństwa Public Security Office]

Narodowe Siły Zbrojne: An Outline

Although the Narodowe Siły Zbrojne (NSZ) (Eng. National Armed Forces) is one of the best-known paramilitary organizations of the WWII and post-war Polish Underground State, the general knowledge on this subject is exceptionally modest. Established in September 1942 as a merger of various organizations with their roots in their respective national political movements, the National Armed Forces (NSZ) never comprised a uniform structure. In March 1944, the National Armed Forces merged with the Home Army (AK) but interestingly, that merger only in actuality, encompassed part of the National Armed Forces’ divisions. Aside of the NSZ-AK (National Armed Forces – Home Army) there also existed a separate organization, using the same name – NSZ (National Armed Forces). However, as its political background was primarily coming from the pre-war National-Radical Camp, in order to distinguish it from NSZ-AK, that organization was called NSZ-ONR (National Armed Forces – National-Radical Camp). Therefore, after WWII and throughout the Communist occupation period, there coexisted 2 separate paramilitary organizations under the same name.

"The Home Army in the Vilnius Region after July 1944"

(Pol. "Armia Krajowa na Wileńszczyźnie po lipcu 1944") - The Vilnius (Wilno) Region was perhaps the only Polish region where the occupying forces changed five times. First, there was the Soviet occupation in accordance with the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact [23 August 1939]. Then, afterwards the USSR handed over a significant part of the former Vilnius Voivodeship to the Republic of Lithuania in October 1939, commencing the Lithuanian occupation period. After the USSR’s invasion of the Baltic States in mid-1940 the Soviets returned. On 22/23 June 1941, the Germans invaded the Vilnius Region. Three years later, at the beginning of July 1944, the Soviets resumed their occupation for a third time, which was also referred to as the “third Soviets”, and, as recognized by an international agreement, this was going to be final. However, not many Poles believed it was going to be the final situation. It was not until the outcome of the Yalta Conference were revealed, that the Poles’ beliefs of recovering the region were shattered. Part 2 ...

The Anti-Communist Resistance in the South-Eastern Borderlands

At the end of 1943 and the beginning of 1944, according to reports there were 30,000 soldiers of the Home Army, or Armia Krajowa, in the Southeastern Region III, including the eastern part of Lwow voivodeship, as well as Stanislawow and the Tarnopol voivodeships: 15,000 in Lwow Province, over 10,000 in the Tarnopol Province and 4,000 in Stanislawow Province. Between March and July 1944, poor weaponry of the Region was strengthened thanks to provisions from the Headquarters of the Home Army and the collection of 24 airdrops, which enabled the construction of 18-20 partisan companies just in the Lwow Province alone. As part of the alliance, the Home Army was joined by the units of NOW (Pol. Narodowa Organizacja Wojskowa - National Military Organization), the KN (Pol. Konfederacja Narodu - Confederation of the Nation), a part of the NSZ (Pol. Narodowe Sily Zbrojne - National Armed Forces), the BCh (Pol. Bataliony Chlopskie - Peasants' Battalions) and the SOB (Pol. Socjalistyczna Organizacja Bojowa - Socialist Combat Organisation). Part 2 ...

Home Army in the Nowogródek (Kresy Wschodnie - Eastern Borderlands) area after July 1944 - Armia Krajowa na Nowogródczyźnie po lipcu 1944

(Pol. "Armia Krajowa na Nowogrodczyznie po lipcu 1944") - The failure of the Operation ‚’Ostra Brama’, followed by the disarmament of the Armia Krajowa (Eng., Home Army, abbr. AK) units near Wilno, in July 1944, dealt a severe blow to the Nowogrodek District of the AK. During this period, nearly 6,000 soldiers from the Home Army District "Now" (code name of the Nowogrodek AK District) found their way into the area around Wilno, to take part in its liberation from the Germans. The great majority of men who were disarmed were transported to Kaluga (Russian: Калу́га). After refusing to give their military oath to the Soviets, were subsequently transported to punishment camps in the forests near Moscow.

Konspiracyjne Wojsko Polskie

(Eng., Polish Underground Army - abbr. KWP) was one of the most distinguished anti-Communist resistance organizations established after the formal disbandment of the Armia Krajowa (Eng. Home Army) on January 19, 1945. Its units were active in the Central and Western Poland, particularly in the kieleckie, łódzkie, śląskie, poznańskie voivodeships. Its creator, leader, and chief ideologist, was Captain Stanislaw Sojczynski, nom de guerre "Warszyc".

The Protection Unit of KG DSZ and I ZG Association WiN

In April 1945, Captain Jan Kosowicz, noms de guerre‚ “Ciborski”, “Janek”, “Capt. Jan Chmielewski", who directed the “long-range-intelligence” cell of the AK-DSZ (code-name "WW-72", later “Pralnia II” - Eng. “Laundromat II”) established the "The Protection Unit of the General Staff of the Delegation of the Polish Armed Forces at Home and the 1st Executive Office of the Association WiN" (Pol. Oddział Osłony KG DSZ na Kraj i I ZG Zrzeszenia WiN)

Freedom And Independence - Zrzeszenie Wolność i Niezawisłość WiN

By Dr. Janusz Kurtyka, Ph. D. - "A Historical Brief." The idea of establishing WiN appeared already in the Col. Rzepecki’s appeal to the DSZ soldiers in the forest on July 24, 1945. It was further refined during several meetings in Warsaw and Krakow between the 2nd, 6th, 12th and 15th of August 1945. It is during this period that the first draft of the ‘WiN’ political and ideological manifesto, authored by the Boleslaw Srocki, further refined by Col. Jan Rzepecki, was formulated. After the disbandment of the DSZ, and further consultations with underground cells, on September 2, 1945, in Warsaw, the Association "Wolnosc i Niezawislosc" [‘Freedom and Indepenence’, was formally established. The leadership of WiN consisted of Colonels Jan Rzepecki "Ożóg", "Ślusarczyk" (its Chairman), Tadeusz Jachimek "Ninka" (Secretary General), Antoni Sanojca "Skaleń" and Franciszek Niepokólczycki "Halny (a subsequent Chariman of the Area "South"), Jan Szczurek-Cergowski, , "Sławbor", "Mestwin" (Chairman of the Area "West"), Jozef Rybicki, "Maciej" (Chairman of the Area "Center"), Janusz Bokszczanin, , "Sęk" (a Deputy-Chairman, who shortly thereafter was sent to the West as an emissary) ...

Part 1 - Introduction

Part 2 - Informing International Public Opinion About Poland's Fate

Part 3 - Notable Members & Events

Part 4 - The Fight for Their Own Lives

VE Victory Day in Grajewo

May 9 day is universally recognized as the day of the victory over German Nazism and the end of the World War II. Yet, paradoxically, it was on this very day that the partisans from the Democratic Resistance units from Grajewo and Lomza, won their largest battle with the emerging forces of the Communist regime in Poland. On May 8 and 9th, 1945, two hundred-men from Jan Tabortowski, nom de guerre ‚’Bruzda’ unit took over the city of Grajewo and freed political prisoners held in Communist jails ...

The Destruction of the National Military Union Detachment of Adam Kusz, nom de guerre “Garbaty" (Hunchback) - August 19, 1950

At the beginning of 1950 there were hardly any partisan units of the Polish Independence underground still defying Soviet imposed Communist rule. Due to an amnesty announced by the Communist authorities in 1947, most conspirators came out of hiding. Only small groups of partisans who did not trust the authorities, or who took advantage of the amnesty but still found themselves to be the target of repressions, remained in the field.

The last battle of the 5th Wilno (Vilnius) Brigade. Conversation with Janina Wasiłojć-Smoleńska, nom de guerre "Jachna"

- When I met Janina Wosilojc for the first time in May 2007, I saw a petite, good-natured woman who was full of life. Had it undoubtedly not been for my incomplete and superficial knowledge of her past, that is the past of somebody who since 1942 was involved in the resistance, one would have never guessed that she had lived through being disarmed, and witnessed, and survived an execution of 80 soldiers under the command of Antoni Burzynski, nom de guerre "Kmicic" from the first larger partisan unit in the Wilno area by the Soviet partisans ...

The Battle of Miodusy Pokrzywne

Together with the Battle of Las Stocki (fought by the military group commanded by Major Marian Bernaciak nom de guerre ‚’Orlik’ and the Battle of Kuryłówka (fought by the joint forces of the Polish National Underground commanded by Major Franciszek Przysiężnia (nom(s) de guerre ‚’Marek’ ‚’Ojciec Jan’), was one of the three major battles fought by the anti-Communist resistance forces in post-war Poland. The battle was fought on August 18, 1945 by the 1st Squadron of the 5th Vilnius Brigade commanded by Lieutenant Zygmunt Błażejewicz (nom de guerre ‚’Zygmunt’) and the unit commanded by Second Lieutenant Władysław Łukasiuk (nom de guerre 'Młot') against the units of the NKVD (Rus. Narodnyy Komissariat Vnutrennikh Del; Eng. The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs), the UB (Pol. Urzad Bezpieczenstwa; Eng. Office of Security) and the LWP (Pol. Ludowe Wojsko Polskie; Eng. Polish Peoples’ Army), which were suppressing the area of Podlasie, East of Poland.

Communist Torture Methods - The Craft of Breaking A Man

An abridged list and description of 49 torture methods used by the Polish Secret Police - the MBP (Polish - Ministerstwo Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego, the UBP (Polish - Urzad Bezpieczenstwa Publicznego), the UB (Polish - Urzad Bezpieczenstwa), the SB (Polish - Służba Bezpieczeństwa , commonly known as Bezpieka) against the Polish Underground Soldiers.

I, a Home Army Soldier

(Pol. "Ja zolnierz Armii Krajowej") Stanislaw Marek Paczos, a Home Army Soldier didn’t fight German Nazi occupiers by holding weapons in his hands. He didn’t fire a single shot, nor did he kill any enemies. But, he fought the Germans effectively and successfully. Unfortunately, we cannot venture an easy measure of that, for Stanislaw Marek Paczos was a soldier on an invisible battlefield.

Urząd Bezpieczeństwa & Służba Bezpieczeństwa - Faces of the Polish Secret Police

For 45-years, the work in the Urząd Bezpieczeństwa [UB] and Służba Bezpieczeństwa [SB], was the most shameful profession in the entire apparatus of the Communist regime in Poland. This work was undertaken not only by those who were weak enough to succumb to the temptation of inflicting violence with impunity, but also by those insufficiently equipped to reject it, and those who without any scruples could partake in the murderous enterprise of crime. They were surrounded with preponderant fear, and also with a prevailing contempt - even from within the ranks of their protectors, and willing collaborators. For there aren't any more insulting words in the Polish language than those [used to refer to them] like 'ubek', 'bezpieka', or 'esbek'"

Who was Jozef Kuras "Ogień"?

("Ogien" translation "Fire") - was a code name used by the legendary Polish Armed Underground commander, Major Jozef Kuras.

Where did the Polish Secret Police, the "Bezpieka", bury the body of Major Jozef Kuras - "Ogien"?

An Investigative Report.

The Execution of "Inka" and "Zagończyk" Related by Father Marian Prusak

(pol. Egzekucja "Inki" i "Zagonczyka") Murders of Polish Underground Soldiers by Polish Security Police Apparatus.

The Augustow Roundup In July, 1945

(Pol. "Obława Augustowska w lipcu 1945.") During the course of the roundup, nearly 2,000 Polish nationals were detained by the Soviet NKVD, and Smersh units - 600 of those detained disappeared, never to be heard from again. The List of the Missing ...

The Little Katyn - The Uroczysko Baran Murders

(Pol. "Kąkolewnica - podlaski Katyń") The prison facilities were designated to be utility buildings, attics, basements, and holes dug in the ground. It has been established that from September 1944 to November 1945, Kakolewica housed between 2,500 and 3,000 prisoners. It is estimated, that between 1,300 to 1800 underground soldiers were executed there.

A Volunteer For Auschwitz

Cavalry Captain Witold Pilecki was murdered by the Communists in 1948. Pilecki volunteered to be captured by the Germans, in order to be sent to the infamous concentration camp in Auschwitz . His mission, was to report to the Polish Government in Exile and to the Western Allies, about the atrocities committed by the Germans at the camp.

Major Maciej Kalenkiewicz, "Kotwicz", And the Battle at Surkonty - August 21, 1944

Nicknamed by the NKVD, the ’Handless major’ ("besrukhii major"), Maciej Kalenkiewicz was one of the most distinguished officers in the ranks of the Polish Home Army. Kalenkiewicz was also, one of the first victims of organized mass terror, conducted by the Soviets against the Polish democratic underground, and Polish population at large.

Major Maciej Kalenkiewicz, "Kotwicz", And the Battle For Surkonty - Epilogue

[...] We arrived here from Poland, a land of 475 cemeteries of Russian soldiers. We buried them all with dignity and with compasion. We did that because death eases hurt; and because our faith dictates it. This cemetery will remain in the care of men and women who were always fateful to Poland, and let us hope, in the care of the hosts of this land. I ask you, our hosts, be humane to those whom we entrust into your care. May they rest in peace ...

The Raid of the “Tiger” Patrol (pol. “Rajd patrolu tygrysa")

A forgotten episode from the combat history of the 6th Wilno Brigade in the former East-Prussia (December 1946 - January 1947)

An Interview with Lt. Henryk Lewczuk, codenamed "Młot" (Eng. "Hammer"), commanding officer of the WiN Partisan unit of the Chelm WiN Inspectorate

Why was the WiN created? ‘The [political] system that was imposed upon us, was in contrary with our national identity. [...] We were dismayed by the methods used to implement it - the terror, the murders, the repression, that were used to enslave us [...], and was in contradiction with our oath[:] ‘Before God Almighty, and the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Crowned Princes of Poland, I lay my hand upon this Holy Cross, and swear to be faithful and to defend’

Operation "Avalanche", The UB Murder Without A Precedence

(pol. "Operacja Lawina") Annihilation of the NSZ Armed Underground Units Under Command of Henryk Flame, "Bartek". In order to capture and murder members of the largest concentration of anti-Communist underground units operating in the Slask Opolski and Podbeskidzie regions, in 1946, the UB (Pol. Urzad Bezpieczenstwa - Polish Internal Security Police) employed an ingenious "operational play" (Pol. "gra operacyjna"), code-named "Operation Avalanche" (Pol. "Operacja Lawina"). It relied not only on the introduction of its own agents (Pol. "agentura" - Polish secret police spy-speak for "network of agents") into the ranks of the leadership, and command structure of the democratic underground, but also on creating new, and completely fictitious organizations under its complete control.

Liquidation of the “Wiarusy” Partisan Unit by the Polish Secret Police (Bezpieka)

On June 27, 1949, commanding officer of the ‘Wiarusy’ unit, Stanislaw Ludzia, nom de guerre(s) ‘Dzielny’ and ‘Harnas’, awaited for the arrival of Lt. ‘Henryk’, a representative from the District Headquarters of ROAK (Pol. Ruch Oporu Armii Krajowej - ‘Resistance of the Home Army’) in Krakow. For several years, the partisans successfully managed to evade the Urzad Bezpieczenstwa forces, and survived in the forests, but with each passing day, their situation was becoming more, and more desperate ...

"The Forest Was My Only Safety" - An Interview with Mr. Andrzej Kiszka, A Home Army, NSZ, and WiN Soldier Who Evaded Polish Secret Police Until 1961

During the German occupation Andrzej risked his own life, and the lives of his entire family, by hiding Jews. After the death of his last commanding officer in 1950, for 11 years, Andrzej Kiszka hid from the Polish Secret Police apparatus.

Counterintelligence Operations of the Home Army (AK - Armia Krajowa ), And WiN (Wolnosc i Niezawislosc - Freedom And Independence) Against Secret Police Apparatus In Poland During 1945-1947

This study examines counterintelligence activities of the Home Army and WiN at the rural (Pol. gmina), county, Voivodeship, and the central command levels of the Communist regime, that is the MBP (Pol. Ministerstwo Bezpieczenstwa Publicznego - Ministry of Public Security), and the KG MO (Pol. Komenda Glowna Milicji Obywatelskiej - Central Command of the Peoples’ Militia).

Jozef J. Niedzwiecki, "Szary","Lawina" 1919-1989 - An Anatomy of Betrayal, The Stalin's Secret Order

On December 1st, 1943, near Niestorowicze, the leadership of the AK met with the Soviet Partisans at the request of Soviet General "Dubov". Upon arrival, the Poles were surrounded and disarmed. The officers were arrested and taken away. Some were flown to Moscow for trial, the others were never seen alive again. The Soviets then launched surprise attacks on the nearby Polish camps. When some of the Poles resisted, they were shot. Some were first beaten and tortured, their bodies found with ears and fingers cut off [...] A few days later Jozef Niedzwiecki's squadron captured members of the "Stalin brigade" after surrounding them. On one Russian officer, Niedzwiecki discovered a copy of the "secret order" detailing the planned betrayal. They now had proof of Stalin's intentions for the Polish Home Army.

National Armed Forces - A Historical Brief

It is difficult to consider the tragedy of heroism and betrayal without telegraphing a strong point of view on the subject. And so we come to NZS (Narodowe Sily Zbrojne; Eng. National Armed Forces), which tenaciously fought both the German and Communist Soviet forces during World War II in Poland. Both adversaries were more that eager to co-opt such people as they could find to support them, and the Soviets found many to support the puppet regime they installed after the war. These people, many part of the nascent UB (Urzad Bezpieczenstwa; Eng. Public Security; Polish Communist: secret police), had no qualms about assassination and torture, much less deception, slander and libel in suppressing genuine patriots ...

Part 1 - Introduction

Part 2 - Allies & Enemies of Poland

Part 3 - Who Occupied Poland?

Part 4 - Lies, Lies by Omission, And Obfuscations - The history likes to play jokes …

Part 5 - Living and surviving as a Polish partisan under German Nazi and Soviet Occupation

The Memoirs of "Scotsman"

Imagine a group of young boys between the ages of 16 and 23-years old who suddenly leave their family nests and find themselves in a diametrically different environment an hour later [...] Notably, the family of [National Armed Forces'] Captain ‘Bronisz’ hid Jews throughout the entire German occupation, and saved many of them. The same ‘anti-Semitic’ deeds have to also be attributed to the family of the individual writing this account, and to the families of our friends who lived in villages. For example, on his property in Stanislawow-Drupa, the grand-uncle of Captain Okninski, ‘Zych’ hid a Jew, Dr. Turski and his entire family, throughout the entire period of [German] occupation...

The Last Soldier of Sovereign Poland - Sergeant Jozef Franczak, nom de guerre “Lalek” (1918-1963)

It was an unforgettable year, this 1963: the president John F. Kennedy dies in Dallas, Valentina Tereshkova waves her hand to humanity from space to humiliate the ‘imperialists’, the Beatles record their ‘She Loves You’ single, and in Poland..? The ‘little stabilization’ is in a full swing, Roman Zambrowski is thrown out from the Central Committee of the Communist Party to signal that the ‘period of mistakes and [political] perversion’ is behind us. Oh, there is one more thing: Surrounded by the Communist security forces, dies the last Polish partisan, the 45-year old Jozef Fronczak, nom de guerre ‘Lalek’, who hid from the Communists regime for exactly 24 years ... Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

"Born In Prison"

The Communists inculcated a belief in her that her parents were criminals. - ‘I considered them criminals until the end of the 1980’s’. - recalls Magdalena Zarzycka-Redwan today, born in 1949 in an infamous Communist prison at the Lublin Castle. ‘Only after the collapse of Communism I started looking for people who remembered my parents and began to uncover the history of my family’ - she adds [...] - ‘It is horrible, but I was glad that I would go back to the orphanage. I did not feel any bond with my father’ - recalls Magdalena. - ‘Only in the National Children’s Home in Lublin did I realize that it was even worse than the orphanage run by the nuns. The supervisor would make other children bully me. They called me names, I had a nickname ‘partisan’. I was so ashamed of my parents then. I agreed to recite during school ceremonies: My parents were criminals. But I am young and I won’t follow in their footsteps’ - she adds.

	CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE TO TABLE OF CONTENTS PART 2

Joseph Batory and Jozef Bryk: Two Cursed Soldiers
		The stories of Jozef Batory and Jozef Bryk seemed destined to be buried and forgotten behind the Iron Curtain. They were only recently brought to light after 1990 when the country gained its freedom. Until that time, it wasn’t considered safe to circulate information and stories of soldiers from the Polish Home Army (Armia Krajowa) and WiN (Poland’s anti-communist Freedom and Independence Organization.) Batory and Bryk’s backgrounds and responsibilities during World War II were very different, but their tragic deaths united them. Both men sacrificed their lives in the fight for Poland’s freedom during and after the Second World War. Read this article
“They died, only because they were Polish,” exhibition about the NKVD killings of Polish people opens at the Sejm
		"They died only because they were Polish, and Bolshevism fought anything that represented Poland,” said IPN (Polish Institute of National Remembrance) Chairman Jarosław Szarek while opening the exhibition, which initiates an international conference “Polish Operation of the NKVD 1937-1938. The forgotten genocide.” Read this article
“We are trying to learn our tragic history. What happened to the man who shot “Inka” in the head?” asks Prof. Szwagrzyk
		“Today, we are trying to find out our tragic history, and explore the places where our heroic victims of the communist system were buried. We have this unique opportunity to give them a respectful burial they deserved, but never received,” Prof. Krzysztof Szwagrzyk told TV Trwam and Radio Maryja in the program “Rozmowy Niedokończone” (Unfinished Conversations). Prof. Szwagrzyk who serves as Deputy President of the Polish Institute of National Remembrance (“IPN”) and Dr. Jarosław Szarek referred to the state burials of Danuta Siedzikówna and Feliks Selmanowicz, codenamed “Inka” and “Zagończyk,” which are to be carried out on August 28, 2016. Read this article here ...
		Secret letters of Lt. Col. Łukasz Ciepliński from Rakowiecka Prison in Warsaw Between the end of November and beginning of December 1947, the communist secret police, the UB, arrested all leaders of the Polish anti-communist organization Freedom and Independence (WiN), including Lt. Col. Łukasz Ciepliński, nom de guerre "Pług". Read Col. Cieplinski's letters
		New Augustow Roundup Massacre Documents Found in Russia Historians from the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) found on the official web site of the Russian Ministry of Defense important documents describing the July 1945 roundup, selection and extermination process in the area of Augustow - reported the Bialystok branch of the IPN. The Augustow pacification operation is the biggest unsolved crime committed on the ethnic Poles after World War II. Read this story
		Remains of victims of communist terror found in Płock, Poland “The remains have been found disarranged, which suggests that the dead bodies were buried elsewhere and then transferred to this site at a later date,” says prof. Krzysztof Szwagrzyk. Other items such as fragments of shoes, spoons, etc., were also found. “All residents of Płock and neighboring areas know occupied the building during that time, as well as is ghastly history. Read more about the discovery in Płock
		The Crime and the Silence This book is a translation of articles written way back in 2000-2001 - with a few slightly more recent, all of which had previously been published in Bikont's 2004 Polish-language book, MY Z JEDWABNEGO. MAJOR FINDINGS OMITTED IN THIS BOOK This very old information has long been superceded, and even refuted, by more recent research. For instance, the following historian has assembled far more eyewitness data than either Jan T. Gross or Anna Bikont. It clearly shows that Jedwabne was a German crime, with Poles playing a subsidiary, mostly-compelled role. For details, click on, and read my detailed review of, The Massacre in Jedwabne, July 10, 1941: Before, During, After. Read the entire review
Poles, Jews and Germans – what was forgotten in the letter by Polish Institute of National Remembrance to Die Welt
		Considering the latest libel by Jan T. Gross, Vice President of IPN (Polish Institute of National Remembrance sent a letter to a German journal Die Welt. However, despite the general correctness of the letter, its comparative character, enforced by Gross’s lies, is rather alarming. Even more worrying is the fact that there are several extremely important facts missing in the IPN letter written to Germans and the international public. These are the facts that western media don’t know, pretend not to know or simply do not want to know. More about the IPN's Letter to the German Die Welt
70th anniversary of the Augustów Massacre - “They simply vanished without a trace”
		Teresa Kaczorowska, a journalist and writer, was a guest speaker at the Ronin Club in Warsaw on August 17, 2015. She is the author of many books, including Dzieci Katynia (The Katyn Children) and Obława Augustówska (The Augustów Mass Murder), the latter being the theme of her presentation hosted by Marcin Wolski. Actress Ewa Małachowska was invited to read out an extract from the book. Wolski reminded the audience that the Augustów Mass Murder - a horrific communist crime committed in July of 1945 on the Polish civilian population - was treated as a taboo and deliberately concealed by the government of the Communist Polish People’s Republic (PRL). First information about the crime began emerging only in 1980s, but to this day it is widely unheard of, and remains a blank spot in our history. More about Augustow Roundup Anniversary
A Huge Lie Revealed! The Truth about the Kielce Pogrom Comes to Light
		Written by: Maciej Dębski Translated by: Laszló Hoffman Proof read by: Jan Czarniecki In the world, Poland is often regarded as a cemetery-country where Jews met their doom. The idea of “Polish concentration camps” is still in use and enjoys moderate popularity. And even if somebody reasonably counters that, after all, it was the Germans who created the Holocaust and murdered most of the Central European Jewish population, using Poland as the location for their concentration camps solely for logistical reasons, someone immediately pops up to mention Jedwabne and the Kielce pogroms. Both of these massacres did indeed take place, albeit in a manner quite different from how they were represented around the world. Read about the "Kielce Pogrom"
Review of "Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning", by Timothy Snyder. 2015
		The informed reader, familiar with Holocaust-related works, will quickly notice that much of what Snyder discusses has already been said before by other authors, and even by Snyder in his earlier books. I generally focus on the new content. There are also many flaws in this book (whence my three-star rating), and I later discuss a few of them. Towards the end of his book, Snyder goes on a rather imaginative excursion, attempting to relate Nazi-style thinking to modern events. His ideas come across as a thinly-veiled attempt to promote an agenda - including his understanding of global warming and gay rights. Read the Review
		Polish victims of ‘IDA’ Heroine speak up When in 1999 I was in Oxford, they did not let me into their home. They lived in an affluent Victorian town house overlooking the beautiful, verdant district in this academic city. Their neighbors thought of them as staid retirees who came here from Poland in the early seventies. Here, they were the respected Mister and Madam professors. He, Wlodzimierz Brus, was an economics professor, who also taught Russian and Central European philology at Wolfson and St. Anthony's College. His wife, Helena Wolinska-Brus, was a frequent participant in the academic symposia, but, even more so, she was an ardent socialite. Seven decades after her crimes, this bloody Stalinist prosecutor became the inspiration for Pawel Pawlikowski, and a heroine of his Oscar winning motion picture "Ida," which is gaining acclaim around the world. More here
		Doomed Soldiers Vilified by Russia Again The Institute of National Remembrance responds to Moscow propagandists: "Russia is just like the Soviet Union" Prof. Andrei Artizov, the head of Russia's state archives agency (Rosarchiv), accused the "Doomed Soldiers", Polish anti-communist underground resistance members of collaborating with German Nazis. In response, Łukasz Kamiński, the President of the Institute of National Remembrance has issued a strong statement. “The modern Russia increasingly reaches out to the legacy of Stalinist Soviet Union,” he wrote. Read More here

Doomed Soldiers: Between Two Enemies ...
		Left: "Ilustrowany Kuryer Codzienny" [Eng. "Illustrated Daily Courier", Krakow, Wednesday, September 27, 1939, Nr. 257. Excerpts Below: "'Warsaw Capitulates', 'Ribbentrop in Moscow Again' More evidence of German-Russian collaboration. Berlin, 27th September [1939]. On the invitation of the Soviet government, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the III Reich, von Ribbentrop, travels to Moscow to discuss political issues related to the [joint military] campaign against Poland. Moscow, 27th September [1939]. At 8 PM, local time, the Russian media announced that on Tuesday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the III Reich, would be arriving in Moscow on invitation of the Soviet Government; this announcement was rebroadcast at 11:30 [PM]. It caused consternation in foreign diplomatic circles. Another visit of the German Minister of Foreign Affairs [to Soviet Russia] is evidence of an unwavering German-Soviet cooperation, whose foundations will shape the future of Eastern-Europe […] Traveling via 'Condor'-make, 'Grenzmark' aircraft, the Reich’s Minister of Foreign Affairs is on his way to Moscow.
Berlin, 27th September. At 9 AM, on Wednesday, on invitation of the Soviet government in Moscow, and accompanied by the Ambassador of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in Berlin, Aleksandr Sekhvarov, and the Legislative Secretary of the Soviet Embassy, Pavlov, Minister of Foreign Affairs, von Ribbentrop, flew [to Russia] from Tempelhof Airport. The Minister of Foreign Affairs is accompanied by the Undersecretary Gaus, the Legislative Aid Schnurre Henke Kordt, the Deputy Chief of Diplomatic Protocol, Haienn, as well members of his personal staff. The Soviet Military Attaché Belyakoff, and other embassy officials bid farewell to those departing from Tempelhof […] The Russians Report Capturing 30,000 Polish Soldiers. Moscow, 27th September. Moscow’s radio broadcasted military announcement of the General Staff of the Red Army about its [military] activities in Poland: Units of the Red Army are still continuing to move towards the line of demarcation, and deployed its forces in Osowiec, Chełm, Zamość, Rawa Ruska, Sambor, and Turek. During the liquidation of the remnants of the Polish army in the occupied territory, 30,000 [Polish] soldiers were taken prisoner, among them, 25,000 in the area of Brześć [eng. Brest-Litovsk] near the Bug River. The Russian march towards the demarcation line continues. Moscow, 27th September. The Russian General Staff announced the following communiqué about its operations in Poland on the 25th of September: During its march towards the demarcation line, on September 25th, units of the Red Army occupied the cities of Suwałki and Goniądz, as well as the line along Suwałki-Goniądz-Surach-Janów (30 km South-West of Brześć Litewski); Opalin-Dubienka (both cities located near the Bug [river], 24-30 km South-West, or South-East of Chełm), Komarów- Ławsik (15 km South-East of Rawa Ruska); Podgąciki (25 km North-West of Sambor); Uniatycze (10 km North-West of Drohobycz; Rybnik (40 km South of Stryj); Kossijów, 50 km South-West of Stryj). In the Western part [of then Polish territory, now] Belarus, and Western [then Polish territories in] Ukraine, military operations to clean up the remnants of Polish military units continues. [Photo Caption]: The Russian-German Parade in Brześć, n. [abr. near] Bug [river] In celebration of clearing [the Polish forces] in and around the demarcation line, a military parade of German and Red Army units was received by the commanding General of the German forces [General Heinz Guderian] and representing the Red Army units, Brigadier-General [Semyon] Krivoshein. The parade took place in front of the former district capital building. Photo above: [Russian & German commanding officers] receive the parade. Photo below: Armored vehicle of the Red Army, in front; left, German motorized infantry.. Berlin, 27th September. General Staff of the German Army announces: Our units are approaching the demarcation line established with the Soviet government. Yesterday, dispersed by the German Army and advancing units of the Russian Army, units of the 41st Polish Division and 1-st Cavalry Brigade were taken into captivity ..." More about Soviet-German Invasion of Poland in 1939 Here ...

11 September, 2009: Members of the Polish Anti-Communist Resistance posthumously promoted and decorated by the President of Poland, Lech Kaczynski:
Above: August 1944, Captain Stanislaw Sojczynski (1910-1947), nom de guerre "Warszyc", "Zbigniew", commanding officer of the 27th Infantry Battalion of Home Army, murdered by the Communist regime in 1947. Posthumously promoted to the rank of Brigadier General by the President of Poland, Lech Kaczynski.		Above: Major Marian Bernaciak (1917-1946), nom de guerre "Orlik", commanding officer of the concentration of partisan units of WiN (Wolnosc i Niezawislosc - Freedom & Independence) of the Inspectorate "Pulawy". Posthumously awarded one of Poland's highest decorations, the Grand Cross of Polonia Restituta.

65 Years Ago, August 28, 1946, at 6:15 A.M., two Armia Krajowa (Eng., Home Army; Polish Patriot: military) Soldiers from the Major "Lupaszka" unit - "Inka", Danuta Siedzikowna; and "Zagonczyk", Feliks Selmanowicz - were executed by the UB (Urzad Bezpieczenstwa; Eng., Public Security; Polish Communist: secret police)

"I am sad that I have to die. Tell my grandma that I conducted myself with dignity". - These were the farewell words of the seventeen-years-old medic Danuta Siedzikowna, nom de guerre 'Inka', who along with Feliks Selmanowicz, nom de guerre 'Zagonczyk', was murdered 65 years ago, by the Urzad Bezpieczenstwa. This brief message was sent secretly to her sisters Halina, and Jadwiga. To this day, their families have not been able to locate where "Inka" and "Zagonczyk" were buried. Their death sentences were not only a "Morderstwo Sadowe" (Eng., "Court Sanctioned Murder"), but also, an act of revenge against Major "Lupaszka's" unit, of which both were soldiers. Major "Lupaszka's" unit, was particularly hated by the Gdansk's WUBP (Wojewódzki Urzad Bezpieczenstwa Publicznego - Eng., Voivode Office of Public Security; Polish Communist: government police ministry), as it effectively frustrated its efforts to, unopposed, reign terror upon the defenseless population in the region. Major "Lupaszka's" unit conducted many daring, and successful operations against the UB, among them, their well known raid throughout the Starogard, and Koscierzyn counties on May 19, 1946.

During this operation, "Lupaszka's" unit took over, and disarmed several MO (Milicja Obywatelska; Eng., Citizen's Militia/People's Militia; Polish Communist: police), and UB offices, and liquidated the Soviet "adviser" at the Koscierzyn's County Office of UB. It also liquidated one of the most despised, local Communist snitches in the area. Even though, "Inka" and "Zagonczyk" were lead before the firing squad, they were both killed with a single shot to the head. None of the members of the KBW (Korpus Bezpieczenstwa Publicznego - Eng., Internal Security Corps; Polish Communist: secret police) firing squad wanted to kill them, and they all "missed" - even though they stood only few paces away from the condemned. The conduct of the execution is well documented, through the detailed accounts of witnesses, among them, Rev. Marian Prusak ("Inka's confessor before the execution), and at the time, deputy warden of the jail in Gdansk, where the execution took place. According to those testimonies, before the firing squad fired, "Inka" shouted "Niech zyje Polska!" (Eng., "Long live Poland"), and after the salvo of the firing squad "missed", she shouted "Niech zyje Major 'Lupaszka'" (Eng., "Long live Major 'Lupaszka'!") After that a single shot to the head, ended her life. The place of burial of these two victims of Communist terror, like countless others, is unknown. Today, two symbolic graves have been erected at the Garrison's cemetery at the Gieluga Street, near the jail, in Gdansk - a presumed place of their burial. A commemorative plaque in "Inka's" memory has been placed in the basilica of the Holy Mother in Gdansk. A small obelisk has also been erected, near the Armia Krajowa Soldiers monument in Sopot. Because of the symbolism of the persecution by the NKVD, the Gestapo, and the UB, there has been renewed interest in the young medic, who until the end remained faithful to the Armia Krajowa oath. On November 30, 2001, the Sopot City Council decided to name the park at Armia Krajowa Street, "The Medic 'Inka's' Park". A TV series, entitled "Inka, 1946 - I will not perish" had also been aired. On the initiative of the Foundation "Pamietamy" (Eng., "We Remember"), on 27 August, 2006, in the Narewka (near "Inka's" birth place), a monument dedicated to her memory was erected. In 1991, the District Court in Gdansk issued an opinion, that activities of "Inka", and those of her compatriots from the V Wilno Brigade of the Armia Krajowa, were conducted in order to restore the sovereign existence of the Polish Nation.

To read biographies of "Inka" and "Zagonczyk", as well as the Rev. Prusak's account of their execution, please click here!

		Top Left: two symbolic graves erected in the Garrison’s cemetery at the Gieluga Street, in Gdansk – a presumed place of "Inka" and "Zagonczyk's" burial. Below left: “The Medic ‘Inka’s’ Park” on Home Army Street. Above: "Inka's" Monument in Narewka - a small community, near Danuta Siedzikow's place of birth. Gloria Victis!