Partisan Unit "Błyskawica" [Eng. "Ligthning"] Under Command of Major Józef Kuraś, nom de guerre "Ogień"

Left: Józef Kuraś nom de guerre "Orzeł" [tr. "Eagle"] was a pre-war graduate of the junior officers’ school of the Border Security Corps [acr. KOP – Korpus Ochrony Pogranicza] and a participant of the September Campaign of 1939, serving in the 1st Podhale Rifle Regiment. In the Armed Struggle Association – Home Army conspiracy [Pol. Abbr. ZWZ-AK] from November 1939. In 1940, he joined the Tatra Confederacy and from autumn that year onwards operated in the resistance movement as a commander of one of the Tatra Confederacy combat units. On the June 29, 1943, the Germans shot his wife, their 2-1/2 year-old son Zbyszek and his 73-year-old father, after which they burnt the family home. As a result of these tragic events, the "Eagle" changed his nom de guerre to ‘Fire’ [pol. "Ogień"] and used it until his death on Feb 21, 1947. In July 1943, after the Nazi Gestapo had broken down the Tatra Confederacy, "Ogien" subordinated to the Home Army [acr. AK]. On December 28, 1943, his unit was partly destroyed by the Germans and some of his superiors blamed him for it. This is probably the main reason why the Home Army decided to issue him with a death sentence.

On the 1st of August 1944, he was informed by the Regional Headquarters of the Home Army that the investigation against him had been waived, however, he never returned to the Home Army again. In May 1944, "Ogien" and some of his soldiers subordinated to the underground Peasants’ Party, known as "Roch", where his unit was incorporated into the Peoples’ Security Guard as its Special Forces’ Unit. Subsequently, "Ogien" was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant of the Peasants’ Battalions (abr. BCh - Bataliony Chłopskie). At the turn of 1944/45, on request of the Peasant Party "Roch" and in the town of Nowy Targ, he teamed up with a People’s Army [Pol. Armia Ludowa] Unit called "For a Free Fatherland", under the command of Izaak Gutman, nom de guerre "Zygfryd". He carried out many successful combat actions against the Germans.

Left: Summer 1946, near the village Kiczora. Józef Kuraś, nom de guerre "Ogień" with his wife, Czesława [née Polańczyk] Once the Podhale region was under the Red Army’s occupation, "Ogień" started building security structures, following orders given by the Peasant Party "Roch". He went to the city of Lublin and Warsaw and, using false guarantees of the Peoples’ Army officers (from the Gutman military unit), he attained a referral to assume the post of Chief of the County Office for Public Security [PUBP - Powiatowy Urząd Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego] for the district of Nowy Targ. He took the post officially in March 1945, however, threatened with arrest only three weeks later on the 12th of April 1945, he made a decision of going back to the forests. Subsequently, with 17 of his subordinates from the PUBP, he created a Partisan Unit called "Lightning" [Pol. "Błyskawica"]. Boguslaw Szokalski nom de guerre ‘Herkules’ (Lieutenant Ogien’s adiutant), recalled how they hiked the mountain of Turbacz one day and there the Lieutenant gave a short speech in which he said: "We have to start this battle anew and from now on and we will fight for a Poland without the Communists". Then he took an oath from the gathered soldiers. The headcount of the unit increased rapidly; at its peak at the turn of 1945/46, the group consisted of about 500 well-equipped soldiers, residing permanently in the forests and several times more collaborates in the field. In 1945 and in the beginning of 1946, "Ogiens’" ‘soldiers were very effective in paralysing the operations of ‘the People’s authority’ in the region of Podhale.

Only a few days after establishing the unit, on 17th April 1945, "Ogiens’" partisans destroyed the PUBP in the town of Nowy Targ. The group carried out many successful combat actions. There were several successful encounters with the NKVD [rus. НКВД - Народный комиссариат внутренних дел Narodnyy komissariat vnutrennikh del - Soviet secret police) (, the Polish Secret Police [acr. UB] and the Internal Security Corps [acr. KBW – Korpus Bezpieczenstwa Wewnetrznego] military units.

Left: Soldiers of the "Ogien", unit "Jastrzab" [tr. ‘Hawk’]. Standing from left to right: NN [Pol. abr. Unknown & Unidentified] "Sosna", NN "Jastrzab", NN "Leniwy" and NN "Wicher". Sitting down: NN "Wilk". The strength and charisma of "Ogień" may be proven by the fact that he got married to Czeslawa Polaczyk in broad daylight on the 21st of April 1946 in a church in the town of Ostrowsko. The ceremony was protected by a 200-man partisan unit. The wedding with a traditional highlander music band, took place the following day in the village of Waksmundzka Gora and the Polish Secret Police units didn’t dare to come near and attack....

"Ogień'" units were actively functioning in almost the entire province of Krakow - from the Polish-Slovak border in the south, up to the cities of Krakow and Miechow in the north. ‘"Ogień" had widespread support in the Podhale region and all local Polish Workers’ Party [acr. PPR - Polska Partia Robotnicza] units were forced to re-descend to a conspiratorial underground position. In order to destroy "Ogień's" military group, the Polish Secret Police used the strategy of terror against all the inhabitants of the Podhale region. Every single act of collaboration with the partisans would mean severe repercussions to the populace. Apart from that, the UB planted a couple of agents into "Ogień's" units. From the autumn of 1946 "Ogień's" partisans were constantly being chased. The end came on the 21st of Feb 1947 in the village of Ostrowsko. "Ogień" and his guard were surrounded by a tactical group of the KBW. Desperately trying to avoid arrest, he attempted to commit suicide and died the next day in a hospital in Nowy Targ. Amongst those who managed to flee was Stanisław Ludzia, nom de guerre "Harnaś", who had outed himself during the April 1944 amnesty, but who was threatened with arrest in June 1947 and rejoined the underground conspiracy leading the "Wiarusy" Unit. Arrested by the UB on July 16, 1949, "Harnaś" was sentenced to death and was murdered at the Montelupich Str. Prison in Krakow.

Above: Soldiers from the 2nd Company of " "Ogień's" unit, commanded by Corporal Jerzy Laurman "Abus"(kneeling in the middle) - 1946.

No units under the command of "Ogień" were incorporated into any large post-war underground conspiratorial organisation 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 conpiratorial formation.

Above: Headquarters Security Unit of Major Józef Kuraś's "Blyskawica" ("Lightning") partisan unit. Summer, 1946.

At the turn of 1946/47, the underground Regional Board of the National Party in Krakow tried to convince him to move his operations to the Western Territories (in those regions, the conspiratorial operations’ groups had already been deactivated) to protect the group from the Polish secret police. However, setting up new bases in an unknown area would require vast sums of money, which at the time were not available. The death of Ogień", was followed by an amnesty that resulted in 510 of his soldiers and associates outing themselves, but it certainly was not the end of the unit. Some of his former soldiers (threatened with arrest) soon rejoined those who had remained underground. Various units and platoons stemming from this unit were still independently functioning for a few years afterwards, leading an uncompromising battle against the Communist apparatus of terror...

Translated by Magdalena Homa

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Recommened Further Reading:

- Biography of Major Jozef Kuras, nom de guerre "Ogien"

- Where Is Buried Major Jozef Kuras, nom de guerre "Ogien"

- "Wiarusy" Partisan Unit - The Firefight at the Polish secret police headquarters