Three Polish Scouts
Famous Photo From the 1944 Warsaw Uprising
Hi Everyone,
I do apologise I am not posting as frequently as usual and unfortunately I think my posts are going to be short and sharp for a while yet. Its come to the pointy end of my PhD and the pressure is on, so time is currently being diverted to that.
If I haven’t mentioned it before, my research is on Intergenerational Trauma in Poland following WWII. Once it is finished, I do hope to be able to post about some of the results on Substack. That will be a glorious day as it will mean the torture, sorry, I mean the thesis is over and I can get back to a sense of sanity again :-)
We got results back for the third study last week and are beginning to analyse results. They look interesting so far.
Have a great week.
Damien
I received an email during the week from a lady who had read one of the blogs on the Poland at War Tours website (Poland At War Tours) and wanted to know more about the three boys in the above photograph. I’ve added the link to the blog below that was written by my good friend Matthew Baxter.
Men & Women of the Polish Resistance
The main reason I am sharing this today is because in doing some research on the boys in the photo on Saturday, I learnt that one of them Kazimierz "Łuk" Gabara, the boy in the middle, shares the same birthday as me, which was yesterday 23 February. Isn’t it amazing when you are passionate about something and the universe keeps throwing amazing coincidences at you over and over, seemingly wanting to provide further evidence for why you are so passionate about the subject.
All three boys were from the “Szare Szeregi”, or in English, the “Grey Ranks”. The boys and girls of the Grey Ranks were members of the Polish Scouting Movement that became a paramilitary organisation during WWII. The Grey Ranks officially formed on 27 September 1939, before the eventual capitulation of the Polish Army in early October 1939, and fought as part of the Polish Resistance and Underground State until 18 January 1944 when they were officially released from their oath.
The Polish Scouting Movement was set up in 1916, and remember at this time, Poland was not yet a country, not gaining independence again until 11 November 1918. The Scouting Movement was not just an organisation to teach Polish youth skills that would assist them in life, but to teach Polish youth how to fight for independence. An extremely famous Pole who got his start in the Scouts was Legendary Witold Pilecki!
Generally, the Polish Home Army (AK: Armia Krajowa) did not want underage kids fighting as part of regular units, not until they had come of age anyway. However, the boys and girls of the Grey Ranks assisted as couriers and in acts of sabotage such as painting anti German graffiti around Polish cities aimed at taunting the Germans as well as knifing tyres on German vehicles and the like. Those who were a little older, 19, 20, 21, could take up arms and engage in more regular military operations. In the Polish Military cemetery, in the section dedicated to the Grey Ranks, you see the ages of those lost in this tender age range of 19, 20, and 21.
The most famous of the Grey Ranks battalions to have fought in the 1944 Warsaw Uprising were the "Baszta", "Zośka", "Parasol" and "Wigry" Battalions. I’ll write more about the Grey Ranks and their functions more in a later post.
Amazingly, all three of the boys survived WWII. Let me introduce them all to you a little more.
Tadeusz "Maszynka" Rajszczak - (15.01.1929 - 26.03.1996)
Tadeusz’s Pseudonym in English means “Machine”. According to the Warsaw Rising Museum and archive he was a “gunman” and was part of the "Radosław" group - "Miotła" battalion - "Torpedy" platoon - volunteer, joined the unit on August 6 in Wola. After disbanding the "Miotła" battalion, still in the "Torpedy" platoon in the "Czata 49" battalion.
During the Warsaw Uprising, he fought in Wola, the cities underground sewer system that the Poles refer to as “canals”, City Centre South and City Centre North. After the capitulation on 3 October 1944, he left Warsaw among the civilian population which was sent to concentration camps in the southern Warsaw suburb of Pruszkow.
Amazingly, Tadeusz and his sister Mirosława were awarded Righteous Among the Nations in 1978. This puts Tadeusz in the echelons of legendary hero.
Kazimierz "Łuk" Gabara - (23.02.1927 - 23.03.2022)
Kazimierz’s Pseudonym in English means “bow”. According to the Warsaw Rising Museum and archive, he was a senior rifleman and was part of the "Radosław" group - "Miotła" battalion - "Torpedy" platoon. Since the disbandment of "Miotła" - "Czata 49" battalion - "Torpedy" platoon.
During the Warsaw Uprising, he fought in Wola, Old Town, the canals, City Center and Upper Czerniakow. After the capitulation he was captured and spent time in Stalag XB Sandbostel.
Mieczysław "Pestka" Lach - (25.09.1926 - 12.11.1993)
Mieczysław pseudonym in English means “stone”. According to the Warsaw Rising Museum and archive, he was also a gunman and was part of the "Radosław" group, "Miotła" battalion, "Torpedy" platoon until 3.09.1944, then in the "Mały" platoon (sapper unit), from 8.09.1944 under the command of 2nd Lt. "Sarmak".
During the Warsaw Uprising, he fought in Wola, Old Town, canals, City Center, Upper Czerniaków, canals and Mokotów. After the capitulation he was captured and also spent time in Stalag XB Sandbostel.
Below is a photo of the “Little Insurgent” statue, dedicated to the Polish children who fought, and died fighting, for their country during the Warsaw Uprising. The statue is not meant to be a celebration, but a reminder of the awful nature of war. For these young men and women, they were fighting for their freedom from a brutal occupation by the Germans and to claim Poland as their own after the Russians pushed the Germans all the way back to Berlin.
We should never forget their sacrifice.
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It’s very interesting! Thank you for article😊. And good luck with your research ✨
So informative! Thank you for this.