Cursed Soldiers Day

March 1 – The National Day of Remembrance of the “Cursed Soldiers”, which is celebrated since three years in honor of the war conspirators. Commemorates those who after World War II, fought for the right to self-determination of Polish society, offering resistance to Polish Sovietization and subordination of the country to the Soviet Union.

Under the name “Cursed Soldiers ” there are many thousands of people affiliated to various organizations such as the National Armed Forces after 1944, the Freedom and Independence of the Citizen Army.

Exactly on March 1 in 1951 leaders of the Freedom and Independence podpolkovnik Łukasz Ciepliński, Major Adam Lazarowicz, lieutenant Joseph Rzepka, captain. Franciszek Błażej, lieutenant Józef Batory, Charles Hops and Major Mieczyslaw Kawaleczginęli have been shot in the head in a Warsaw Rakowieckiej prison.

Already in 1943, in connection with the German disaster on the Eastern Front of the command AK began to create the structure in case of occupation by the Soviet Union. An organization started to exist which is NOT linking civilian and military structures designed to self-defense and maintaining the morale of the Polish society in anticipation of a war between the West and the Soviet Union.

This organization, however, was considerably weakened as a result of the “Storm” and the Warsaw Uprising, a further blow to the arrest of the two most important people in the conspiracy: brigadier general Emil Fieldorf and brigadier general Leopold Okulicki. On May 7, 1945, NOT was dissolved a new organization was called, the Delegation of the Armed Forces in the country, which lasted several months and was replaced by the Resistance without War and Diversions “Freedom and Independence”.

NKVD and its secret police fought with the underground independence insidious methods, already in 1945 after the arrest of John Mazurkiewicz  codename “Radosław” created so-called Central Commission for Liquidation AK. “Radosław” asked the AK-men with an appeal to the disclosure and use of the amnesty.

It was, however, a double deception – not quite the promised “grace”, even though Army soldiers have committed crimes against the nation, security police officers  still had secret instructions to reveal the AK-men after their records “and isolate intern.” About 50 thousand underground soldiers have exposed in 1945. Tactic was repeated also in the amnesty of 1947, then 76 774 people exposed. Collected in the course of hearings knowledge was used for subsequent crackdown on disclosures and reached out to those still engaged in fighting.

Perfidious promises, threats and torture, secret police were the main weapon in the fight against anti-communist underground command. The first Board WiN was captured when MBP Investigation Department chief Joseph Rozanski promised to arrest the messenger Emilia Malessie, and said that nothing will happen to anyone. Courier immediately attempted to meet the demanding intervention of the contract and the release of its soldiers discovered underground, but did not bring any effect.

In 1949, in an act of protest and despair she committed a suicide. Arrested CEO and Board WiN John Rzepecki, despite he criticized John Mazurkiewicz, trusted investigators guarantees of MBP about not repressing and  revealed all his colleagues and called for disclosure to other members of WiN.

Also, the head of the fourth Board WiN Ciepliński Lieutenant Colonel Luke was forced by tortures and promises to expose colleagues. After the liquidation of the fourth Board UB created in the framework of operation Cezary fictional V Board WiN, whose main goal was misinforming Western intelligence.

In total, according to professor John Żaryna more than 20,000 soldiers died or were murdered treacherously or were prisoned in NKVD and an UB agent, some were sent to the East, and many were sentenced to terms of imprisonment. In the late 40’s and early 50’s, more than 250 thousand people were imprisoned and detained in labor camps.

Source: http://pl.delfi.lt/kultura/kultura/dzien-zolnierzy-wykletych.d?id=60807173

Tłumaczenie Katarzyna Dąbrowska w ramach praktyk w Europejskiej Fundacji Praw Człowieka, www.efhr.eu. Translated by Katarzyna Dąbrowska the framework of a traineeship programme of the European Foundation of Human Rights, www.efhr.eu.