Warsaw Uprising 1944: October 6 The Aftermath

After the Poles had evacuated Warsaw the Germans in defiance of the terms of the capitulation agreement, began a wholesale destruction of the city. German Command dispatched special teams of German engineers dispersed throughout Warsaw, setting fires, and systematically destroyed buildings. Demolition squads of flamethrowers and explosive experts set about their task to obliterate the very existence of Warsaw, building by building, block by block. Nothing was overlooked - historical monuments, the Polish national archives, libraries and museums and their priceless manuscripts and collections, palaces - the very cultural heritage of a people was blasted into oblivion, gone forever. Nothing was left to show that there used to be a great cosmopolitan city here - but just a pile of rubble and ashes. According to the Germans, the area was slated to become a military transit station.




Warsaw 1944: A Necropolis (00:04:15m)

Meanwhile, Stalin's Red Army remained poised across the banks of the Vistula River observing the macabre destruction being carried out. In the rest of Poland, Soviet NKVD agents were hunting down Polish insurgents and executing them; many other Poles were deported to Russian gulags.

At the end of German operation, Warsaw's public losses were estimated as follows:

10,455 Buildings
923 Historical Buildings (94% of Warsaw)

25 Churches
Monuments

14 Libraries

The National Library
81 elementary schools 
64 high schools
Warsaw University 
Polytechnic

Over 516,000 individual pieces of art were looted by German armies including 2,800 paintings by European painters,11,000 paintings by Polish painters, 1,400 sculptures, 75,000 manuscripts, 25,000 maps, 90,000 books of which 20,000 were printed before the year 1800, and hundreds of thousands of other invaluable artistic and historical artifacts. Among the many priceless paintings destroyed was the painting of "Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist and St. Stanislaw" painted by Palma il Giovane.  The painting was once looted by Napoleon but returned to Warsaw in the 1820s.  

The exact amount of losses to private and public property, including cultural and scientific artifacts was quite considerable. It was not until the late 1940s that efforts were made to estimate the total value of damages - it came to US$30 billion. (In 2004, the President of Warsaw and subsequently President of Poland, appointed an historical commission to review the evaluation and estimated losses to have been at least US$31.5 billion, however these estimates were increased in to $45 billion in 2004 and to $54.6 billion in 2005.)

The Warsaw Uprising was the most tragic battle of World War II. Over 18,000 Polish insurgents were killed or missing in action, over 5,000 wounded, 15,000 sent to POW camps. (However other sources mention that 60,000 AK soldiers were killed during the Uprising.)
Over 200,000 Polish civilians died in the 63 days of battle, and about 700,000 were expelled from Warsaw, and 55,000 sent to concentration camps, including 13,000 to Auschwitz.  About 3,400 insurgents chose to go underground and continue to fight. Berling's Polish Army suffered 5,660 casualties KIA, MIA, or WIA. 

German casualties were about 10,000 KIA, 7,000 MIA, and 9,000 WIA.  Up to 2,000 Germans were captured and taken prisoners by the Polish insurgents. German material losses were: three airplanes (two outside Warsaw in Kampinos forest ), 310 tanks, self-propelled artillery, armored cars, 4 rocket launchers, 22 artillery pieces (caliber 75mm), and 340 trucks and cars.

By January 1945 about 85% of the buildings had been destroyed: 10% damages were sustained as a result of the September 1939 campaign and other combat; 15% during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (which had taken place in April 1943); 25% during the Uprising, and 35% due to systematic German actions after the Uprising.  

General Dwight Eisenhower, Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe, visited Warsaw in 1945 and was so moved by the scene of utter destruction that he stated, “I have seen many towns destroyed, but nowhere have I been faced with such destruction.”

Poland had lost a staggering 38 per cent of its national assets whereas France and Britain lost only 1.5 % and 0.8% respectively.  Moreover,  Poland lost vast regions of their country including two great cultural centers of Wilno and Lwow. 

Despite the so-called "liberation" of Poland by Soviet troops on January 17, 1945, Poland, the 4th largest Ally, had really lost the war, betrayed by Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union.

ROYAL CASTLE DESTROYED (above photo & aerial view)

Warsaw 1944:  A Death Sentence

Warsaw Uprising 1944: October 3 General Bor's Farewell Address to Soldiers of Fighting Warsaw

Polish Command conducted final briefings for officers and assemblies for soldiers today. A farewell order was read aloud to the troops by General Antoni Chrusciel "Monter", the Home Army Warsaw Corps Commander. Office matters were concluded and distinctions and promotions conferred. Sources indicate that Polish Command has entrusted a few of their soldiers with the task of concealing an undisclosed number of armaments as well as important documents.

General Tadeusz Komorowski "Bor" Commander of the Polish Armed Forces delivered an address to his soldiers for the last time. His farewell message was poignant yet unwaveringly optimistic for a future independent Polish State. Here is his message translated into English.


Soldiers of Fighting Warsaw! The heroic deeds of Polish soldiers which constitute two months of fighting in Warsaw are proofs, however full of horror, of our desire for freedom — our strongest desire. Our battle in the capital, in the face of death and destruction, stands in the forefront of famous deeds of Polish soldiers during this war. They will be a lasting memorial to our spirit and love of freedom. Although we were not able to gain a military victory over our enemy (since the general situation in our country was not favourable to our endeavour), those two months of fighting for every foot of Warsaw’s streets and walls have fulfilled a political and ideological goal. Our struggle will influence the fate of our nation, since it is a contribution without equal in its heroism and sacrifice to the defence of our independence.

Today, when the enemy’s technical superiority has forced us into the central sector of our city — the only sector still under our control — when the city’s ruins are crowded with soldiers and the heroic civilian population, suffering from unbearable conditions of living on the battlefield, when we have not enough of even the most primitive food, and when there is virtually no chance of defeating the enemy, we have to confront the problem of complete destruction of the population by the enemy and the chance of having most of the fighting soldiers and hundreds of thousands of the civilian population buried under the ruins. I have decided to call a halt to the fighting.

I thank all the soldiers for their military bearing that never wavered under the most difficult conditions.
I pay homage to the dead for their suffering and sacrifice.

I want to express the admiration and gratitude of the fighting units to the population, and their affection for it. I would also like to ask their forgiveness for the transgressions, which no doubt occurred more than once in the course of this long fight.

During the cease-fire discussion I have done my best to assure our soldiers of all the rights due to them, to create the best possible living conditions and care for the civilian population so that they might be spared as much as possible of the suffering caused by the war.

I hereby ask of all soldiers, my very dear comrades during these two months of fighting, whose will to fight was unbroken to the last moment, to obey in good order all commands that will be issued as a consequence of our decision to stop fighting.

The civilian population is to obey all evacuation orders issued by me, the commanding officer of the city and the civilian administration. With faith in the final victory of our just cause, believing in our beloved, great and happy country, we will continue to be the soldiers and citizens of Free Poland, pledging allegiance to the flag of the Republic.

Komorowski
Lieutenant-General
Commander-in-Chief, Home Army


Early this morning the Polish insurgents started pulling down barricades closest to the German lines, as per the terms stipulated by the Capitulation Agreement. Thousands of Varsovians have evacuated the city. Columns of civilians moved slowly along three thoroughfares: Sniadeckich and 6-go Sierpnia Streets towards Filtrowa Street - along Zelazna and Aleje Jerozolimskie Streets towards Grojecka Street, and along Grzybowska and Chlodna Streets towards Wolska Street.

Amid feelings of bitterness and anguish there was also a very palpable sense of elation among the insurgents, that despite the unavoidable outcome, the Poles have a sense of duty well done. With heads held high and marching briskly in unison were 15,378 insurgents, among whom were 922 officers and 2,000 women. Along the streets, every now and then, civilians would fall to their knees as the columns of insurgents passed by them. It was deeply moving and almost shocking to witness this expression of reverence for the insurgents, an act which in Poland is reserved only for the Holy Sacrement.

They fought as free men and women for 63 days, and now they are going into German captivity. About 15,000 Poles will be sent to the transition camp in Pruszkow and transported to POW camps in Germany. Others will be sent to remote areas of Poland. About 5,000 wounded soldiers will be sent to hospitals. In the two-month battle about 17,000 insurgents were killed and over 200,000 civilians murdered by the Germans.

Polish Soldiers In Pruszkow Transit Camp

In accordance with the provisions of the Capitulation Agreement, a Polish military contingent will remain in Warsaw for the next several days to maintain order.  Three armed AK companies have been selected, consisting of about 300 soldiers from the "Kilinski" battalion, and about 120 soldiers from the “Milosz” battalion.

German radio broadcast a report today declaring that "after weeks of fierce fighting which has led to the almost total destruction of the city, the remaining rebels, deserted by all their Allies, have given up and surrendered."  Concurrently the last issue of Biuletyn Informacyjny, the insurgents' daily newspaper, published an article stating that “nobody in Poland, or in Warsaw, or in the world, can...say that we (surrendered) too early.”  For 63 days the Poles fought courageously.

I have fought the good fight,

I have finished the course,

I have kept the faith.

2 Timothy 4:7

Warsaw Uprising 1944: October 1 Thousand of Civilians Evacuate Warsaw

A truce was in effect today from 5:00 am to 7:00 pm in accordance with the agreement reached yesterday between members of the Polish Delegation and German Command. Thousands of Polish civilians were evacuated along designated exits.  Sources indicate that many insurgents have disguised themselves as civilians in a desperate effort to evade capture. They have managed to blend in during the evacuation and are planning to return to underground units to continue the fight against the Germans. After the end of today's truce, the Germans resumed bombing the Srodmiescie district with increased ferocity. Another truce will be in effect tomorrow for continued evacuation of civilians.

German Rocket Launchers Fire Upon Warsaw September 1944

The situation is hopeless. After the collapse of Mokotow and Zoliborz districts the grim reality is setting in that the allies are not going to provide any realistic assistance whatsoever. Polish Home Command and the Delegates of the Polish Government have decided to continue the capitulation talks. General Tadeusz Komorowski "Bor" had appointed a delegation to conduct negotiations comprising of  Col. Kazimierz Iranek-Osmcki "Heller", Lt. Col. Zygmunt Dobrowolski "Zyndram", Lt. Col. Franciszek Herman "Boguslawski", and their interpreter, Captain Alfred Korczynski "Sas".  During the night the Polish delegation, in consultation with General Antoni Chrusciel "Monter" drafted an agreement on cessation of hostilities in Warsaw that is to serve as the basis for negotiations with the Germans.

General von dem Bach

Major Kazimierz Szternal

Negotiations are extremely tense. At one point a tough Polish combat officer, AK Major Kazimierz Szternal confronted the General von dem Bach, the German Commander of Warsaw and said, “You, the nation which gave Goethe and Schiller to the world, have tried through terror to take away from us the rights of existence and freedom”. The German general merely shrugged and said, "This is War."



The last air drop for Warsaw that was scheduled for tomorrow has been cancelled by Soviet authorities. The mission was scrapped because the Soviet government claims that all the Warsaw partisans have already evacuated the city. This is clearly untrue as there are still thousands of insurgents throughout the city. In any case, any allied assistance provided at this point in time would be too late.  There is no reaction from British or American authorities.

Stalin Cancels Air Drop

 
General Bor has broadcast a special radio message to the Armia Krajowa (AK) declaring that “Fighting in Warsaw no longer has any chance of success, and I have decided to terminate it.”  He nominated General Okulicki as his successor, the next commander of the AK. Bor ordered Polish troops that all efforts must now be focused on the defence of the population. He also announced that immediately after the cease-fire, he will negotiate a surrender.

While this news did not come as a surprise to Poles, it is nonetheless a reality that bears heavily on Polish hopes for liberation. Despite General Bor's decision, the AK rank and file are adamantly opposed to capitulation. Reports indicate that entire Polish units are refusing to surrender.  An AK officer, second lieutenant, and shoemaker by profession, reacted to the news with violent protest.  He was reported to have grabbed a revolver and shouted that he would "not allow anybody to surrender"  His commanding officer, Colonel Zywiciel handed him his own revolver saying, "Then you have to start with me and shoot me, because I am responsible for conveying that order to my soldiers" The lieutenant did not shoot him but broke down into incomprehensible sobs.  Some insurgents have committed suicide to avoid being taken into German captivity.  During the truce barely 8,000 Poles had evacuated Srodmiescie.  However the Germans claim that the number of civilians evacuated were about 200,000 to 250,000.

Warsaw Uprising 1944: September 23 Nazi SS Execute Over 200 Polish Insurgents

Reverend Jozef Stanek "Rudy"

The Czerniakow beachhead falls. Upper Czerniakow has been captured by the Germans during the night.  Polish defenders have made an attempt to fight their way through to Srodmiescie but only a small group get through. Five men under the command of Captain Ryszard Bialous "Jerzy" got through and made it to the YMCA building on Konopnieckiej Street, which is still held by the insurgents.  The rest of the Polish unit was captured by the Germans. SS officers have executed by firing squad and hanging over 200 injured Polish insurgents, messengers and nurses. A Pallotine priest, Reverend Jozef Stanek “Rudy”, chaplain of the “Kryska” group was also executed on Solec Street by the Germans by hanging. 

Germans have stepped up the pressure on the district of Mokotow, which is now the chief target of General von dem Bach. They have also prepared to attack Zoliborz.  Hermann Göring  has selected additional division units to join the campaign.  Artillery fire and air raids grow stronger. The area of Aleje Niepodleglosci Street is particularly hard hit.

Polish insurgents are besieged in three areas of the city: Srodmiescie, Zoliborz and Mokotow. The Uprising is now a one-sided war of attrition, or rather a struggle for acceptable terms of surrender.

For the past several days, German attacks near the Vistula have been escalating as they attempt to prevent further landings.  But Polish troops continue to hold their positions on the eastern shore in preparation for the expected wave of Soviet landings. Other Polish troops have been making attempts to land since the 15th of September, but with very heavy casualties to men and materiel.  Throughout the onslaught, Red Army support was all but non-existent except for intermittent and sporadic artillery fire and air support.  Despite attempts by the 1st Polish Army, they were unable to link up with the insurgents.

On the 19th of September, Home Army soldiers and landed elements of the 1st Polish Army had to retreat from their positions on the bank of the river.  Of about 900 men who made it ashore, only a handful were able to return to the eastern shore of the Vistula. Berling's Polish Army suffered enormous losses in their attempt to aid the Uprising. Casualties were 5,660 killed, missing or wounded.  There were no further attempts at river crossing, and the promised evacuation of the wounded did not take place.

Zygmunt Berling and troops of the LWP

The failure for either side to make significant advances has led to a suspension of further attempts in crossing the river for at least four months. At that point, operations against the 9th Army's five panzer divisions were problematic. Moreover, Soviet Command has dismissed General Berling, Commander of the 1st Polish Army.

During the Invasion of Poland in 1939, Berling did not fight the German invaders. After his town Wilno was occupied by Soviet armies, he was arrested along with many other Polish officers by the notorious NKVD, the Soviet Union's secret police.  Berling remained in prison until 1940 initially at Starobielsk and then in Moscow. He agreed to co-operate with the Soviets and thus avoided execution in the Katyn Massacre. After the Sikorski-Maisky Pact,Berling was released from prison on August 17, and appointed Chief of Staff of the newly created 5th Infantry Division. He later became the commander of a temporary camp for Polish soldiers in Krasnowodsk.

Berlings' troops crossing the Vistula River - 1944

The Sikorski-Maisky Pact signed on July 30, 1941 led to the release of thousands of Polish soldiers and civilians from Soviet prisons, as well as and the creation of the 2nd Polish Corps under the command of General Wladyslaw Anders. During the evacuation, Berling deserted Anders' army along with two other officers to join the Red Army. On April 20, 1943, Anders degraded the three and expelled them from the army. On July 25th, the field court sentenced them to death in absentia. The Polish Military Court stated that "the accused deserted from the Polish Army, in Court's opinion in order to join the Soviet Army, ie. to serve the country which has as one of its goals the end of existence of the independent Polish state by means of incorporating its territory."


Stalin created the Polish People's Army in 1943 (Ludowe Wojsko Polskie) and appointed  Berling as the commander of its first unit, the 1st Tadeusz Kosciuszko Infantry Division. He was later promoted to General by Stalin himself.

1st Polish (Peoples) Army January 19, 1944 parade

When the Uprising broke out on August 1st, 1944, Berling's army had advanced towards Warsaw and without consulting Soviet Command may have issued his own orders to engage the German forces and aid Polish resistance. The landing received no tactical support from Berling or other Soviet units, and therefore made no significant contribution in helping the Uprising. However, Soviet Command noticed Berling's behaviour and  dismissed him from his command. He was transferred to the War Academy in Moscow where he remained until 1947.


The first major engagement of Berling's army was the Battle of Lenino in October 1943. By the following spring Soviet command had increased and strengthened its armor and materiel support and soldiers numbered over 30,000 men strong. The unit was then reorganized into the Polish First Army led by Soviet commanders appointed by Soviet Command. The LWP was later integrated into the 1st Belorussian Front.  

Lt. John Ward

Lt. John Ward, a British soldier and member of Armia Krajowa, has been dispatching secret radio reports of the Uprising to London authorities, always in the hope that the allies would provide assistance and intervention. In almost two months of battle, Polish insurgents have been left virtually alone and abandoned.  Nevertheless Ward continues sending reports, if only to testify to the horrendous conditions dealt to the people of Warsaw.

The inhabitants of Warsaw are now literally living only in ruins. Whole central part of city completely destroyed. In some cases by fires started by Poles to drive out enemy and in others by shell fire, mines and air bombs. Water very difficult to get. I personally today had first wash after six days and am considered lucky. To get one bucket of reasonably clean water it is necessary to stand in queues under fire four or five hours. Food even more scarce. Even front line soldiers get quite inadequate rations, usually about four ounces of boiled barley daily. Bread practically unheard of. Civilians mostly in even worse plight. Private stocks largely burnt or buried under ruins. Hospitals are in what were coal cellars a few weeks ago. Many thousands of wounded there, perhaps more civilians than military. Conditions in which they lie really terrible.

Warsaw Uprising 1944: September 21 Poles Are Fiercest Adversaries says Himmler

Polish Insurgents have been waiting for the First Polish Army to make a landing and have fled burning buildings to take positions in the trenches along the banks of the Vistula. They are waiting, but the declared aid has not arrived.

General Monter has sent a radio message to the commanding officer of Zoliborz Sector ordering the him to expand and fortify his territory.  Though Polish Command had pleaded for weeks for Russian assistance, the Polish strategy is now to invite Soviet commanders to come to them, rather than vice versa. It is a decision that is widely supported by Polish political leaders in Warsaw as well as by the Delegatura.

Polish civilian and military authorities have assembled in the Centre City Sector. The Deputy Prime Minister, the Delegatura are making preparations to welcome the Red Army.  Polish troops of the Armia Krajowa will be concentrated in the same region to provide security in the event of any hostile activities or provocation. The Government Delegate of the city of Warsaw will direct the civilian administration for the interim.  Briefings among civilians and military personal are underway to establish an attitude of friendliness and willingness to cooperate with the Red Army, on the condition however, that Polish authorities are respected.

The AK have been wiped out by the German forces.  Throughout the onslaught, Russian spies had infiltrated Warsaw. During the month of September there were a total of five Red Army shortwave stations operating inside Warsaw reporting everything to Soviet Headquarters. Since the beginning of the Uprising, a Russian officer by the name of Captain Kalugin had linked up with AK command in Warsaw, and throughout the Uprising Kalugin was sending messages to Stalin through the AK short-wave stations. One of those messages from early August has been translated and contains a request for Soviet assistance in key areas of Warsaw.

Soviet reconnaissance planes have been spotted flying over the fires of Warsaw while the Polish Communists have infiltrated the city, intermingling with civilians and the AK. The communists secretly gathered information and gauged conditions in Warsaw as well as the general morale of the civilians and secretly dispatched their reports through messengers and other means to the Soviet-backed "Lublin Committee", in other words, they went directly to Stalin.

German Command proposed surrender to Czerniakow Sector but the insurgents declined. The battle continues. The Germans blew up the remaining pumping stations at Koszykowa Street as well as the public wells, which were the only source of potable water in the city. Enemy forces have exerted continuous pressure on the Czerniakow beachhead.

Polish civilians queue for water at the pump in early September  Warsaw 1944

Water fills a huge crater created by German bombing Warsaw 1944

Ryszard Bialous "Jerzy"

Polish troops under the command of Captain Ryszard Bialous “Jerzy” linked with soldiers from the First Polish Army under the command of Major Stanislaw Latyszonek, now hold control of only a patch of the riverbank and two houses located at 53 Solec Street and at 1 Wilanowska Street on the corner of Solec Street. Srodmiescie is being pounded continuously by heavy artillery fire. Meanwhile insurgents have managed to destroy an enemy barricade on the corner of Aleje Jerozolimskie and Bracka Street. In the western part of Srodmiescie, they were able to fight off a German attack on Borman’s factory on Towarowa Street.

Captain Bialous had fought in defense of Warsaw during the September Campaign of 1939. He was a platoon commander in the 8th Battalion of Sappers Infantry Division. He was seriously wounded in both legs and was hospitalised for four months.  After he was discharged from the hospital he founded the organisation of the famous Grey Ranks. By 1943 he became head of the organization and was known by the code-name Zygmunt. During the Uprising he has been commander of the battalion "Sophy". On August 31st after the death of John Caius Andrzejewski, Bialous became commander of the brigade diversion "Broda 53" in the Radoslaw regiment of the Armia Krajowa. By the end of the Uprising, the "Sophy" Battalion will have lost over 360 soldiers,(KIA, MIA) or 70% of its fighting force. Bialous was promoted three times: in January 1941, Lieutenant reserves; May 1943, Lieutenant; and September 1944, Captain.  He was decorated with the Cross of Valour three times and the Order of the Virtuti Militari V Class.

Cross of Valour - Poland WW2

Virtuti Militari V Class - Poland WW2

In Zoliborz, a German assault on Kepa Potocka has stopped the landing of the 6th Infantry Regiment. Survivors managed to cross over to the right bank of the Vistula. Unaware of that, insurgent troops, unaware of their presence, attack Marymont at dawn. They reached Promyka Street and waited for soldiers of the 6th infantry regiment, who were supposed to break through from across the river. Realizing their isolation, Home Army soldiers retreated destroying the fortifications of the German positions they had managed to seize.

"This is the fiercest of our battles since the start of the war. It compares to the street battles of Stalingrad." 

SS chief Heinrich Himmler to German generals on 21 September 1944

During September, 42 planes of the Squadron 1586 flew 17 combat missions to Warsaw, 16 to Italy, 7 to Yugoslavia and 2 to Bulgaria. Eight crews perished in flights to Warsaw. There were no losses in flights to other countries. The last flights to Warsaw were on 20 and 21 September. Total losses of Squadron 1586 for the months of August and September 1944 were 17 crews, 15 in flight to Warsaw, one crew while delivering supplies to other zones in Poland, and one in northern Italy.

Flight conditions to Warsaw were extremely hazardous and every plane that returned had been hit. Even parachutes inside the planes were riddled by German bullets or explosives.

Lt. John Ward is a British soldier and member of the Armia Krajowa.  From the very outset of the Uprising, Ward has been dispatching secret coded messages to London detailing the events in Warsaw.  He is also the "voice" of an Underground Polish radio station, transmitting regular reports to Polish civilians around Warsaw.

Warsaw headquarters of the Polish Home Army have established direct contact with the Soviet forces on the east bank of the Vistula. Liaison is carried out by two wireless operators who landed in Warsaw by parachute on the area occupied by Polish troops.

Warsaw Uprising 1944: September 17 Russia: Treacherous Alliance

The anniversary of September 17 must have crossed the minds of every Polish officer and soldier today, in particular General Tadeusz Komorowski "Bor".  Five years ago today massive hordes of the Red Army invaded Poland from the east. Their objective, in tandem with that of Nazi Germany (which invaded Poland on September 1st, 1939) was not only to occupy Poland but to eradicate the Polish people through ethnic cleansing.  Polish Christians and Polish Jews suffered five years of brutal repression, forced labor camps, arrests, torture, executions and imprisonment in concentration camps, and death camps.  In a series of four mass deportations totaling approximately 1,680,000 Polish people (not including political prisoners) were deported to gulags in the furthest reaches of the Soviet Union.


The most heinous of all crimes against the Polish people was the systematic massacre of over 16,000 Polish military officers at Katyn in April and May of 1940. German troops had discovered the mass graves last year and have since been accused of having committed the crime. The real culprits of these atrocities is in fact the Soviet Union however Russian officials flatly deny any culpability and blame the Germans for the crimes. Apparently the allies have accepted the Soviet explanation. In the first few days of the Uprising from 40,000 to 100,000 Poles were massacred at Wola and Ochota by German SS troops. It had all the earmarks of "a second Katyn", only this time the crime was perpetrated by the Germans.



KATYN MASSACRE execution of Polish officers (00:04:37m)

General Bor

Whether by co-incidence or by design, General Bor chose today to dispatch a radiogram to Marshal Rokossovky through the Polish Headquarters in London. Bor offered the Russian general the opportunity to establish direct telephone contact between them.  It would have been very easy to accomplish this feat since engineers of the Armia Krajowa (Polish Home Army) had recently discovered a telephone cable under the Vistula by which both parties could be connected. General Bor described the precise location of the cable and the manner in which the connection would be made. No response has been made by Soviet officials.


Polish Prime Minister Mikolajczyk immediately dispatched his aide, Mr. Zaranski, to deliver an urgent radio message to Soviet Ambassador Viktor Z. Lebiediev at the Soviet Embassy in London. (Editors note: The aide’s report on the mission is currently held in the private archives of Prime Miinster Mikolajczyk. It was signed by Zaranski. Source of this fact is from the author J.K. Zawodny, in his book 'Nothing But Honour - The Story of the Warsaw Uprising 1944) Zaranski telephoned the Soviet Embassy at midnight on the day that General Bor's radio message reached London, and informed the man on duty that he wished to deliver an urgent telegram concerning the liaison between General Bor and Marshal Rokossovsky.  Zaranski was told that there was no one in the Embassy because it was Sunday and he was asked to phone the next day.  He did so at 11:00 am and was given the same excuse. But Zaranski insisted on seeing someone to whom the telegram could be delivered immediately and was finally permitted to meet with the Secretary of the Embassy. 

L-R:  Prime Minister Mikolajczyk and Vice Premier Jan Kwapinski August 13, 1944 

Just as Zaranski was about to ready Bor's message, the Secretary of the Embassy abruptly interrupted him and said, “ Dear sir, I am to communicate to you on the order of Ambassador Lebiediev that Ambassador Lebiediev will not accept any further telegrams or letters from the Polish Prime Minister or from Warsaw. It would have been quite different at the beginning of this affair, where the problem of liaison was concerned. The Polish Government should be aware of the fact that there are no diplomatic relations between my Government and the Polish Government.”   Despite Zaranskis' efforts to convince him otherwise, the Secretary stated that the matter was definitely closed. 

Julian Skokowski

Two representatives of “The Combined Military Forces”(CMF) Colonel Julian Skokowski(Communist) and Major Sek, went to see General Monter. While General Monter demonstrated optimism for the benefit of the troops, in front of the Commanders of the CMF he was honest.

In his observation, “The Soviets are not trying to help us; that is why we are going to be compelled to capitulate.”  The two Commanders implored Monter to take over the command of the AK and not to disregard the directives of the Polish-Government in Exile.  (Though the CMF wanted to save Warsaw, it was to their interest to drive a wedge between the AK, and the Polish government in exile in London.)


General Bor sent another radio message today, this time to the Supreme Commander in Chief in London, and the Polish Government in Exile asking what strategy the AK should use if the Soviet Army, after seizing Warsaw, begins to persecute the insurgents. Bor has reason to be concerned. Polish-Russian relations have endured a long and bloody history. Poland has been partitioned four times in its history by its neighbours including Russia. The third time was in 1795 when Poland was virtually erased from the map and the Polish nation ceased to exist for 123 years. At the root of Polish fears is the ruthless Soviet state-sanctioned terrorism.

Since the start of the Uprising, Soviet agents of NKVD, SMERSH, as well as Polish Communist Secret Service have joined forces to conduct nation-wide hunt for Polish fighters who are loyal to the Polish government in exile in London. Members of the Polish Home Army (Armia Krajowa) have been the main targets as the Russians try to destroy Polish resistance. About 25,000 underground Polish soldiers including 300 AK Officers have been arrested, disarmed and interned.  By mid-October tens of thousands of Poles will be deported to Siberia. Typical of Soviet tactics, many Polish prisoners have been given the "choice" of a lengthy imprisonment, or enlistment in Soviet Red Army.

Slawomir Rawicz

Few people have been able to escape the Russian gulag. But a handle of Polish soldiers including Slawomir Rawicz managed to do just that.  Rawicz was arrested by Soviet forces after the joint German-Soviet Invasion of Poland in 1939. 

Rawicz returned to Pinsk where he was arrested on November 19, 1939 by the NKVD and sent to Moscow. He was sent to Kharkov for interrogation, and then after a mock trial imprisoned at the notorious Lubyanka prison in Moscow. NKVD agents tortured him in an attempt to force a "confession" but Rawicz refused to relent. He was convicted of being a spy and sentenced to 25 years of hard labor and was deported, along with thousands of others to Irkutsk, a remote Siberian prison camp. From there he had to walk to Camp 303 located 650 km south of the Arctic Circle and once there, build a camp from the ground up.

Rawicz and six other prisoners managed to escape on April 8, 1941, in the middle of a blizzard. Along the way they encountered an another fugitive on the run, a Polish woman by the name of Krystyna, and nine days later they crossed the Lena River. Crossing the Gobi desert, two members of the group perished, and by October they had reached Tibet. Another member of the group died as they were crossing the Himalyas, another died in his sleep from the cold, and one fell into a crevasse and disappeared. Rawicz and the remaining survivors made it to India around March 1942.


A very odd editorial appeared in the official publication of Armia Krajowa, which is Warsaw's largest underground newspaper, the Biuletyn Informacyjny. For the first time ever, AK leaders actually played down the importance of the Warsaw Uprising, referring to it as only one of the “leaves” of military history, “not the first and not the last” and “just as a fragment of this war”. However speculation abounds whether the report is genuine or a propaganda ploy by communist infiltrators.

First Polish Army takes oath

During the past several weeks of the Uprising, Polish insurgents have maintained fierce resistance to enemy attacks though with very heavy casualties. Last night another group of soldiers of the 9th infantry regiment of the 3rd Division of the First Polish Army crossed the Vistula and was able to reach the Czerniakow Beachhead. In two days a total of about 1,200 soldiers are expected to arrive in Czerniakow. There they plan to link up with units of Armia Krajowa and launch counterattacks against enemy lines. There has been fierce fighting between Polish insurgents and German troops to keep the beachhead. In Marymont a platoon of anti-tank guns and communications specialists has crossed the Vistula, including one company of the 6th infantry regiment of the 2nd Infantry Division.  Heavy German artillery fire has pounded Zoliborz, Mokotow and Srodmiescie throughout the day and shows no sign of abating.

Lt. John Ward

Lt. John Ward, a British soldier, and member of the Armia Krajowa has been reporting on the daily events of the Uprising from its very inception.  His secret radio messages have provided the allies with vital first hand information, yet they have continued to ignore Warsaw's pleas for military assistance and materiel.

Wards' reports have become steadily less frequent as battles have greatly intensified throughout the Warsaw districts. Lt. John Ward has informed Colonel P. that he was wounded in the leg although no other information has been provided as to the circumstances.