Workers' Militia PPS-WRN

Workers' Militia PPS-WRN (Polish: Milicja Robotnicza Polskiej Partii Socjalistycznej–Wolność, Równość, Niepodległość, MR PPS-WRN) often referred to simply as Militia PPS-WRN,[1] was a Polish underground paramilitary formation of the Polish Socialist Party – Freedom, Equality, Independence active during the occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in World War II between 1939 and 1945. The total number of clandestine members of MR PPS-WRN reached 30,000 at the time of the Soviet counter-offensive of 1944.[2] They participated in both Operation Tempest against the Nazis (Akcja Burza) and in the Warsaw Uprising of 1944.[2] MR PPS-WRN was created in November 1939 amongst the prewar labour circles in Warsaw, Radom, Kraków, in Upper Silesia (Śląsk) and in the Dąbrowa Basin (Zagłębie) mainly for self-protection. It was supposed to help recreate the Polish prewar police and counter—intelligence services.

A. Pajdak in his retirement following lucky release from a decade in the Soviet GULAG prison camps

Since June 1940 the Commander-in-chief of the Workers' Militia PPS-WRN was Antoni Pajdak nom de guerre "Traugutt"; captured by the Soviet NKVD in March 1945 and sent to GULAG for 10 years after his Moscow trial.[3] His second-in-command in occupied Poland were: Stanisław Sobolewski pseudonym "Krystian",[1] and Jan Władysław Wilczyński pseudonym "Gnat".[4] The organization was divided and subdivided into the units of five.

The status report for the organization as of 1944

District division Membership [5] Regional commanders [5]
Śląsk 6,320 Wincenty Balicki "Belka", Józef Kalisz "Józef"
Kraków 6,181 Jan Wcisło "Dąb", Saturnin Nowakowski "Marian"
Radom 3,212 Stefan Heine "Lach", Jan Siemek "Korab"
Zagłębie Dąbrowskie 2,736 Lucjan Tajchman "Wirt", Antoni Biedroń "Baca", Roman Żołędź "Marian"
Warszawa-miasto 2,330 Władysław Wilczyński "Gnat"
Warszawa podmiejska 832 Lucjan Tobolski "Luc", Ludiwk Wiliński "Lucek"
Rzeszów 1,103 Wincenty Rubacha Świder", Tytus Zwoliński "Raf"
Tarnów 912 Kazimierz Czubak "Kazet", Józef Hanzel "Krata"
Białystok 830 Władysław Zieliński "Michał"
Kielce 630 Michał Gorajski "Marmur", Franciszek Słupiński "Niwa"
Wilno 630 Jakub Łuksza "Kuba", Franciszek Stążowski "Franek"
Lublin 480 Stanisław Karwowski "Ster"
Krosno-Podkarpacie 460 Stefan Brodziński "Grot"
Lwów 340 Miachał Filipiak "Fil", Franciszek Petri "Franek"
Cieszyn 220 Emanuel Wieczorek "Marek"
Tarnopol 112 Ludwik Mędrek "Maszyna"

Underground force of PPS-WRN in Silesia and in Zagłębie

According to fragmentary data in Sosnowiec in 1944, the Militia of PPS counted 475 members in five districts. In Będzin County, it was around 200 persons strong or 15 platoons. In Silesia, the Militia counted around 3,000, and in the Cieszyn Silesia around 960.[6] In addition, PPS tried to create industrial militia in Zagłębie, under the command of Stefan Kura-Granicki "Gromek", "Gołąb", "Oset", and later, under Henryk Żmijewski "Kuba". The Industrial Militia operated within the military factories gathering the intelligence and committing acts of sabotage as well as, later on, tried to prevent demolition of factories by the withdrawing Germans.

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Polski Słownik Biograficzny (2000). "Stanisław Bonifacy Sobolewski 'Krystian'". Narodowy Instytut Audiowizualny.
  2. 1 2 Słownik. "Milicja Robotnicza Polskiej Partii Socjalistycznej–Wolność, Równość, Niepodległość". POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews.
  3. ↑ Krystyna Kersten (1991). The Establishment of Communist Rule in Poland, 1943-1948. University of California Press. pp. 74, 91, 134, 153. ISBN 0520062191.
  4. ↑ Andrzej Chmielarz, Wojskowy Instytut Historycznyu im. Wandy Wasilewskiej (1988). Polski ruch oporu 1939-1945. Wydawn. Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej MON. p. 274. ISBN 8311070385.
  5. 1 2 Andrzej Czystowski, "Wolność, Równość, Niepodległość (22 October 1939 – 11 February 1945)," in: "Z pola walki" Number 3, 1988; p. 117.
  6. ↑ Jan Kantyka, Polska Partia Socjalistyczna na Śląsku i w Zagłębiu Dąbrowskim w latach 1939-1948, Katowice, 1975, pp. 85-86.

Further reading

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