|
|
 |
 |
Background history
On 1 August 1944 Warsaw saw the beginning of the most extensive military operation of the Underground in Europe occupied by the Germans. For 63 days soldiers of the Home Army (hereafter HA) carried on a heroic and lonely fight with the aim to have an independent Poland – free from the German occupation and the Soviet dominance. Around 40-50 thousand soldiers of the HA, including several thousand females, commenced their fight to liberate the capital. The weaponry at the disposal of the Polish detachments was insufficient, making the weakest side of the Uprising. The army of insurgents did not have homogeneous uniforms, either. The soldiers did their best to make their civilian clothes look like army uniforms. Each of them endeavored to possess at least one element testifying to the military character of their outfits. Apart from putting white-and-red bands on the sleeves of their ‘uniforms’, which distinguished participants of the Uprising, it was the easiest thing to procure distinct headgear. Naturally, that part of the wardrobe varied greatly: from traditional berets, through army or police caps found in home storages, to firemen helmets. After the fall of the Uprising, a large group of the HA soldiers, dressed in such a way, found themselves detained in the Wehrmacht captivity. After the end of the war, many insurgents kept elements of their outfits at homes, remembering with emotion, especially in the days of people’s democracy, the 63 days of freedom. The Museum’s collections include several items of headgear which belonged to the HA soldiers during the Uprising and during their stay in captivity. On this exhibition we present one of them – the forage cap belonging to Lieutenant Adam Krajewski, nom de guerre “Zych”. Lieutenant Adam Krajewski was the second-in-command of Battalion “Bełt” which was organized at the turn of 1940 and 1941 in the 3rd region of Śródmieście District covering then the areas of Śródmieście, Powiśle and the Old Town. It comprised 180 soldiers. In July 1944, the detachment was a part of the VIth Group of Military Service of Protection of the Uprising. Its name made references to the nom de guerre of the commander of the detachment – Master Corporal Erwin Brenneisen – “Bełt” (bolt). On the day of the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising the number of soldiers in the detachment grew up to about 350 people. During the fights, the area of the battalion’s operations covered Aleje Jerozolimskie on the side of the odd house numbers, from Marszałkowska Street up to Three Crosses Square, through Bracka Street and Nowy Świat. The most important task for the detachment was to stop the enemy from moving through Aleje Jerozolimskie, as well as building and defending the connecting tunnel on the north-south axis, with the aim to maintain communication between the both parts of Śródmieście. The battalion engaged in particularly heavy fights in September. Its operation target was then regaining buildings of the Fire-fighting School in Nowy Świat. That object was of particular strategic significance, since it closed the access to Three Crosses Square to the Germans. In the second half of September, the Germans’ attacks intensified from the region of the Central Train Station along Nowogrodzka Street and Aleje Jerozolimskie. They were meant to divide the district of Śródmieście into two parts. Until the end of the Uprising the Germans did not manage to gain the passage through Aleje Jerozolimskie. After the fall of the Warsaw Uprising, the majority of surviving members of “Bełt” ended up in captivity, part of them being transported to Stalag 344 Lamsdorf (Łambinowice). Lieutenant Adam Krajewski, the second-in-command, was among the latter. He was assigned the POW number 102439. From Lamsdorf he was transferred to Stalag X B Sandbostel, which the commander of the detachment, Lieutenant Erwin Brenneisen, was himself brought to, as well. We do not know much about the owner’s of the forage cap stay in captivity. Following the end of World War II, he returned to the destroyed capital. He died in Warsaw on 12 August 1967.
Prepared by: Beata Madej
|
|
|
Forage cap from the Warsaw Uprising
Source of acquisition
Adam Krajewski’s forage cap was given over to the Museum in 1970 by his subordinates from the Battalion “Bełt”.
Description of the item
The forage cap made of drill in khaki color, was a summertime headwear worn by soldiers of the Polish army before the outbreak of World War II. Numerous alterations to the cap are visible, probably made by the owner himself. In 2014, the item was renovated, the work being financed from means allotted by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage.
|
