Today we commemorate for the first time the National Day of Remembrance of Home Army Soldiers. It was on 14 February 1942 that the Commander-in-Chief, Gen. Władysław Sikorski, issued the order to transform the Union of Armed Struggle into the Home Army.
The Home Army, as the armed wing of the Polish Underground State, played a key role in the fight for Poland’s independence. In tribute to the heroes of the largest underground army in occupied Europe, fighting against the invaders from Germany and the Soviet Union, on 9 January 2025 the Polish Sejm established today’s national holiday.
The roots of the Home Army date back to the night of 26–27 September 1939, when Gen. Michał Karaszewicz-Tokarzewski, together with a group of officers and with the involvement of the President of Warsaw, Stefan Starzyński, founded the Service for Poland’s Victory. This organisation became the nucleus of the later expanded Polish Underground State and was transformed in November 1939 into the Union of Armed Struggle. On 14 February 1942, the Commander-in-Chief, Gen. Władysław Sikorski, issued the order to rename the ZWZ the Home Army, with the aim of unifying Polish underground armed units under a single command.
Outstanding aviators and aviation engineers also served in the ranks of the Home Army, supporting underground operations with their knowledge and experience. Among them it is worth mentioning Antoni Kocjan, Włodzimierz Gedymin and Leopold Kwiatkowski.
Antoni Kocjan (1902–1944) — an outstanding glider designer who played a key role in the Polish resistance movement. After his release from the Auschwitz camp in 1941, he became involved in Home Army intelligence activities. Antoni Kocjan, among other things, used forged documents to order weapon parts for the Home Army from German workshops. In the basements of his glider workshops in Warsaw, a printing press of the W-4 Secret Military Publishing Plants operated. Thanks to his work, Polish intelligence obtained valuable information about the German V-1 and V-2 rockets, which was passed on to the Allies. His activities significantly contributed to sabotaging German war plans.
Włodzimierz Gedymin (1915–2012) — Colonel Pilot of the Polish Armed Forces, participant in the September Campaign, and subsequently a member of the ZWZ-AK. He adopted the pseudonym “Włodek” (later “Włodek I” and “Powała”) and worked in the Aviation Section of the Home Army Headquarters, where he was responsible for, among other things, the reception of Allied air drops. He served as the launch officer in two operations — Most II and Most III — which involved receiving a Douglas C-47 Skytrain aircraft at an improvised airstrip near Tarnów. The aircraft carried couriers of the Polish Government-in-Exile and supplies for the Home Army, while on the return flight it took couriers and intelligence materials, including parts of the German V-2 rocket. After the war, he worked as a test pilot and at Polish Airlines LOT.
Leopold Kwiatkowski (1911–1977) — pseudonyms “Tomek”, “Bela”, “Szostak”, “Andrzej”, “Cis”. Aviation engineer, glider designer and pilot. During the war, he served in the Home Army. As a courier, he crossed the green border a total of 102 times — 16 times to Budapest and 86 times in a relay system to Slovakia — carrying underground materials, money and weapons. After the end of World War II, he returned to the Glider School in Tęgoborze, where he participated in its reconstruction. In 1958, for his outstanding contribution to the field of aviation, he was awarded the Paul Tissandier Diploma by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI).
At the Polish Aviation Museum in Kraków, we cherish the memory of aviators and engineers associated with the Home Army. Our collection includes, among other things, valuable mementoes of Antoni Kocjan, including original letters from the period of his imprisonment in Auschwitz and a camp release document.
We encourage you to visit our exhibitions, where you can learn about the aviators who fought for Poland’s freedom and the history of Polish aviation during World War II.
At the same time, we encourage you to visit the Home Army Museum named after Gen. Emil Fieldorf “Nil” in Kraków, which this year celebrates its 25th anniversary — and today, 14 February, at 2:00 PM invites you to:
the promotion of the unique book “Borderland Soldiers of the Home Army. History, Politics, Memory”,
the presentation of “Following the Traces of the Home Army in Małopolska” badges,
the presentation of the Lwów Borderland Cross badges by the Kraków branch of the Society of Lovers of Lwów and the South-Eastern Borderlands,
a concert of Borderland partisan songs performed by artists of the Kraków Philharmonic,
a concert by the Military Orchestra in Kraków.
More information on the website of the Home Army Museum.
