Minor sabotage
Encyclopedia
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in Nazi-occupied
Occupation of Poland
Occupation of Poland may refer to:* Partitions of Poland * The German Government General of Warsaw and the Austrian Military Government of Lublin during World War I* Occupation of Poland during World War II...
Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
(1939–45) was any underground resistance operation that involved a disruptive but relatively minor and non-violent form of defiance, such as the painting of graffiti
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
, the manufacture of fake documents, the disrupting of German propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
campaigns, and the like. Minor-sabotage operations often involved elements of humor.
The purpose of minor-sabotage operations was primarily psychological
Psychological warfare
Psychological warfare , or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations , have been known by many other names or terms, including Psy Ops, Political Warfare, “Hearts and Minds,” and Propaganda...
— to show Polish civilians that the resistance remained active, and thus bolster civilian morale, and to wear down the German occupier.
History
In September 1939, during the German invasion of Poland, after the fall of WarsawSiege of Warsaw
* Siege of Warsaw – by Swedish forces during Deluge* Siege of Warsaw – by Swedish and Transylvanian forces during Deluge* First siege of Warsaw – by Russian and Prussian forces during Kościuszko Uprising...
, a young Polish student, Elżbieta Zahorska, tore down a German poster. Soon after, she was executed for her act; her death, however, instead of cowing others, inspired an entire new branch of Polish resistance, called minor sabotage.
Several organizations dedicated to minor sabotage were created in 1939 and 1940, notably PLAN, Wawer and Palmiry. Minor sabotage was often carried out by scouting organizations such as Szare Szeregi
Szare Szeregi
"Gray Ranks" was a codename for the underground Polish Scouting Association during World War II.The wartime organisation was created on 27 September 1939, actively resisted and fought German occupation in Warsaw until 18 January 1945, and contributed to the resistance operations of the Polish...
. On a larger scale, it was coordinated by the Directorate of Civil Resistance
Directorate of Civil Resistance
Directorate of Civil Resistance was one of the branches of the Polish Government Delegate’s Office during World War II. Its main tasks were to maintain the morale of the Polish society, encourage passive resistance, report German atrocities and cruelties to the Polish Government in Exile, and to...
of the Polish Underground State and, in some cases, by its military arm, the Home Army (see Operation N). Thousands were involved in minor sabotage. During two weeks in March and April 1942 when the kotwica
Kotwica
The Kotwica was a World War II emblem of the Polish Secret State and Armia Krajowa . It was created in 1942 by members of the AK Wawer "Small Sabotage" unit as an easily usable emblem for the Polish struggle to regain independence. The initial meaning of the initials "PW" was "Pomścimy Wawer"...
symbol was introduced, it was painted all around Warsaw by a 400-strong dedicated team.
Aleksander Kamiński
Aleksander Kaminski
Aleksander Kamiński was a Polish school teacher, form tutor, author of Polish Cub Scout and Brownie method, writer, historian, Scoutmaster , and wartime resistance leader under the codenames: Kamyk, Dąbrowski, J...
, a teacher and scouting activist, soon became a major figure in organizing such operaions. In November 1940 he published an article in the main Polish underground newspaper, Biuletyn Informacyjny
Biuletyn Informacyjny
Biuletyn Informacyjny was a Polish weekly published covertly in occupied Poland during World War II.It was started in November 1939 in Warsaw as the main press release of the SZP, the first underground resistance organisation in Poland. Soon it was taken over by the Armia Krajowa and the Bureau of...
, explaining how to carry out such acts.
Operations
Notable or common minor-sabotage operations included:- painting pro-Polish and anti-Nazi graffitiGraffitiGraffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
. Common symbols included the kotwicaKotwicaThe Kotwica was a World War II emblem of the Polish Secret State and Armia Krajowa . It was created in 1942 by members of the AK Wawer "Small Sabotage" unit as an easily usable emblem for the Polish struggle to regain independence. The initial meaning of the initials "PW" was "Pomścimy Wawer"...
("anchor"—the symbol of the Polish underground) and the turtle (a symbol of work sabotage and inefficiency, to be implemented by those who worked—often forciblyForced labor in Germany during World War IIThe use of forced labour in Nazi Germany and throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II took place on an unprecedented scale. It was a vital part of the German economic exploitation of conquered territories. It also contributed to the mass extermination of populations in German-occupied...
—for the German occupier). Slogans included "Wawer pomścimy" ("We will avenge the Wawer massacreWawer massacreThe Wawer massacre refers to the execution of 107 Polish civilians on the night of 26 to 27 December 1939 by the Nazi German occupiers of Wawer , Poland. The execution was a response to the deaths of two German NCOs...
"), "Pawiak pomścimy" ("We will avenge the PawiakPawiakPawiak was a prison built in 1835 in Warsaw, Poland.During the January 1863 Uprising, it served as a transfer camp for Poles sentenced by Imperial Russia to deportation to Siberia....
prison atrocities"), and "Oświęcim" ("Auschwitz"). - inefficient, slow work and sabotageSabotageSabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening another entity through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. In a workplace setting, sabotage is the conscious withdrawal of efficiency generally directed at causing some change in workplace conditions. One who engages in sabotage is...
, when one was employed by the Germans - misdirection, when asked for directions
- not acknowledging that one speaks German, and thus refusing to communicate with the Germans
- ignoring German demands or executing them only at the last possible moment
- harassing German occupiers and collaborators by sending threats or denouncing them as underground activists to German security forces
- counteracting German Nazi propaganda operations (for example, by altering German posters—such posters about advances in the Soviet UnionSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
were "amended" to the date 1812) - tearing down and damaging German flags and putting up Polish flags for Polish anniversaries
- breaking windows in shops that displayed German symbols (for example, those of photographers who displayed photographs of German soldiers, and of shops that displayed signs in GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
) - taking over German megaphone systems to broadcast Polish patriotic songs
- "Amending" German newspapers with Polish symbols; on occasion, issuing fake editions
- releasing stink bombs and the like in movie theaterMovie theaterA movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
s that screened German propaganda filmPropaganda filmThe term propaganda can be defined as the ability to produce and spread fertile messages that, once sown, will germinate in large human cultures.” However, in the 20th century, a “new” propaganda emerged, which revolved around political organizations and their need to communicate messages that...
s and newsreelNewsreelA newsreel was a form of short documentary film prevalent in the first half of the 20th century, regularly released in a public presentation place and containing filmed news stories and items of topical interest. It was a source of news, current affairs and entertainment for millions of moviegoers...
s, and putting up the Polish-language slogan, "Tylko świnie siedzą w kinie" ("Only swine watch the German line") - placing the German sign, "Nur für DeutscheNur für DeutscheThe slogan Nur für Deutsche was during World War II, in many German-occupied countries, a racialist slogan indicating that certain establishments and transportation were reserved only for Germans...
" ("Only for Germans"), in selected sites such as cemeteriesCemeteryA cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
A particularly notable operation was carried out by Maciej Aleksy Dawidowski
Maciej Aleksy Dawidowski
Maciej Aleksy Dawidowski codename: Alek, Glizda, Kopernicki, Koziorożec was a Polish Scoutmaster , Polish Scouting resistance activist and Second Lieutenant of the Armia Krajowa during the Second World War...
on 11 February 1942. Soon after the Germans had occupied Warsaw in 1939, they had placed on the Nicolaus Copernicus Monument on Krakowskie Przedmieście
Krakowskie Przedmiescie
Krakowskie Przedmieście is one of the most impressive and prestigious streets of Poland's capital.Several other Polish cities also have streets named Krakowskie Przedmieście. In Lublin, it is the main and most elegant street...
a large plaque proclaiming Copernicus to have been a German astronomer. Dawidowski removed and concealed the German plaque. In response, the Germans moved Warsaw's statue of Jan Kiliński
Jan Kilinski
Jan Kiliński was one of the commanders of the Kościuszko Uprising. A shoemaker by trade, he commanded the Warsaw Uprising of 1794, an uprising against the Russian garrison in Warsaw. He became a member of Polish provisional government as well.Jan Kiliński was born in Trzemeszno, a minor town in...
to the National Museum in Warsaw
National Museum in Warsaw
The National Museum in Warsaw , Poland, is a national institution of culture, one of the largest museums in Poland and the largest in Warsaw. It comprise a rich collection of ancient art , counting about 11.000 pieces, an extensive gallery of Polish painting since the 16th century and a collection...
. Immediately, Dawidowski and his comrades retaliated by placing a large graffito
Graffito
Graffito is the singular form of the Italian graffiti, meaning "little scratch".Graffito may also refer to:*Graffito *Graffito...
on the Museum ("People of Warsaw—I am here. Jan Kiliński") and adding a new plaque to the Copernicus monument: "For removal of the Kiliński statue, I am extending the winter by two months. Kopernik."
Further reading
- Jan Kamienski, Hidden in the Enemy's Sight: Resisting the Third Reich from Within, Dundurn Press Ltd., 2008, ISBN 1550028545, Chapter "Messenger work and small sabotage", p.57