Tarnów rail station bomb attack
Encyclopedia
The Tarnów rail station bomb attack was a bombing carried out by a German agent at Tarnów
, Poland
. It occurred in the night of August 28, 1939, when a time bomb planted by the agent exploded, killing 20 people and wounding 35.
In 1939, Tarnów was a town with a population of 40,000 in southern Poland. Trains passed through the busy main rail station of Tarnów Główny, carrying thousands of travellers, including numerous soldiers reporting to their units, as the international situation worsened day by day. The routine, however, was interrupted at 11:18 p.m., when a time bomb left by a German
saboteur
exploded in the luggage hall. Twenty people died and it has been argued that World War II
started at that point.
The saboteur who planted the bomb, a man named Antoni Guzy, was a member of the German
ethnic minority from Bielsko-Biała
. He left two suitcases packed with explosives in the luggage hall and went to a platform to wait for a night Luxtorpeda
train from Krynica, via Tarnów, to Kraków
, which, according to the schedule, would leave at 23:02. It is probable that Guzy had no idea when the bomb would explode. He had a beer in the station restaurant, before taking a slow walk around the station. When the explosion happened, the saboteur, together with other people, ran away in panic. Reportedly, his German principals wanted him to die in the attack.
The number of victims would have been much higher, had it not been for a stopping train from Kraków
, which arrived eight minutes late. Also, a few minutes before the attack, a military transport with numerous soldiers had left the Tarnów station. Approximately one-third of the station building was destroyed. Rail workers and policemen spent hours searching for victims in the rubble.
Antoni Guzy was the son of a German mother and a Polish father. His father died during World War I
, and in 1938 Guzy, a locksmith, became unemployed. In search of a job, he joined the Gewerkschaft Deutscher Arbeiter, an organization which helped to organize employment in Germany. It was probably through this agency that he was persuaded to carry out the attack.
It is impossible to reconstruct all the details of the attack. At 11:30 a.m. Guzy met a man from Skoczów
named Neuman, who was a member of a German saboteur organization. Together, they went by rail to Kraków, leaving Bielsko-Biała station at 12:13 p.m. In Kraków they had coffee, and later took two heavy suitcases from a station's luggage office. According to Guzy’s later statement, Neuman told him to leave both cases at the Tarnów station and return to Kraków, where he would be waiting.
After the explosion, Guzy was stopped by the railroad police, asked for his identity papers and released. Stopped again near the station, he was recognised as the man who had left the suitcases. During the interrogation he said that he felt sorry about what had happened, and that he had never received any money. Guzy’s subsequent fate is unknown.
Tarnów
Tarnów is a city in southeastern Poland with 115,341 inhabitants as of June 2009. The city has been situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999, but from 1975 to 1998 it was the capital of the Tarnów Voivodeship. It is a major rail junction, located on the strategic east-west connection...
, 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...
. It occurred in the night of August 28, 1939, when a time bomb planted by the agent exploded, killing 20 people and wounding 35.
In 1939, Tarnów was a town with a population of 40,000 in southern Poland. Trains passed through the busy main rail station of Tarnów Główny, carrying thousands of travellers, including numerous soldiers reporting to their units, as the international situation worsened day by day. The routine, however, was interrupted at 11:18 p.m., when a time bomb left by a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
saboteur
Sabotage
Sabotage 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...
exploded in the luggage hall. Twenty people died and it has been argued that World War II
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...
started at that point.
The saboteur who planted the bomb, a man named Antoni Guzy, was a member of the German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
ethnic minority from Bielsko-Biała
Bielsko-Biała
-Economy and Industry:Nowadays Bielsko-Biała is one of the best-developed parts of Poland. It was ranked 2nd best city for business in that country by Forbes. About 5% of people are unemployed . Bielsko-Biała is famous for its textile, machine-building, and especially automotive industry...
. He left two suitcases packed with explosives in the luggage hall and went to a platform to wait for a night Luxtorpeda
Luxtorpeda
Luxtorpeda was a common name of a famous Polish train, which ran on some of the most important rail routes of Poland in the 1930s. A Luxtorpeda consisted of a single, first-class only railcar, with its own internal combustion engine.- Name :...
train from Krynica, via Tarnów, to Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
, which, according to the schedule, would leave at 23:02. It is probable that Guzy had no idea when the bomb would explode. He had a beer in the station restaurant, before taking a slow walk around the station. When the explosion happened, the saboteur, together with other people, ran away in panic. Reportedly, his German principals wanted him to die in the attack.
The number of victims would have been much higher, had it not been for a stopping train from Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
, which arrived eight minutes late. Also, a few minutes before the attack, a military transport with numerous soldiers had left the Tarnów station. Approximately one-third of the station building was destroyed. Rail workers and policemen spent hours searching for victims in the rubble.
Antoni Guzy was the son of a German mother and a Polish father. His father died during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and in 1938 Guzy, a locksmith, became unemployed. In search of a job, he joined the Gewerkschaft Deutscher Arbeiter, an organization which helped to organize employment in Germany. It was probably through this agency that he was persuaded to carry out the attack.
It is impossible to reconstruct all the details of the attack. At 11:30 a.m. Guzy met a man from Skoczów
Skoczów
Skoczów is a town and the seat of Gmina Skoczów in Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland with 14,783 inhabitants . It lies in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia....
named Neuman, who was a member of a German saboteur organization. Together, they went by rail to Kraków, leaving Bielsko-Biała station at 12:13 p.m. In Kraków they had coffee, and later took two heavy suitcases from a station's luggage office. According to Guzy’s later statement, Neuman told him to leave both cases at the Tarnów station and return to Kraków, where he would be waiting.
After the explosion, Guzy was stopped by the railroad police, asked for his identity papers and released. Stopped again near the station, he was recognised as the man who had left the suitcases. During the interrogation he said that he felt sorry about what had happened, and that he had never received any money. Guzy’s subsequent fate is unknown.
External links
- http://www.gazetawyborcza.pl/1,75480,2887486.html
- http://www.tarnow.pl/historia/taka/1.php
- http://www.diapozytyw.pl/pl/site/slady_i_judaica/tarnow
- http://www.go-tarnow.com/english/worth_seeing/tarnow-history.html
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/countdown_390829_tue_04.shtml
- Photos of the station after the attack, taken in the morning on Tuesday, August 29, 1939