In July 1944, russian troops gained positions at the Baranhead – Sandomierz, covering the east runs of the Bus region and stopped on the Szczucin – Stopnica – Kargów – Sydłów – Łagów line. The defeat of Germany was near. For hours I sat with my younger brother Kazik on the slope of the road moving just outside the house, and with curiosity we watched the columns of German armored vehicles, tanks and cars loaded with soldiers and military equipment burst into heat and dust. I remember 1 of the soldiers throwing a pack of biscuits and chocolate under our feet from a passing car. – Though you are a Kraut, but for this human impulse God let you from this bloody war return home – I thought. In the other direction, crowds of people displaced from their homes in the front lane were on ft and on carts. Behind the carts, the cows tied to them were tired. Expensively, the marchers were behind the roadside ditches. The heat was terrible, and the compact wall of houses on both sides of the road did not pass the slightest breeze. People were troubled by a desire that they could not quench. That is why parents put a bucket of water and a cup of water in front of the house.
Meanwhile, russian troops rushed to Busk. People associated with the conspiracy felt that something had to happen. And indeed, on 11 July, soldiers of the Home Army of the Busko-Drój Circuit in the city centre, on a busy marketplace day, in front of many people executed Hans Peters, 1 of the Gestapo executioners. In 1944, a associate of many criminal expeditions was transferred to Busk from Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski – Gestapoman Hans Peters, who was celebrated there as a bloody executioner, having many personally murdered Poles on his conscience. In the area of the city and region after he took up the post of Sondergericht (Special Court) the Nazi panic increased rapidly. More and more prisoners stayed in the celebrated Gestapo executionhouses: in the villa of Dr. Byrkowski and in the dungeons of the erstwhile monastery of Busk.
Peters was very active, gave death sentences, shot himself, tortured. He did so not only in Gestapo and in the basements of the NSDAP, but he was frequently present in the local police, in the prison in Pińczów and in the penal camp – for farmers who did not comply with the quotas – in Słupi, he besides participated in executions on the cemetery in Busku... It was the task of Akovsky intelligence to decipher who was liable for the emergence in terror. many prisoner flups taken over by underground army soldiers and intelligence reports, as well as Peters' surveillance led to the discovery that this German was actively active in the crimes.
In March 1944, “Srog” called to himself the head of Kedyw Lt. Feliks Rajca ps. “Kafel” and the head of the Second Lecture – an interview, Lieutenant Marian Lewiński Pseudodon “Stanisław”. The gathering was besides attended by the adjutant “Srogego” cf. Kazimierz Kubicki “Lew”. The “sought” was compounded by the expanding panic and violent activity of the deputy chief of Sondergericht in the city and county. At the conference, the decision was made to destruct Peters as an highly harmful criminal unit liable for the death and suffering of hundreds of people.
The execution of the judgement was not easy – about 2,000 armed Germans – military and civilian – were constantly in the city. After examining all possible circumstances, Lewinski put the Jopowicz brothers Theodor “Znicz” and Zdzisław “Stal” in charge of observing Peters in order to prepare for his liquidation. Regardless of this, the chief of intelligence organized a second group of observers under the command of Jan Anyż “Black”. Detailed information about Peters was collected: his whereabouts, customs, interests – a detailed plan of the assassination was prepared. However, the days passed, and Peters was inactive elusive, inactive raging in Busk and saying. Despite his follow-up by the brothers “Znicza” and “Stala” and the information about them assigned to execute the judgement of five, for nonsubjective reasons, it did not happen twice. In this situation, the commander of the circuit “Srog” – Wacław Ćmakowski, issued an order to velocity up the execution of the sentence. Dr. Byrkowski's villa, besides known as the villa "Polonia", is now the Green Gallery close the marketplace Square, at Mickiewicz Street. The SS Norbertanek monastery, on the another hand, was housed in a building next to the parish church under the call of the Immaculate Conception of the NMP, now the Court Street. After planet War II, the building had the seat of the Regional safety Office and the Court of First Instance since 1945. Lieutenant “Kafel” – Feliks Rajca brought a fresh group of contractors – volunteers, already trained in combat actions: “Kaczmarka” (Michael Lasak)26 commander of the diversion group from Sępichow close Nowy Korczyn, “Kruk” (Piotr Pałys) from Solec – Zdrój, “Damage” (Jan Grochowski) from the village of Ostrowiec and “Ribiarz” (Hieroni Stuszowski) from Tarnów. The defender was assigned to the “Majdan” group under “Orlik” (Lucjan Orłowski). , at a gathering with the executioners, in Sagan's barn in the village of Łagiewniki, he discussed the action plan in various possible variants. Then all the participants came to town to admit Peters' figure and appearance. The reflection was resumed. A fresh group of armed bombers, waiting for the appropriate minute for the assassination, was "melinised" in Stefan Kuza's sewing workshop "Kowadło" (at Stopnicka 15 street, now Partisans and ul. Ludwika Zaręba) and in a area behind the shop, on the same street, and in the evening it was to decision to Łagiewnik or Tadeusz Durnasia "Drelka", on Nadol in Busk.
They were now waiting for an opportunity. respective times specified opportunities came, but for various reasons the conviction was not executed. As Peters was expected to return from the healing bath, he went black Mercedes to East Street to Herta Lierman for a prepared reception. On 9 July, a liaison Marcin Warzkowski “Waterman” came to the “Cow” on Sunday and reported that the Gestapo were moving from Zdrój towards the marketplace Square. The guerrillas set out individually to the city park in the marketplace Square and sat on 2 other benches at the alley at the exit of the park. The Gestapo passed between the bombers. These slow rose up and moved free to their previously appointed positions. And again, a unusual coincidence prevented action. The mass at the parish church had just ended and people began to crowd out of the other street. Acting under the authority of “Srogny” his adjutant Kazimierz Kubicki “Lew”, walking in the crowd, saw the partisans walking behind Gestapo, approached “Kaczmark” and ordered the action to be discontinued. For there may have been sacrifices in people leaving the church.
Finally, on Wednesday, July 11, 1944, justice was served. Peters in the company of the Gestapo Kühn appeared on the streets of the city. Due to the weekly market, many hosts from surrounding villages drove to Busk. Traffic in the streets and in the marketplace was increased. The south was approaching, Stefan Kuzy’s tailor’s workshop “Kowadła” was approached by Zdzisław Jopowicz “Stal” and alerted a group of performers to go into action. They went out 2 each, “The Raven” with “The Trash”, and “The Kaczmarek” with the Fisherman”.
When they reached the marketplace from about 20 metres away, they saw Peters and Kühn entering the city park. They were walking towards the mediate of the garden, Kühn said something by gesture. abruptly there was a woman's voice calling Gestapo. It was Herta Lierman, sitting in a park on a bench other the Dytkowski house. The Gestapo talked to her for a fewer minutes, they yet moved the alley. "The Raven" approached them. A small on the side of "Damn." A fewer meters behind them “Kaczmarek” and “Fishman” as insurance.
The tension was zenith. As a sign of “Kaczmarka” the action was started. "Crock" and "Damn" fired a series of shots at both. "Damn" hits Peters' wide back, but unsuccessfully. From specified a short distance! Sitting close 2 German soldiers terrorized the threat of utilizing the “Fishman” sten. The marketplace and streets are ravaged. People flee, defend themselves in gates and apartments. The next shots are fired, it's the Raven again. Nothing! frightened Gestapo started running. Ranny Kühn hid behind the prism of stones, from where he was shooting, after which he began to flee towards the NSDAP office on Zdrójowa Street, presently Mickiewicza Street. During this time, "Damn" suffered a slight gunshot wound to a tiny finger at the hand. The moving Peters tried to get to the door of the Agricultural Cooperative. He turned around to quit 2 unattended shots. Then he ran to him from the side “Kruk” – he shot and hit the thug in the head. Peters fell down and held the door handle in vain. He fell down on his knees with his face crooked, and he fell on the sidewalk and fell into the gutter. He besides got the “Damble” lying down – just to be certain – shot twice. Kneeled, searched his pockets for clothes. There were no documents, only an eternal pen of the "Mont Blanc" brand and a 7.55 mm revolver. In his search for Peters “Dark” he discovered that he was wearing a steel bulletproof vest, now he understood why the first missiles were not effective. The action is over.
Time passed very quickly. The bombers started to retreat. ‘Kaczmarek’ as commander insured the group and withdrew as last. They watched windows and entrance gates to buildings on the retreat route. Not without reason, due to the fact that the balcony above Jan Molisak's barbershop was fired from a gun. It was the Folksdok surviving there that got involved. Sten’s “Fishman” barrel, directed towards him, cooled him down. The time came, so they were moving faster, while watching everything around them very carefully. erstwhile they entered Łagiewnicka Street, from Stopnica towards the market, a car loaded with gendarmes, with a set device weapon on the chauffeur. Fear what could happen? In Łagiewniki, awaiting a gathering with the territory chief, “Kruk” showed a shot-out advanced coat pocket where he wore a metallic cigaret case. It was shot, and cigarettes chopped with a hex. The “cream” gave the “niche” to Peters’ eternal pen. After a short wait, “Kaczmarek” reported to the incoming Major “Hard” the execution of the task. The chief congratulated the assassins and kissed them warmly. Peters' body was taken from Busk by the Germans, and Kühn, wounded, was taken to a Kielce hospital. That's how the bloody executioner Busk died. Shortly after the bombing, the Germans surrounded the city with a chain of police stations and device weapons stations. Many people were detained. But Gestapo chief Fischer did not decide to repress, possibly fearing Peters' fate. Most detainees were released, sending only a fewer to work in Germany.
Chapter XXIX
Elimination of the police station in Nowy Korczyn
July that year was dry and hot. The orchards grew prematurely, and the tender, poorly grown grain whitened faster and dried up, and the potatoes withered and slid into radlins.
People were lulling around the fields and preparing for harvest, but nobody was truly in a hurry. Young people in towns, villages and fields could see less and less. Grabged in catch, abused, and exported from the country, they went into the woods. Rape was a rape response. For burning the village and towns, they stormed down the police stations and blew up trains, took weapons from oppressors and shot them. Residents who had no strength to go into the forest sabotaged the enemy's decrees and went into the grain with the hope of survival. The barns and barns were empty. People knew the enemy was losing and losing the area.
In early June, fresh news broke, this time from a distance. The London radio said, and it was listened to without any peculiar restraint, that the Allies landed in France after gigantic preparations, yet creating a long-awaited second front.
The period of finishing Germany began – now it was just a mystery, who first got to Busk, Stopnica, Nowy Korczyn...? Americans or Russians. The second were closer, but the Germans besides threw all their forces east to strengthen the desperate defense. Among the public, the saying was given from mouth to mouth: “The sun above, the Sikorski closer.”
Old guerrilla troops grew stronger as mushrooms formed fresh after the rain. However, it began to thicken around with German troops.
In retaliation for the mass arrests in Nowy Korczyn and the shooting of the arrested 17 soldiers of the AK commandant of the Busko Major Circuit “Srog” issued an order to organize actions at the police station in Nowy Korczyn with a crew of 20 gendarmes and grenade police.
The commander of the action was appointed as the erstwhile commander of the fresh Korczyn Sub-Lieutenant Jan Stryszewski “Solny”, with the groups of Michał Lasak “Kaczmarek” “Michal” and “Oszczępa” NN.
The action began on 23 July 1944. Under the cover of the night, the “Kaczmarka” division cut all telephone calls, but for the connection with the gendarmerie, the building's surroundings and the call of the police chief to surrender. The roads to Busk, Pacanów and Stopnica were closed with the “Zostępa” and Jan Korepta “Nika”. Under cover of night, fire stations were prepared from all sides of the building.
The moon floated advanced into the sky, it was circular and clean, so clean that there were clear spots on it. The commander of the action Lieutenant Jan Stryszewski looked at the moon and ordered his thoughts. Everything around it shushed, the canonade, which was heard in the daytime somewhere, sailed away, remained after it only interrupted, far more silent throbbing, as if they were lulled.
Lt. Stryszewski dragged his ft through the marketplace Square. The streets were empty. Soldiers at fire stations turned towards the commander's head and languishly snorting up their weapons gave honors. Charity silence enclosed the town, only a tap of forged soldiers' shoes awakened echoes between houses.
The tired sat on a straw snap – he rested. Soldiers were waiting for an order to attack, sat down hanging their heads up, and at times bent forward – they put them to sleep. The commanders were watching and not letting them fall asleep. From the fields was the odor of dried grain, which mixed with the odor of herbs and field flowers.
Finally, the anemic disc of the sun had already appeared on the Nowo Korczyńska marketplace Square, browned now on the southeast side of the sky, brightened up, softened with warm glows.
The gendarmes spotted preparations for the building's pacification, immediately secured all the windows with sandbags, and through firing slots they exhibited firearm barrels.
It was yet issued, a pending order to storm the gendarmerie building.
Shots of weapons were fired in the equipment of the AK branch. There was a powerful canonade, fierce and violent.
In the air with large noise, missiles flew over and over again, and after a while there were explosions. Houses reflected and echoed, making this shooting seem even scarier.
barricaded in a brick building, equipped with good weapons and plenty of ammunition The Germans were returning fire. Convinced that they would receive the aid of the gendarmerie from neighboring cities, they disregarded the siege. The first attacks by AK soldiers were ineffective. It was only after the arrival of the English-equipped grenade launcher that 4 shots were fired, which did not break down the walls, but severely damaged them. Only a plastic explosive was placed in the wall, after it detonated, ripped out the corner of the building. It was an average tarp bag filled with a plasticinelike soft, grey mass from which the tapeworm hung. All you had to do was pull the tape and hide who believed in God. The exploding plasticist struck not with shrapnel, but with an air gust of specified a terrible force that within a fewer meters he was tearing trees from the bark. After that explosion, the gendarmes moved to the another side of the building, continuing to fire. The besieged mocked the attackers by calling them from bandits.
It was almost noon. The AK soldiers were tired and hungry. The owner of the pharmacy, Karol Schultz, invited them for a meal, who exhibited and filled tables in his yard with food. The pharmacist was a German resident in Poland for many years, who remained faithful until his death. Arrested by Gestapo, after savage interrogations he was shot in the Welecki Forest for failing to notify the Germans of preparations for attacking the station. Despite the distrust of any part of the Polish society, which considered Schultz to be a volksdeutsch (in September 1939, the pharmacy was demolished), he collaborated with the Polish resistance, providing drugs and dressings to guerrillas.
In the afternoon, there were inactive no sightings of the shortly capture of the gendarmerie building, the situation was becoming worrying. Over fresh Korczyn there was a plane that had long traveled over the city. The plane lowered the flight over the Vistula River and fired a device weapon killed his father with a kid sitting by the river. At the same time, the liaisons reported that a branch of the German army was approaching fresh Korczyn.
The attackers' ammunition began to run out slowly. "Solar" sent a liaison to Cieplinian "Blondin" in Pavlov with a request for food in humans, weapons and ammunition. shortly a cart full of weapons and ammunition was delivered to the marketplace Square in Nowy Korczyn.
In the evening, “Solar” decided to resume and intensify the attack. While the “Janchara” branch led a strong fire to the station, a seven-man group from the “Kaczmarka” “Michała” branch, consisting of “Michael”, Corporal Edmund Wieprowski, NN sergeant from Pavlov, Stanisław Konopka, Mitera from Nowy Korczyn, Mieczysław Tarapata from Ukrzyw and Jan Grochowski from Ostrowiec, operated from Nida.
A momentary silence was abruptly interrupted by the sounding terkot kaem, 1 series, the other, then dry with single fire, as the woodpecker knocked the device weapon "empi" and thunders of respective grenades are tearing the market. From time to time the marketplace was lit by lightning. You could hear the beating of explosions, short as the barking of a dog, and sometimes powerful as lightning.
The Germans did not owe, they defended themselves fiercely. To the proposals of the talks, they responded to the commander of “Solny” that they were not going to negociate with bandits.
In this situation, the AK branch from the close village – Kocina entered the action. The squad was perfectly trained, had professional officers from the pre-September army and was exceptionally well equipped with various weapons from dropouts. The commander of the Cieloch branch accepted the proposal “Solar” – arson from the tower of the monastery church of the gendarmerie gas building, utilizing fire hose and flamethrower. From the church tower, you could scope the besieged building by a stream of gasoline. The building was filled with gasoline and a flamethrower burned in a flash.
At the same time, strong device guns from all sides of the building were fired on windows to halt the fire of gendarmes and shield the partisan approach to the building wall with ladder. On the ladder, 1 of the soldiers climbed the roof with a bunch of grenades and threw them into the chimneys. The rifles were covered, the missiles were scattered on the walls and windows of the building. Around it began to flash more and more, as if individual was beating a stick into a tin boiler.
The fire gradually absorbed the building, the night approached, the aid to the gendarmerie was not coming, even the plane disappeared beyond the horizon.
The Partisans set fire to the gate and tore it barefoot. After mastering the first gate, the second was seized. The Germans continued to defend themselves by throwing grenades. As a consequence of the explosion, Mitera lost his leg (died in hospital), Sergeant NN toes at his hand, Corporal Wieprowski was injured in his right leg, and Michał Lasak “Michael”, “Kaczmarek” in his knee.
“Michael” one more time called on the Germans to surrender, threatening to make them all extinct. This time, the call was effective. The first came out a navy police officer, followed by a deputy commander's weapon – Radke, and then others without guns. A full of 12 MPs and 8 police officers. Gawada and Radke, the top criminals in the area,
They were shot at the scene. The execution of the others was opposed by Lieutenant Zbigniew Karaś “Krąż” and Jan Stryszewski “Solny”, sending them to the command of the circuit in the Ksański Forest, where they divided the destiny of the first 2 from the military judgement of the ad hoc court.
The inhabitants of Nowy Korczyn were anxious and impatient to see the consequence of the siege of the gendarmerie building. In the evening, the restless left their homes and followed the result of the fighting. erstwhile the white sheets showed up in the windows of the building and the gendarmes began to leave the building, 1 large shout of joy sounded in the crowd. The crowd threw himself towards the gendarmerie to see the end of those who unlawfully and unpunishedly terrorized the inhabitants for 5 years. However, it was realized that this joy could be short-lived due to the fact that the Germans inactive occupied this part of Poland and could inactive take revenge.
The Germans arrived in fresh Korczyn the next day. No collective repression was applied.
