The "cursed soldiers"^[3] (also known as "doomed soldiers",^[4] "accursed soldiers", or "damned soldiers";Polish:żołnierze wyklęci) or "indomitable soldiers"^[5] (Polish:żołnierze niezłomni) were a heterogeneous array ofanti-Soviet-imperialist andanti-communistPolish resistance movements formed in the later stages ofWorld War II and inits aftermath by members of thePolish Underground State. The above terms, introduced in the early 1990s,^[6] reflect the stance of many of thediehard soldiers.

Cursed soldiers
Żołnierze wyklęci
"Cursed soldiers" of anti-communist underground, June 1947. From left: Henryk Wybranowski -pseudonym "Tarzan" (killed Nov. 1948) Edward Taraszkiewicz - "Żelazny" (killed Oct. 1951) Mieczysław Małecki - "Sokół" (killed Nov. 1947) Stanisław Pakuła - "Krzewina"
Active	1944–1947
Country	Poland
Allegiance	Poland (Polish Government-in-Exile)
Role	Armed forces of thePolish Underground State and thePolish Government-in-Exile
Size	Varied,c. 150,000-200,000 at peak.[1] Afteramnesty of 1947, 200-400 people remained in active, armed conspiracy.[2]

These clandestine organisations continued their armed struggle againstPoland's communist government wagedguerrilla warfare well into the 1950s, including attacks againstprisons and statesecurity offices, detention facilities for political prisoners, and the concentration camps that had been set up across the country. Most Polish anti-communist groups ceased to exist in the late 1950s, as they were hunted down by agents of theMinistry of Public Security and the SovietNKVD.^[7] The last known "cursed soldier",Józef Franczak, was killed in a 1963 ambush.^[8][9]

The best-known Polish anti-communist resistance organisations operating inStalinist-era Poland includedFreedom and Independence (Wolność i Niezawisłość,WIN), theNational Armed Forces (Narodowe Siły Zbrojne,NSZ), theNational Military Union (Narodowe Zjednoczenie Wojskowe,NZW), the Underground Polish Army (Konspiracyjne Wojsko Polskie,KWP), the Home Army Resistance (Ruch Oporu Armii Krajowej,ROAK), the Citizens' Home Army (Armia Krajowa Obywatelska,AKO), NO (NIE, short forNiepodległość), theArmed Forces Delegation for Poland (Delegatura Sił Zbrojnych na Kraj), and Freedom and Justice (Wolność i Sprawiedliwość,WiS).^[9]

Similar anti-communist insurgencies occurred in otherCentral European countries. The "cursed soldiers" have prompted controversy over the degree to which individual fighters or their units were involved inwar crimes against Jews or other ethnic minorities on Polish soil or against civilians generally. Common responses to such accusations have included that the accusations were partly or completely fabricated as communist propaganda to discredit the soldiers, or that any genuine victims were killed because of their involvement in, or cooperation with, communist authorities and that their ethnicity had little if any bearing on their demise.^[10][11]

In the summer of 1944, as Soviet forces advanced into Poland, the USSR set up a provisionalclient state called thePolish Committee of National Liberation. The new government was aware that thePolish Resistance (whose chief component was theArmia Krajowa or Home Army) and Underground State loyal to thePolish government-in-exile would have to be destroyed before they could gain complete control over Poland.^[12]Władysław Gomułka, futureGeneral Secretary of thePolish United Workers' Party, said that "Soldiers of the Armia Krajowa (AK) are a hostile element which must be removed without mercy". Another prominent communist,Roman Zambrowski, said that the AK had to be "exterminated".^[13]

The Armia Krajowa officially disbanded on 19 January 1945 to prevent a slide into armed conflict with theRed Army and the increasing threat of civil war over Poland's sovereignty. However, many resistance cells decided to continue their struggle for Polish independence, and regarded Soviet forces as merely the new occupiers.Soviet partisans in Poland had already been ordered by Moscow on 22 June 1943 to engage Polish partisans in combat.^[14]

According toMarek Jan Chodakiewicz's review ofBogdan Musial's bookSowjetische Partisanen, "Musial's study suggests that the Soviets seldom attacked German military and police targets. They preferred to assault the poorly-armed and poorly-trained Belarusan and Polish self-defense forces. Soviet guerrillas torched and leveled Polish landed estates much more frequently than they blew up military transports and assaulted other hard targets."^[12] The main forces of theRed Army (theNorthern Group of Forces) and theNKVD began conducting operations against theHome Army (Armia Krajowa,A.K.) during and directly after the launch ofOperation Tempest, the Polish resistance's effort to seize control of cities and areas occupied by the Germans while the latter were preparing their defenses against the advancing Soviets.^[13] Soviet leaderJoseph Stalin planned to ensure that an independent Poland would never reemerge in thepostwar period.^[15]

The first AK structure designed primarily to deal with the Soviet threat wasNIE (short forniepodległość "independence", and also meaning "no"), formed in mid-1943. NIE's goal was to observe and spy while the Polish government-in-exile decided how to deal with the Soviets, rather than to engage in combat. At that time, the exiled government still believed that negotiations could result in a solution leading to Poland's post-war independence.

On 7 May 1945, NIE was disbanded and transformed into theDelegatura Sił Zbrojnych na Kraj ("Armed Forces Delegation for Homeland"). This organization lasted only until August 8, 1945, when the decision was made^[who?] to disband it and ceasepartisan resistance on Polish territory.^[13]

In March 1945 astaged trial of 16 leaders of thePolish Underground State, captured and imprisoned by the Soviet Union, took place in Moscow (Trial of the Sixteen).^{[16][17][18][19]} TheGovernment Delegate, together with most members of theCouncil of National Unity and theCommander-in-Chief of theArmia Krajowa, were invited by Soviet generalIvan Serov, with the agreement ofJoseph Stalin, to a conference on their eventual entry into the Soviet-backed Provisional Government. They were presented with a warrant of safety, but theNKVD arrested them inPruszków on 27 and 28 March.^[20][21]Leopold Okulicki,Jan Stanisław Jankowski, andKazimierz Pużak were arrested on 27 March, and 12 more the following day. Alexander Zwierzynski had already been detained earlier. They were all taken to theLubyanka prison in Moscow for interrogation before trial.^[22][23][24] After several months of brutal interrogation and torture,^[25] they were falsely charged with "collaboration withNazi Germany" and "planning a military alliance with Nazi Germany".^[26][27]

ThePolish Committee of National Liberation declined jurisdiction over former AK soldiers. Consequently, for more than a year, Soviet agencies such as theNKVD dealt with the AK. By the end of the war, approximately 60,000 AK soldiers had been arrested, and 50,000 of them were deported to the Soviet Union's prisons and prison camps. Most had been captured by the Soviets during or in the aftermath ofOperation Tempest when many AK units tried to cooperate with the Red Army during their nationwide uprising against the Germans.

Other veterans were arrested when they approached the communist authorities after being promisedamnesty. In 1947, the government of thePeople's Republic of Poland proclaimed anamnesty for most wartime resistance fighters. The authorities expected around 12,000 people to give up their arms, but the total number of partisans to come out of the forests eventually reached 53,000. Many of them were arrested despite the promises. After repeated broken promises in the first few years of communist rule, former AK members refused to trust the government.^[13]

After theDelegatura Sił Zbrojnych na Kraj ("Armed Forces Delegation for Homeland") was disbanded, another post-AK resistance organisation was formed, calledWolność i Niezawisłość ("Freedom and Sovereignty"). Wolność i Niezawisłość (WiN) was most concerned with helping former AK soldiers transition from life as partisans to that of civilians. Continued secrecy and conspiracy were necessary in light of the increasing persecution of AK veterans by the communist government. WiN was, however, much in need of funds to pay for false documents and to provide resources for the partisans, many of whom had lost their homes and entire life-savings in the war. Viewed as enemies of the state, starved of resources, and with a vocal faction advocating armed resistance against the Soviets and their Polish proxies, WiN was far from efficient. A significant victory for the NKVD and the newly created Polish secret police,Urząd Bezpieczeństwa (UB), came in the second half of 1945 when they convinced several leaders of WiN that they truly wanted to offer amnesty to AK members. Within a few months, intelligence gathered by the authorities led to thousands more arrests.^[13] The primary period of WiN activity lasted until 1947. The organisation finally disbanded in 1952.^[28]

The NKVD and UB used brute force and deception to eliminate the underground opposition. In the autumn of 1946, a group of 100–200 "cursed soldiers" of theNarodowe Siły Zbrojne (National Armed Forces, NSZ) were lured into a trap and massacred. In 1947, ColonelJulia ("Bloody Luna") Brystiger of thePolish Ministry of Public Security proclaimed at a security briefing that: "[t]he terrorist and political underground" had ceased to be a threatening force for the UB, although the "class enemy" at universities, offices and factories still had to be "found out and neutralised."^[13]

The persecution of AK members was only one aspect of the reign of Stalinist terror in postwar Poland. In the period from 1944 to 1956, at least 300,000 Polish civilians were arrested.^[29] Some sources claim that up to two million were arrested.^[13] Approximately 6,000 death sentences were issued, and the majority of them were carried out.^[29] It is probable that more than 20,000 people died in communist prisons. including those executed "in the majesty of the law", such asWitold Pilecki, a hero ofAuschwitz.^[13]

A further six million Polish citizens (i.e., one out of every three adult Poles) were classified as suspected members of a 'reactionary or criminal element' and subjected to investigation by state agencies. During thePolish October of 1956, a political amnesty freed 35,000 former AK soldiers from prisons. But some partisans remained in service, unwilling or simply unable to rejoin the civilian community. Thecursed soldier Stanisław Marchewka "Ryba" ("The Fish") was killed in 1957, and the last AK partisan,Józef Franczak "Lalek" ("Doller"), was killed in 1963 — almost two decades after the Second World War ended. In 1967, long after the abolition of Stalinist terror,Adam Boryczka, the last member of the elite British-trainedCichociemny ("The Silent and Hidden") intelligence and support group, was finally released from prison. Until the end of thePeople's Republic of Poland. Former AK soldiers were under constant investigation by the secret police. It was only in 1989, after thefall of communism, that the convictions of AK soldiers were finally declared invalid and annulled by Polish law.^[13]

The biggest battle in the history of theNational Military Union (Narodowe Zjednoczenie Wojskowe, NZW) took place on 6–7 May 1945, in the village ofKuryłówka in southeastern Poland. In theBattle of Kuryłówka, the partisans fought against the Soviet2nd Border Regiment of the NKVD, gaining a victory for the underground forces commanded by MajorFranciszek Przysiężniak ("Marek"). The anti-communist fighters killed up to 70 Soviet agents. The NKVD troops retreated in haste, only to later return to the village and burn it to the ground in retaliation, destroying over 730 buildings.^[30][31]

On 21 May 1945, a heavily armed AK unit led by ColonelEdward Wasilewski,attacked and destroyed the NKVD camp inRembertów on the eastern outskirts ofWarsaw. The Soviets had incarcerated hundreds of Polish citizens there,^[32][33][34] including members of the Armia Krajowa.^[35]

One of the biggest anti-partisan operations by the communist authorities took place from 10 to 25 June 1945, in and around theSuwałki andAugustów regions of Poland. The "Augustów roundup" (Polish:Obława augustowska) was a joint operation of the Red Army, the Soviet NKVD, andSMERSH battalions, with assistance from PolishUB andLWP units, against Armia Krajowa resistance fighters. The operation extended into the territory of occupiedLithuania. More than 2,000 suspected anti-communist Polish fighters were captured and detained in Sovietinternment camps. About 600 of the "Augustów Missing" are presumed to have died in Soviet custody, their bodies buried in unknown mass graves on the present territory of Russia. The PolishInstitute of National Remembrance has declared the 1945 Augustów roundup to be "the largest crime committed by the Soviets on Polish lands after World War II."^[36]

Among the best-known Polish underground organizations,^[9] engaged in guerrilla warfare were:

1. Wolność i Niezawisłość ("Freedom and Independence", WIN) founded on September 2, 1945, active to 1952.
2. Narodowe Siły Zbrojne ("National Armed Forces", NSZ) created on September 20, 1942, split in March 1944.
3. Narodowe Zjednoczenie Wojskowe ("National Military Union", NZW) established in the mid-to-late 1940s, active until the mid-1950s.
4. Konspiracyjne Wojsko Polskie ("Underground Polish Army", KWP) which existed from April 1945 to as late as 1954.
5. Ruch Oporu Armii Krajowej ("Resistance of the Home Army", ROAK) formed in 1944 againstUB collaborators.
6. Armia Krajowa Obywatelska ("Citizens' Home Army", AKO) founded in February 1945, incorporated into Wolność i Niezawisłość in 1945.
7. NIE ("NO") formed in 1943, active till 7 May 1945.
8. Delegatura Sił Zbrojnych na Kraj ("Delegature of the Polish Forces at Home") formed on May 7, 1945, dissolved on August 8, 1945.
9. Wolność i Sprawiedliwość ("Freedom and Justice", WIS) founded in the early 1950s.

• Battle of Kuryłówka
• Augustów roundup (Polish:Obława augustowska)
• Attack on the NKVD Camp in Rembertów
• 1951 Mokotow Prison executions
• Raid on Kielce Prison

The following list (in most part), was taken from the bookNot Only Katyń (Nie tylko Katyń) by Ireneusz Sewastianowicz and Stanisław Kulikowski (Białostockie Wydawn. Prasowe, 1990); Part 10: "The Augustow Missing," compiled by the Citizen Committee for Search ofSuwałki Region Inhabitants who Disappeared in July 1945 (Obywatelski Komitet Poszukiwań Mieszkańców Suwalszczyzny Zaginionych w Lipcu 1945 r., in Polish).^[37]

The "cursed soldiers" served as an inspiration for numerous films, documentaries, books, stage plays, and songs and, in Poland, they have become the ultimate symbol of patriotism and heroic fight for fatherland against all odds. Notable examples include:

• In 1958,Andrzej Wajda directed the filmAshes and Diamonds whose main protagonist, Maciek Chełmicki, is a member of theanti-Communist underground in Poland.
• In 1990, Tadeusz Pawlicki directed adocumentary film entitledWitold, which is dedicated to the life ofWitold Pilecki, the author ofWitold's Report, the first comprehensive intelligence report on the atrocities committed at theAuschwitz concentration camp. The film features interviews with Pilecki's wife and his children Zofia and Andrzej. It was broadcast onTVP2 andTVP Historia television channels.^[41]
• In 1995, Alina Czerniakowska directed a documentary in collaboration with historian Leszek Żebrowski on the Polish anti-communist underground after the end ofWorld War II entitledZwycięstwo ("Victory").^[42]
• In 1996, Tadeusz Pawlicki, directed the filmMy, ogniowe dzieci, telling the story ofJózef Kuraś aliasOgień ("Fire").^[43]
• In 2000, Mariusz Pietrowski, directedŁupaszko, a documentary film on the life of majorZygmunt Szendzielarz (known asŁupaszko).^[44]
• In 2002,Grzegorz Królikiewicz directed a documentary film devoted to the life of Józef Kuraś entitledA potem nazwali go bandytą ("And Then They Called Him a Bandit...").
• In 2004, a documentaryAgainst the Odds: Resistance in Nazi Concentration Camps was produced. It features the story of Witold Pilecki.^[45]
• In 2007, Jerzy Zalewski's filmElegia na śmierć Roja is dedicated to portraying the history ofMieczysław Dziemieszkiewicz.
• In 2008,Discovery Historia channel broadcast a two-part documentary entitledIn the Name of the Polish People's Republic.
• In 2009, a documentary seriesCursed Soldiers was produced by Discovery Historia.^[46]
• In 2013, Dariusz Walusiak's filmEscape from Hell. Tracing the Steps of Witold Pilecki is dedicated to the escape ofWitold Pilecki, Jan Redzeja and Edward Ciesielski from the notoriousAuschwitz concentration camp.
• In 2014,Heroes of War: Poland was produced bySky Vision for theHistory Channel UK and features the life of Witold Pilecki.^[47]
• In 2015, theTVP channel produced a documentary filmInka. Zachowałam się jak trzeba directed by Arkadiusz Gołebiewski and portraying the life ofDanuta Siedzikówna, a Polishmedical orderly in the 4th Squadron of the5th Wilno Brigade inHome Army who was captured, tortured and sentenced to death at the age of 17 by thecommunist authorities.^[48][49][50]
• 2016 saw the premiere of Jerzy Zalewski's filmHistoria Roja starringKrzysztof Zalewski as the main character.^[51]
• In 2017, Konrad Łęcki directedWyklęty ("The Cursed"), a film based on the life of anti-communist resistance memberJózef Franczak.^[52]

• In 1996, Leszek Czajkowski's albumŚpiewnik oszołoma was published which includes a number of songs dedicated to the memory of the "cursed soldiers".^[53]
• In 2009, a Polish-Norwegianpunk rock bandDe Press released an albumMyśmy rebelianci ("We Are Rebels") honouring the legacy of the "cursed soldiers".^[54]
• In 2011, Polishhip-hop artist Tadek released asingle "Żołnierze wyklęci" to pay tribute to the members of the anti-communist underground operating after the end of theSecond World War in Poland.^[55]
• In 2011, a hip hop band Hemp Gru, released an albumLoyalty, which features a single "Forgotten Heroes".^[56]
• In 2012, Obłęd band released an album entitled100% Obłęd featuring a single dedicated to the Cursed Soldiers.
• In 2013, Polishrapper Ptaku released an albumNaRa featuring a single "Żołnierze Wyklęci" with references to the lives ofJózef Kuraś,Ryszard Kukliński andRafał Gan-Ganowicz.
• 2013 saw the release of an albumPanny wyklęte, a music project by Dariusz Malejonek in collaboration with Polish singers includingMarika,Natalia Przybysz andHalina Mlynkova devoted to the contribution of female members of the anti-communist movement.^[57]
• In 2013, rapper Evtis released three singles inspired by the history of the Cursed Soldiers: "The Volunteer" (referring toWitold Pilecki), "Indomitable Heroes" (referring toStanisław Sojczyński,Łukasz Ciepliński andHieronim Dekutowski), and "You Acted Right" (referring toDanuta Siedzikówna).
• In 2013, Forteca band released an albumKto dziś upomni się o pamięć.^[58]
• In 2014, Joined band released a single "Zabrali mi ciebie Tato" ("They Took You Away From Me, Dad") devoted to the murdered soldiers of the anti-communist underground.
• In 2014, Swedishheavy metal bandSabaton paid tribute to Witold Pilecki in the single "Inmate 4859".^[59]
• In 2015, Horytnica band released a single "Rój", referring toMieczysław Dziemieszkiewicz, one of the Cursed Soldiers.^[60]

• On 15 May 2006, a stage productionŚmierć rotmistrza Pileckiego ("The Death of Captain Pilecki") directed byRyszard Bugajski and starring Marek Probosz had its premiere.
• On 22 January 2007, a playInka. 1946 produced by Teatr Telewizji and diredcted by Natalia Koryncka-Gruz had its premiere in Poland.^[61]

• In 2016, Polish historian Lech Kowalski published a monumental 1,100 page bookKorpus Bezpieczeństwa Wewnętrznego a Żołnierze Wyklęci (English: "Internal Security Corps and the Cursed Soldiers"), which focuses on the fight undertaken by the communist state authorities against Poland'santi-Communist underground in the years 1944–1956.^[62]
• In 2019,Jack Fairweather published a bookThe Volunteer: One Man's Mission to Lead an Underground Army Inside Auschwitz and Stop the Holocaust whose subject is Witold Pilecki.^[63] His book won theCosta Book Awards – Book of the Year.^[64]

• In 2009, PresidentLech Kaczyński wrote that he aimed to "restor[e] the memory of the 'cursed soldiers'" during his presidency.^[65]
• In 2017, PresidentAndrzej Duda wrote that he "pay[s] tribute to the heroes of the anti-Communist uprising" and he believes that "the memory of the 'cursed soldiers' strengthens in us Poles the will to persevere through these imponderabilia." He also added that "independent Poland makes efforts to properly honor its best sons".^[66]

• Anti-Soviet partisans
• Leśni
• Forlorn hope
• Forest Brothers
• Japanese holdout

• Jerzy Ślaski,Żołnierze wyklęci, Warszawa, Oficyna Wydawnicza Rytm, 1996
• Grzegorz Wąsowski and Leszek Żebrowski, eds.,Żołnierze wyklęci: Antykomunistyczne podziemie zbrojne po 1944 roku, Warszawa, Oficyna Wydawnicza Volumen and Liga Republikańska, 1999
• Kazimierz Krajewskiet al.,Żołnierze wyklęci: Antykomunistyczne podziemie zbrojne po 1944 r., Oficyna Wydawnicza Volumen and Liga Republikańska, 2002
• Tomasz Łabuszewski,Białostocki Okręg AK- AKO : VII 1944-VIII 1945 (Warszawa: Oficzna Wydawnicza Volumen andDom Wydawniczy Bellona, 1997)
• Zrzeszenie “Wolność i Niezawisłość” w dokumentach, 6 vols. (Wrocław: Zarząd Główny WiN, 1997–2001)
• Zygmunt Woźniczka,Zrzeszenie “Wolność i Niezawisłość” 1945-1952 (Warszawa: Instytut Prasy i Wydawnictw “Novum” – “Semex”, 1992)
• Marek Latyński,Nie paść na kolana: Szkice o opozycji lat czterdziestych (London: Polonia Book Fund Ltd., 1985)

• (in English)Short description of an exhibition onŁupaszko
• (in English)The Doomed soldiers - Polish Underground Soldiers 1944-1963 - The Untold Story
• (in English)WiN | Freedom and Independence - Historical Brief.
• (in English)NSZ | National Armed Forces - Historical Brief.
• (in Polish)Broader description
• (in Polish)ŻOŁNIERZE WYKLĘCI NA KRESACH POŁUDNIOWO-WSCHODNICH PO 1944 R.
• (in Polish)Antykomunistyczne Podziemie Zbrojne po 1944 rokuArchived 2019-04-24 at theWayback Machine
• (in Polish)Żołnierze wyklęci