Jan Bytnar "Rudy", "Czarny", "Janek", "Krokodyl", "Jan Rudy" | |
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| Born | (1921-05-06)6 May 1921 |
| Died | 30 March 1943(1943-03-30) (aged 21) |
| Allegiance | Poland |
| Branch | Armia Krajowa (Home Army) |
| Rank |  Corporal |
| Conflicts | World War II |
| Awards |  Krzyż Walecznych (Cross of Valour)  Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta |
Jan Roman Bytnar,nom de guerre "Rudy" (Ginger) (born 6 May 1921,Kolbuszowa,Poland – died 30 March 1943,Warsaw,Poland) was a Polishscoutmaster, a member of Polish scoutinganti-Nazi resistance, and a lieutenant in theHome Army during theSecond World War.
He was the son of Stanisław Bytnar, a teacher and soldier in thePolish Legions in World War I, and Zdzisława Rechulówna.[1] He attended elementary school inPiastów. In 1931 he was accepted to the Stefan Batory Gymnasium in Warsaw, where the Bytnar family moved in the same year. They lived in theMokotów district.
In 1934, at the age of 13, he joined thePolish Scouting and Guiding Association. In 1938 he attained the highest non-instructor rank,"Scout of the Republic". Shortly before, in 1937, he began attending alyceum; he graduated in May 1939.[2]
After theGerman invasion of Poland in September 1939, Bytnar lived in occupied Warsaw and worked as a glazier and school tutor. In October 1939, together with a group of friends, he joined the short lived left wing Polish People's Independent Action (Polska Ludowa Akcja Niepodległościowa, PLAN), a resistance group. As its member he composed and distributed pamphlets in response to the formation of theGeneral Government by the Nazis. However, the organization was soon infiltrated by theGestapo and broken up by January 1940. Bytnar left Warsaw and lived with his grandparents inKolbuszowa in south-eastern Poland, where he also became involved in anti-Nazi resistance. Sometime early in 1940 he joined theUnion of Armed Struggle, a precursor organization of theHome Army. In March 1941 he became a member of theGray Ranks, a paramilitary underground scouting organization which carried out sabotage and diversion against the Germans. In particular, Bytnar and his cell focused on so-called"small sabotage" as part of the Wawer Group.[3]
He was arrested by theNazis on 23 March 1943 and rescued three days later by a combat group of theGray Ranks during theOperation Arsenal on 26 March.[4][5] He died on 30 March, at the age of 21, from injuries sustained during the interrogation carried out by theGestapo while in captivity.[6]
The extremely brutal torture of Bytnar was conducted bySSRottenführer Ewald Lange andSSObersturmführer Herbert Schultz. Both were later assassinated by the Gray Ranks. Schultz was shot dead on 6 May 1943 bySławomir Maciej Bittner (aka "Maciek") and Eugeniusz Kecher (aka "Kołczan").[7] Lange was shot dead on 22 May 1943 by Jerzy Zapadko (aka "Dzik").[8]
On 4 April 1946, his close friend and fellowSzare Szeregi member who died on the same day during the war,Maciej Dawidowski (akaAlek), was buried in a common grave alongside Bytnar at thePowązki Military Cemetery.[9]
Bytnar is the main character inStones for the Rampart, considered a classic ofPolish literature for teenagers and young adults, byAleksander Kamiński[10] andRudy, Alek, Zośka byBarbara Wachowicz [pl].[11]
He is portrayed byCezary Morawski inJan Łomnicki's 1977 historical filmAkcja pod Arsenałem telling the story behindOperation Arsenal.[12]
In a 2010documentary filmOni szli Szarymi Szeregami directed by Mariusz Malec, the character of Bytnar is played by Bartłomiej Firlet.[13]
He served as inspiration forDawid Podsiadło's 2014single4:30, the title of which alludes to the time when Bytnar was captured and arrested byGestapo on 23 March 1943. The song appears inRobert Gliński's 2014 war dramaStones for the Rampart, a film adaptation of Kamiński's book of the same title, in which the role of Bytnar is played byTomasz Ziętek.[14]
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In 1943, he was awarded theCross of Valour for having demonstrated deeds of valour and courage in wartime. In 2009, he was posthumously awarded theCommander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta by the President of Poland.[15]
A commemorative plaque was unveiled on Bytnar's birth house on ul. Nowe Miasto inKolbuszowa. In 1980, a second plaque was unveiled at the entrance to the tenement house al. Niepodległości 159 inWarsaw where he used to live and where he got arrested.[16]
Streets bearing his name are located inWarsaw,Opole andKolbuszowa.[17] He is also a patron of 150 Polish scout teams as well as many schools across Poland.[18]
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