Aminor sabotage (akalittle sabotage orsmall sabotage;Polish:mały sabotaż) duringWorld War II inNazi-occupiedPoland (1939–45) was anyunderground resistance operation that involved a disruptive but relatively minor andnon-violent form of defiance, such as the painting ofgraffiti, the manufacture of fake documents, the disrupting of Germanpropaganda campaigns, and the like.[1] Minor-sabotage operations often involved elements ofhumor.
The purpose of minor-sabotage operations was primarilypsychological — to show Polish civilians that the resistance remained active, and thus bolster civilian morale, and to wear down the German occupier.[2]
In September 1939, during theGerman invasion of Poland, after thefall of Warsaw, 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.[2]
Several organizations dedicated to minor sabotage were created in 1939 and 1940, notably PLAN, Wawer and Palmiry.[2] Minor sabotage was often carried out by scouting organizations such asSzare Szeregi.[2] On a larger scale, it was coordinated by theDirectorate of Civil Resistance of thePolish Underground State and, in some cases, by its military arm, theHome Army (seeOperation N). Thousands were involved in minor sabotage. During two weeks in March and April 1942 when thekotwica symbol was introduced, it was painted all around Warsaw by a 400-strong dedicated team.[2]
Aleksander Kamiński, a teacher and scouting activist, soon became a major figure in organizing such operations. In November 1940 he published an article in the mainPolish underground newspaper,Biuletyn Informacyjny, explaining how to carry out such acts.[2]
Notable or common minor-sabotage operations included:
A particularly notable operation was carried out byMaciej Aleksy Dawidowski on 11 February 1942. Soon after the Germans had occupied Warsaw in 1939, they had placed on theNicolaus Copernicus Monument onKrakowskie Przedmieście a large plaque proclaiming Copernicus to have been a German astronomer. Dawidowski removed and concealed the German plaque.[2] In response, the Germans moved Warsaw's statue ofJan Kiliński to theNational Museum in Warsaw.[2] Immediately, Dawidowski and his comrades retaliated by placing a large 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."[4] Even though most minor sabotage operations took place in Warsaw, they also were organized in other cities of occupied Poland, such asCzęstochowa (painting anti-German graffiti, destruction of German signs, affixing of Polish posters),Kielce (defacing of German symbols on official signs, stamping newspapers with theKotwica, painting of a large symbol of the Polish underground state on the tower of the Cathedral church), andKraków (writing "Hitler Kaputt" on the walls, selling fake copies of the local daily "Goniec Krakowski").