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Edward
Kossoy, “The Gęsiowka Story”
On the eve
of the Polish Warsaw Uprising of August 1, 1944, about 300 Jewish
prisoners, mostly from Greece and Hungary, were left in the German
KZ Warschau, also known as “Gęsiowka.” They had been sent there from
Auschwitz-Birkenau to exploit the ruins of the Warsaw Ghetto. On the
day the uprising broke out, they were joined by more than 100 Polish
Jewish men and women transferred from the nearby notorious Pawiak
prison. All of these prisoners were liberated during the first days
of the uprising by a volunteer force of the Armia Krajowa (AK)
scouts’ unit. Almost all the liberated Jews joined the uprising.
Alongside the Jewish Fighting Organization unit, they formed the
bulk of two other openly Jewish units in the uprising: the Jewish
platoon of the Wigry battalion in the AK, and the Jewish
International Auxiliary Brigade of the Armia Ludowa (AL). Twelve
Gęsiowka mechanics and electricians of the Armored Platoon kept the
only two insurgent tanks in action. During the last days of the
fighting, two of those men rescued several hundred insurgents who
were surrounded by German auxiliaries, by leading them to
comparative safety. Others dispersed among the AK and AL units and
fought with them. Their bravery, resourcefulness, and persistence
were officially recognized in numerous citations and decorations.
They suffered heavy losses. Only two of the twelve in the Armored
Platoon survived. Overall, their survival rate was only about 25%,
as compared to the general survival rate among the Polish forces of
64%, and 73% for the whole of Warsaw. Still, this survival rate is
far higher than what might have been had AK scouts not liberated the
Gęsiowka camp. |
