Narrative

        During World War Two (WWII), many people were struggling to survive in cruel Nazi-occupied Europe. There was not much that people could do to help the war effort because they were either homeless, starving, fighting for their survival, feeling the effects of the German oppression, or mourning their dead loved ones. Many of them could not bear these conditions under which they were living and decided to fight back. One of these people was Jerzy Godwod, a member of the Armia Krajowa (AK) or the Polish National Army. Although his life was constantly filled with fear of the German army, he was still able to form a resistance against his oppressors. With bravery, determination and patriotism he was able to contribute to the liberation of his beloved nation which, because of peeople like him, still thrives today.

        When he was 13 years old, Mr. Godwod attended a cadet school in Ostrow-Mazowiecka. As he was finishing 7th grade, Poland was invaded by Germany. As World War II started in 1939, Jerzy Godwod’s stepfather, a Polish officer, was captured by the Soviets He was held prisoner in the Starobielsk camp and was then murdered in the mass killings of Charkow in the spring of 1940 as a part of the Stalinist crime. However, Mr. Godwod and his family found out about his death only in the 1980s. The first murder of a friend which Jerzy experienced was when his best friend was captured in a street roundup and then two weeks later was publicly executed. Jerzy recalled that, “he was the first friend whose death really touched me.”

        As more German bombings took place, the cadet school was shut down and Mr. Godwod was relocated to an industrial school. There, he acquired mechanic skills and was taught basic knowledge such as math, physics and German. After graduating, he was forced to work in Ursus, Poland at a tank factory. The tasks he performed resembled camp work since he had to work for about 10 hours a day with no profit nor break. The work was extremely difficult and demanding and the conditions were horrific. Mr. Godwod decided to escape. However he could not return home, so he decided to flee to the Ukraine. In the Ukraine, Mr. Godwod worked for a Belorussian company where he was treated much better. There, he received excellent food since the Dutch soldiers had a canteen that required a card to buy the food and the soldiers sometimes lent their cards to the workers. This was the least oppressive time for him during the war since he was well-fed, treated with respect and not overworked. “At that time I can say I had the best food during the whole occupation.”He remained in the factory for several months until Ukrainian nationalists started killing Poles. He escaped back to Warsaw and took 30 kilos of tobacco with him as he did not have any Polish currency nor any official documents to enter Poland. With the help of Polish railway workers he got onto a train with his tobacco, a dangerous yet brave act since it was illegal to carry tobacco to another country. He succeeded in getting the tobacco to Poland, and his family survived because he was able to use it as a way for trading. He was sheltered in his uncle’s house in Warsaw for a month. However, he later moved back to Ostrow-Mazowiecka where he lived with his mother and two sisters, one older and the other younger than him.  

        After Mr. Godwod returned to Ostrow–Mazowiecka, he lived in his mother’s apartment which was used as a transit point for refugees from the western part of Europe. A famous general of the AK, Tadeusz "Bor" Komorowski, stayed at the apartment at one point during WWII for one night. However, Mr. Godwod had not known that this man was somebody of power until he met Komorowski again in 1945 at a park. “Of course I didn’t know who he was then, until in 1945 I saw pictures of “Bór” Komorowski and recognized him.” During Jerzy Godwod’s stay in Ostrow–Mazowiecka, he contacted the AK in his area and joined the first fighting groups there. He joined the army in the spring and was later upgraded in the fall which was quite an achievement. 50 people in total were in the AK army for his area and they were divided into three groups. Each group had a machine gun and each soldier carried a rifle. Mr. Godwod was in charge of carrying ammunition for the machine gun in addition to carrying his own weapon. This particular division later took control of the radio transmitter that dispatched messages back and forth between Warsaw and London. Sending messages took an immense amount of time since the soldiers had to send messages by Morse code. The radio transmitter was portable and not much larger than the size of three Dell D630 laptops. It was regularly transported to various locations so it could not be traced. A messenger from Warsaw would bring codes for division to transmit.

        The first open fire situation Mr. Godwod experienced occurred in this division as well. It occurred in the Ostrow-Mazowiecka area. The division wanted to attack the Germans but the policy of the army was to just aid the needy and not fire so that they didn't draw attention to themselves. In spite of the mandate, the soldiers found a perfect opportunity to ambush the Germans since a German car had just passed by and the soldiers were sure that more Germans cars would come. The soldiers were tired of only helping the needy and wanted to help their country by fighting. The soldiers didn’t have enough will power to just sit and watch their country collapse. The soldiers had, of course, planned that if the head of the army confronted them then they would explain that the Germans had started the fight. In the end, the army decide to attack the other German cars and the Soviets were blamed for these actions.

        Another important part of Mr. Godwod's life was Operation Burza. It was started to protect Polish civilians from the retreating German army and show the Soviets who were pushing the Germans back that the AK was active in these areas. After that, Mr. Godwod's division adopted some members from Italy, Hungary and the Soviet Union and therefore became and International Division. The two Soviet soldiers, who were paratroopers, were informed that the Soviet Union was going to bring them aid in form of parachute drops which would consist of weapons, ammunition and other medical supplies. Although the division prepared for the drops several times, they never arrived. On July 22, the city of Helm was finally liberated. However, the other parts of Poland were still under German control. During the month of August, 23 messages in total were sent between London and Warsaw. One of the messages stated that the Poles should take action and hide their weapons. The people that were taking part in the action had to hide. However, before Poland was officially liberated from the Germans, a battle known as the Battle of August 30th had ensued between the Germans and the Poles. In the battle, 180 brave soldiers from the AK, who were surrounded by Germans, fought against their strong and powerful enemies with amazing courage. The Soviets were supposed to send equipment to aid the soldiers from the AK army. However, this failed to happen. In the end, 60 Polish soldiers died in the battle and one soldier was taken to a concentration camp. Mr. Godwod was injured, but, he managed to recover in a short amount of time. After the battle, Ostrow-Mazowiecka and the rest of Poland was finally liberated. 

        Jerzy Godwod's courage, dedication and love for his country were the traits that helped him survive WWII. Without the contribution of thousands of people like him, Poland as we know it would be very different. People like him, who went against the system that the Germans had established, are the ones who changed the world. Although not all of them have been recognized and many of them never received the gratitude they deserved, in the hearts of the Polish people, they will remain war heroes.