Stefan Paweł Rowecki (pseudonym: ''Grot'', "Spearhead", hence the alternate name, Stefan Grot-Rowecki; 25 December 1895 – 2 August 1944) was a Polish general, journalist and the leader of the

Armia Krajowa The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) esta ...

. He was murdered by the Gestapo in prison on the personal order of Heinrich Himmler.

Life

Rowecki was born in Piotrków Trybunalski. In his home town he was one of the organizers of a secret

scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

organization. During World War I he was conscripted into the

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

army and later into the First Brigade of the Polish Legion. He was interned in August 1917 after the majority of his unit had refused to pledge loyalty to the Emperor of Austria. In February 1918, he was released from the internment camp in Beniaminów and joined the

Polska Siła Zbrojna The Polish Armed Forces ( pl, Polska Siła Zbrojna, German: ''Polnische Wehrmacht)'' was a military formation created during World War I.David G. Williamson (2011), Poland Betrayed: The Nazi-Soviet Invasions of 1939' Stackpole Books, page 3. It ...

. After the establishment of the newly independent Poland, he joined the Polish Army. Rowecki fought in the Polish–Soviet war (1919–1920). After the war, he remained in the army and organized the first military weekly periodical (''Przegląd Wojskowy''). From 1930 to 1935, he commanded the 55th Infantry Regiment in Leszno.

World War II

From June 1939, Rowecki organised the

Warsaw Armoured Motorized Brigade The Warsaw Armoured Motorized Brigade ( pl, Warszawska Brygada Pancerno-Motorowa, WBP-M, WBPanc-Mot) was a motorized unit of the Polish Army during the interbellum period. The brigade was one of two such units in Poland (the other being the 10th M ...

(''Warszawska Brygada Pancerno-Motorowa'',

7TP The 7TP (''siedmiotonowy polski'' - 7-tonne Polish) was a Polish light tank of the Second World War. It was developed from the British Vickers 6-ton. A standard tank of the Polish Army during the 1939 Invasion of Poland, its production did not e ...

, TKS tanks). On 1 September 1939 the Nazi-German Army invaded Poland. Although Rowecki's unit did not reach full mobilization, it did, however, take part in the defense of Poland. After the Polish defeat, Rowecki managed to avoid capture and returned to Warsaw. In October 1939, he became one of the leaders, then in 1940 commander, of the

Union of Armed Struggle Związek Walki Zbrojnej ( abbreviation: ''ZWZ''; Union of Armed Struggle;Thus rendered in Norman Davies, ''God's Playground: A History of Poland'', vol. II, p. 464. also translated as ''Union for Armed Struggle'', ''Association of Armed Strug ...

(ZWZ). In 1941, Rowecki organized sabotage in the territories east of the Polish pre-war borders '' Wachlarz''. From 1942, he was commander of the Armia Krajowa (Home Army). As commander of the Home Army, Rowecki instituted policies favorable to Jews. In February 1943, he ordered the Home Army to help the Jewish underground seeking to mount

ghetto uprisings The ghetto uprisings during World War II were a series of armed revolts against the regime of Nazi Germany between 1941 and 1943 in the newly established Jewish ghettos across Nazi-occupied Europe. Following the German and Soviet invasion of Po ...

. In particular, Rowecki authorized aid to the Jewish underground in the Warsaw Ghetto before and during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising by providing arms and mounting diversionary attacks. On 30 June 1943 he was arrested by the Gestapo in Warsaw and sent to Berlin. Rowecki was arrested due to his betrayal by

Ludwik Kalkstein Ludwik "Hanka" Kalkstein, also known as Ludwik Kalkstein-Stoliński (13 March 1920, in Warsaw – 26 October 1994, in Munich),Adam Zadworny "Ostatnia misja Kalksteina."''Gazeta Wyborcza'', 12 December 2009. was a Polish Nazi collaborator of Germ ...

"Hanka", Eugeniusz Swierczewski "Genes" and Blanka Kaczorowska "Sroka" who were Gestapo agents. All of them were members of the Home Army but in fact collaborated with the Gestapo. Swierczewski, Kalkstein and Kaczorowska were sentenced to death for high treason by the Secret War Tribunal of the Polish Secret State. The sentence on Eugeniusz Swierczewski was carried out by troops commanded by Stefan Rys ("Jozef"). Swierczewski was hanged in the basement of the house at 74 Krochmalna Street in Warsaw. Kalkstein received protection from the Gestapo and was not harmed. He fought in a Waffen SS unit during the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 under the name of Konrad Stark. After the war, he worked for the Polish Radio station in

Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...

and was later recruited as an agent by the Urząd Bezpieczeństwa. In 1982, he emigrated to France; he died in 1994. Blanka Kaczorowska also survived the war. Her death sentence was not carried out because she was pregnant. After the war, she also worked as a secret agent for the Urząd Bezpieczeństwa and later for the renamed Służba Bezpieczeństwa. She emigrated to France in 1971. She died in 2002blanka-kaczorowska.com Accessed October 31,2018
/ref> In Berlin he was imprisoned at Oranienburg and was questioned by many prominent Nazi officials (including

Ernst Kaltenbrunner Ernst Kaltenbrunner (4 October 190316 October 1946) was a high-ranking Austrian SS official during the Nazi era and a major perpetrator of the Holocaust. After the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in 1942, and a brief period under Heinrich ...

, Heinrich Himmler and

Heinrich Müller Heinrich Müller may refer to: * Heinrich Müller (cyclist) (born 1926), Swiss cyclist * Heinrich Müller (footballer, born 1888) (1888–1957), Swiss football player and manager * Heinrich Müller (footballer, born 1909) (1909–2000), Austrian ...

). He was offered an anti-bolshevik alliance, but refused. He was probably executed in August 1944 in

Sachsenhausen Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoners ...

. His execution was ordered by Heinrich Himmler. Stefan Rowecki - grób

There have been claims that the arrest of Rowecki on 30 June 1943 was a result of a wider intelligence operation against the

Polish Underground State The Polish Underground State ( pl, Polskie Państwo Podziemne, also known as the Polish Secret State) was a single political and military entity formed by the union of resistance organizations in occupied Poland that were loyal to the Gover ...

with the goal of eliminating top commanders and political leaders of the Polish resistance. During the same period, the Gestapo arrested the commander of

National Armed Forces National Armed Forces (NSZ; ''Polish:'' Narodowe Siły Zbrojne) was a Polish right-wing underground military organization of the National Democracy operating from 1942. During World War II, NSZ troops fought against Nazi Germany and communist pa ...

(NSZ), Colonel

Ignacy Oziewicz Ignacy Oziewicz, pseudonyms: "Czesław", "Czesławski", "Netta", "Jenczewski" (7 May 1887 – 10 January 1966) was a colonel of the Polish Army and a commandant of the National Armed Forces from 1942 to 1943. Biography Early life and mil ...

on 9 June 1943. On 4 July 1943, General Władysław Sikorski died in a plane crash under mysterious circumstances. Within a period of two months, the Polish Army had lost three top commanders.

Medals

* Order of the White Eagle, posthumously (11 November 1995) * Virtuti Militari Golden Cross (1942; Silver Cross in 1923) *

Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievement ...

, Officer's Cross * Cross of Valour 8 times, 4 times for Polish-Soviet War and 4 times for

Polish Defensive War The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week after ...

of 1939 * Gold Cross of Merit twice *

Cross of Independence Cross of Independence ( pl, Krzyż Niepodległości) was second highest Polish military decorations between World Wars I and II. It was awarded to individuals who had fought actively for the independence of Poland, and was released in three cl ...

with Swords * Medal Pamiątkowy za Wojnę 1918-1921 * Medal 10-lecia Odzyskania Niepodległości *

Armia Krajowa Cross The Cross of the Home Army ( pl, Krzyż Armii Krajowej) is a Polish military decoration that was introduced by General Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski on 1 August 1966 to commemorate the efforts of the soldiers of the Polish Secret State between 1939 and ...

, posthumously (1967) * Star of Perseverance (''Gwiazda Wytrwałości'', posthumously) *

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

Commander, posthumously by

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

(USA 9 August 1984) * Légion d'honneur, Officer's Cross (France 1937)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowecki, Stefan 1895 births 1944 deaths People from Piotrków Trybunalski People from Piotrków Governorate 20th-century Polish people Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Polish people of World War I Polish legionnaires (World War I) Polnische Wehrmacht personnel Polish generals Polish Rifle Squads members Home Army members Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Polish Scouts and Guides Military personnel who died in Nazi concentration camps Officers of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Gold Cross of the Virtuti Militari Recipients of the Cross of Independence with Swords People who died in Sachsenhausen concentration camp Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Recipients of the Gold Cross of Merit (Poland) Recipients of the Armia Krajowa Cross Commanders of the Legion of Merit Polish people of the Polish–Soviet War Polish military personnel killed in World War II Executed military leaders Polish people executed in Nazi concentration camps Executed people from Łódź Voivodeship 20th-century Polish journalists Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)

Life

World War II

Medals

See also

References