Maciej Aleksy Dawidowski codename: Alek, Glizda, Kopernicki, Koziorożec (3 November 1920, in

Drohobycz Drohobych ( uk, Дрого́бич, ; pl, Drohobycz; yi, דראָהאָביטש;) is a city of regional significance in Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Drohobych Raion and hosts the administration of Drohobych urban hro ...

– 30 March 1943, in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

) was a Polish

scoutmaster A Scout leader or Scouter generally refers to the trained adult leader of a Scout unit. The terms used vary from country to country, over time, and with the type of unit. Roles There are many different roles a leader can fulfill depending on t ...

( podharcmistrz), Polish Scouting resistance activist and Second Lieutenant 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 ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

.Gimnazjum nr 56 im. Aleksego Dawidowskiego ps. Patron biography
Dawidowski is a main character in the books ''

Kamienie na Szaniec ''Kamienie na szaniec'' (lit. ''Stones for the Rampart'', also translated as ''Stones on the Barricade'') is a 1943 non-fiction novel by Polish writer Aleksander Kamiński. Published by the Polish underground press during the World War II occupat ...

'' by

Aleksander Kamiński Aleksander Kamiński, assumed name: ''Aleksander Kędzierski''. Also known under aliases such as ''Dąbrowski'', ''J. Dąbrowski, Fabrykant, Faktor, Juliusz Górecki, Hubert, Kamyk, Kaźmierczak, Bambaju'' (born 28 January 1903 in Warsaw, died 15 ...

, and '' Rudy, Alek, Zośka'' by

Barbara Wachowicz Barbara may refer to: People * Barbara (given name) * Barbara (painter) (1915–2002), pseudonym of Olga Biglieri, Italian futurist painter * Barbara (singer) (1930–1997), French singer * Barbara Popović (born 2000), also known mononymously ...

Early life

The son of Aleksy Dawidowski, an engineering technologist and Janina Dawidowska (née Sagatowska), who worked in chemical engineering, Maciej Aleksy Dawidowski graduated from the Stefan Batory Warsaw Gymnasium. He was active in the Polish Boy Scout movement. In the fall of 1939 Dawidowski's father was the administrative director of a rifle factory in

. Following the German occupation of Warsaw in late September 1939, the senior Dawidowski was arrested in November 1939, and on December 1939 the father was shot in the Sejm Gardens.

Resistance work

In 1939 the younger Davidowski was a member of

PLAN A plan is typically any diagram or list of steps with details of timing and resources, used to achieve an objective to do something. It is commonly understood as a temporal set of intended actions through which one expects to achieve a goal. F ...

, in 1940 he became a member of

Szare Szeregi "Gray Ranks" ( pl, Szare Szeregi) was a codename for the underground paramilitary Polish Scouting Association (') during World War II. The wartime organisation was created on 27 September 1939, actively resisted and fought German occupation in ...

(the underground organization of Polish Boy Scouts) and Wawer. He took part in several

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...

actions against the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

forces, among others. In the

Copernicus action Nicolaus Copernicus (; pl, Mikołaj Kopernik; gml, Niklas Koppernigk, german: Nikolaus Kopernikus; 19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath, active as a mathematician, astronomer, and Catholic canon, who formulate ...

he removed the German language plaques beneath the Warsaw statue of Copernicus on 11 February 1942.

Participation in Operation Arsenal

Jan Bytnar Jan Roman Bytnar, ''nom de guerre'' "Rudy" (''Ginger'') (born 6 May 1921, Kolbuszowa, Poland – died 30 March 1943, Warsaw, Poland) was a Polish scoutmaster, a member of Polish scouting anti-Nazi resistance, and a lieutenant in the Home Army duri ...

, another resistance leader, was arrested by the Germans on 23 March 1943. The Polish underground army designed a plan to rescue him called "

Operation Arsenal The Operation Arsenal, code name: "Meksyk II" ( pl, Akcja pod Arsenałem) was the first major operation by the Gray Ranks, Polish Underground formation during the Nazi German occupation of Poland. It took place on March 26, 1943 in Warsaw. Its n ...

". Dawidowski participated in the planning and the execution of the operation. During the attack, he was seriously wounded in the stomach by fire from Germans in the gate house where Bytnar was held. Despite this he threw two grenades enabling his comrades to withdraw from the action. He later died in a hospital from his wounds, aged 22. During the

Warsaw uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occ ...

, Dawidowski's code name "Alek" was later used as the code name for the 2nd Platoon of the 2nd company ("Rudy") of

Batalion Zośka A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...

. He was

posthumously awarded A posthumous award is granted after the recipient has died. Many prizes, medals, and awards can be granted posthumously. Australian actor Heath Ledger, for example, won many awards after his death in 2008. Military decorations, such as Hero of ...

the Silver Cross of the

Virtuti Militari The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', pl, Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was created in 1792 by Polish King Stan ...

and promoted to sergeant. In 2011 he was posthumously awarded the Commander's Cross with Star of the

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

Legacy

An elementary school, Szkoła Podstawowa nr 391 im. Macieja Aleksego Dawidowskiego, in

is named in his honour. An elementary school, Szkoła Podstawowa nr 52 im. Macieja "Alka" Aleksego Dawidowskiego, in

is named in his honour.

References

External links

Gimnazjum nr 56 im. Aleksego Dawidowskiego ps. „Alek”
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawidowski, Maciej Aleksy 1920 births 1943 deaths Polish Scouts and Guides Polish Army officers Recipients of the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari Commanders with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta Home Army members Resistance members killed by Nazi Germany