Józef Batory (

noms de guerre A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...

"Argus", "Wojtek") was a Polish soldier and resistance fighter during

World War II 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 opposing ...

and after. Batory was born on 20 February 1914 in Werynia, Poland. He fought in the 1939

Polish September Campaign 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 af ...

, then was an active member of the anti-German resistance. In the early 1940s, he became commandant of the

Kolbuszowa Kolbuszowa ( yi, קאלבאסאוו) is a small town in south-eastern Poland, with 9,190 inhabitants (02.06.2009). Situated in the Sandomierz Forest in the Subcarpathian Voivodship (since 1999), it is the capital of Kolbuszowa County. Kolbus ...

district of the

Home Army 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) est ...

. From 1945 on, Batory became a leading member of the anti-Communist organization,

Freedom and Independence Freedom and Independence Association ( pl, Zrzeszenie Wolność i Niezawisłość, or WiN) was a Polish underground anticommunist organisation founded on September 2, 1945 and active until 1952. Political goals and realities The main purpose of it ...

. Apprehended by the Communist Polish secret police, the UB, some time in the late 1940s, he was executed on the evening of 1 March 1951 in the infamous

Mokotów Prison Mokotów Prison ( pl, Więzienie mokotowskie, also known as ''Rakowiecka Prison'') is a prison in Warsaw's borough of Mokotów, Poland, located at 37 Rakowiecka Street. It was built by the Russians in the final years of the foreign Partitions of ...

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 ...

. The location of his grave is unknown. Batory is commemorated as one of the "

Cursed soldiers The "cursed soldiers" (also known as "doomed soldiers", "accursed soldiers" or "damned soldiers"; pl, żołnierze wyklęci) or "indomitable soldiers" ( pl, żołnierze niezłomni) is a term applied to a variety of anti-Soviet and anti-communist ...

" of Poland."1 marca Narodowy Dzień Pamięci Żołnierzy Wyklętych"
''

Polskie Radio Polskie Radio Spółka Akcyjna (PR S.A.; English: Polish Radio) is Poland's national public-service radio broadcasting organization owned by the State Treasury of Poland. History Polskie Radio was founded on 18 August 1925 and began making ...

Sources

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Notes and references

Polish secret police torture methods

WiN , Freedom and Independence - A Historical Brief
by Dr. Janusz Marek Kurtyka, Ph.D., Instytut Pamięci Narodowej, IPN, Poland. {{DEFAULTSORT:Batory, Jozef 1914 births 1951 deaths People from Kolbuszowa People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Home Army officers Cursed soldiers People executed by Poland by firearm People executed by the Polish People's Republic Nonpersons in the Eastern Bloc Executed people from Podkarpackie Voivodeship