Antoni Szczęsny Godlewski, (nom-de-guerre ''Antek the Sprayer'') (January 11, 1923 in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

– August 8, 1944, in Warsaw) was a legendary soldier of the

Home Army The Home Army (, ; 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) established in the ...

and participant in the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from ...

. He was the son of the lawyer Franciszek and Aniela. He started high school in Warsaw but after the

Nazi invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak Republic, and the Soviet ...

, the Germans banned secondary education for Poles. As a result, Antoni finished his studies and obtained a high school diploma and continued his studies at an underground university of the Warsaw Polytechnic. At this time he joined the Home Army and became a member of its Security Corps. He was killed on 8 August 1944 after the break out of the Uprising, on the corner of Bracka St. and

Aleje Jerozolimskie Jerusalem Avenue () is one of the principal streets of the capital city of Warsaw in Poland. It runs through the City Centre along the east–west axis, linking the western borough of Wola with the bridge on the Vistula River and the borough of ...

.Muzeum Powstania Warszawkiego (Museum of the Warsaw Uprising), Archiwum Historii Mowionej (Archive of Oral History), Maria Antczak

/ref> His place of death is marked by a memorial plaque. For his bravery in battle he was posthumously awarded the Cross of Valour (Poland), Cross of Valour and the Order of Virtuti Militari, Fifth Class. Today, a street in the

Wola Wola () is a district in western Warsaw, Poland. An industrial area with traditions reaching back to the early 19th century, it underwent a transformation into a major financial district, featuring various landmarks and some of the tallest offi ...

neighborhood of Warsaw is named after him.

References

1923 births 1944 deaths Home Army members Warsaw Uprising insurgents Recipients of the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) {{Poland-bio-stub