Czesław Gęborski (; 5 June 1924 in

Dąbrowa Górnicza Dąbrowa Górnicza () is a city in Zagłębie Dąbrowskie, southern Poland, near Katowice and Sosnowiec. It is located in eastern part of the Silesian Voivodeship, on the Czarna Przemsza and Biała Przemsza rivers (tributaries of the Vistula Rive ...

– 14 June 2006) was a captain of the

security forces Security forces are statutory organizations with internal security mandates. In the legal context of several countries, the term has variously denoted police and military units working in concert, or the role of irregular military and paramilitar ...

of the

People's Republic of Poland The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...

. He is best known for his role as commander of the

Łambinowice Łambinowice is a village in Nysa County, Opole Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Łambinowice. It lies approximately north-east of Nysa, Poland, Nysa and south-west of the region ...

transfer and internment camp created in the former German

Stalag VIII-B Stalag VIII-B was most recently a German Army (Wehrmacht), German Army administered prisoner-of-war camp#Military District VIII (Breslau), POW camp during World War II, later renumbered Stalag-344, located near the village of Lamsdorf (now Łambin ...

. In October 1945 he was dismissed from the post and charged with setting fire to one of the barracks in the camp and ordering gunfire on the inmates trying to put out the flames, an incident in which 48 prisoners died.

Life

Until the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Gęborski was a factory worker in

. Arrested by the Nazis, he was imprisoned in the labour camp in Kochłowice, a district of

Ruda Śląska Ruda Śląska (; ) is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. It is a city in the Metropolis GZM, a metropolis with a population of two million. It is in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica River (tributary of the Oder). It h ...

. In 1943 he was able to escape and join the

Armia Ludowa The People's Army (AL; ; ) was a communist partisan force of the Polish Workers' Party (PPR) active in Occupied Poland during World War II from January to July 1944. It was created on the order of the Soviet-backed State National Council to figh ...

communist resistance organization. Arrested again in 1944 he was bound for

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...

, but his transport was liberated by Polish partisans before it reached the camp. Near the end of the war he joined the

Milicja Obywatelska Milicja Obywatelska (MO; ), known as the Citizens' Militia in English, was the national police organization of the Polish People's Republic. The MO was established on 7 October 1944 by the Polish Committee of National Liberation under Chief Co ...

and the infamous

Ministry of Public Security Ministry of Public Security can refer to: * Ministry of Justice and Public Security (Brazil) * Ministry of Public Security of Burundi * Ministry of Public Security (Chile) * Ministry of Public Security (China) * Ministry of Public Security of Co ...

, where he was quickly promoted to the rank of

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

. Until March 1945 he served in

Świętochłowice Świętochłowice (; ; ) is a city with powiat rights in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. It is also one of the central cities of the Metropolis GZM, with a population of 2 million, and is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Rawa ...

( Zgoda labour camp) and then in

Niemodlin Niemodlin (; ) is a town in Opole County, Opole Voivodeship, Poland, with 6,315 inhabitants (2019). History The community was first mentioned as ''Nemodlin'' in a 1224 deed and received town privileges in 1283. The German place-name ''Falkenberg ...

. Finally in July 1945 he became commander of the transfer and internment camp in

, a concentration camp designed for Germans and Poles deemed ''dangerous'' by the new communist regime of Poland. Hubertus Knabe Tag der Befreiung? Das Kriegsende in Ostdeutschland, S. 194/195, Propyläen Berlin, 2005, He served in that post until October, when he was removed because of numerous abuses.The direct cause of his dismissal was a fire set in one of the wooden huts. The commander did not order the guards to put out the fire but instead ordered all those who did to be shot. Some 48 people were killed in the fire and the shooting. However, by 1947 the investigation against him was dropped without any charges being presented and Gęborski was promoted to the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. In 1956, during the

Khrushchev Thaw The Khrushchev Thaw (, or simply ''ottepel'')William Taubman, Khrushchev: The Man and His Era, London: Free Press, 2004 is the period from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s when Political repression in the Soviet Union, repression and Censorship in ...

following the end of

Stalinism Stalinism (, ) is the Totalitarianism, totalitarian means of governing and Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from History of the Soviet Union (1927–1953), 1927 to 1953 by dictator Jose ...

in Poland, the investigation was resumed and Gęborski was arrested, but the court declared him not guilty. Gęborski then continued his career in the ranks of the

Służba Bezpieczeństwa The Security Service (; ), in full Security Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and commonly known as SB, was a secret police force established in the Polish People's Republic in 1956 as a successor to the Ministry of Public Security (P ...

. In the 1960s he demanded compensation for the 22 months spent in prison prior to his trial, but the court declared that the arrest had been necessary. Finally, after the end of communist rule in Poland, in the late 1990s, the trial for the 1945 incident in Łambinowice was resumed by the local court in

Opole Opole (; ; ; ) is a city located in southern Poland on the Oder River and the historical capital of Upper Silesia. With a population of approximately 127,387 as of the 2021 census, it is the capital of Opole Voivodeship (province) and the seat of ...

. However, it had to be postponed - and finally terminated in 2005 - due to the poor health of both Gęborski and the witnesses. Gęborski died June 14, 2006.Confirmation of death
Opole.so.gov.pl

Notes

References

*
''Polish man accused of 'war crimes' against the Germans''
Justin Sparks, Telegraph.co.uk 19/06/2001 {{DEFAULTSORT:Geborski, Czeslaw 1924 births 2006 deaths People from Dąbrowa Górnicza Armia Ludowa members Escapees from German detention Ethnic cleansing of Germans Ministry of Public Security (Poland) officials Prisoners and detainees of Poland

Life

See also

Notes

References