Szare Szeregi: Encyclopedia II - Szare Szeregi - Internal structure

Szare Szeregi - Internal structure

On May 1, 1944, the Szare Szeregi had 8 359 members. Initially only the elder scouts (Senior Scouts, Senior Guides, Rovers and Rangers) 17 and up were admitted. However, soon the number of younger children admitted grew and in 1942 the new structure was adopted, based mostly on the pre-war structure of the ZHP.

Szare Szeregi - Zawisza - ages 12-14

The troops organised for children between 12 and 14 years of age were code-named after Zawisza Czarny, a famous Polish mediæval knight and diplomat. The troops did not take part in active resistance. Instead, the children were prepared for auxiliary service for the upcoming all-national uprising and taught in secret schools for their future duties in liberated Poland. Among the best-known auxiliary troops formed by the Zawiszacy was the Scouting Postal Service organised during the Warsaw Uprising.

Szare Szeregi - Bojowe Szkoły - ages 15-17

The Bojowe Szkoły (Battle Schools, BS) were troops formed by youngsters of 15 to 17 years of age. They took part in various actions of the so-called small sabotage. Such actions included a variety of propaganda actions, aimed both at the Poles, the German civilians and the German military units alike. Among the best-known actions of the BS groups are:

• Wawer-Palmiry Action - major propaganda campaign, which included painting patriotic and anti-German slogans on the walls (see also kotwica), distribution of leaflets, posters and stickers, as well as fake issues of supposedly German newspapers, intercepting German propaganda megaphones and using them for spreading Polish propaganda, destroying German flags and other symbols, disrupting German events by setting off fire alarms, and, last but not least, gassing the German-held cinemas with stink bombs. Probably the best-known of such actions was the stealing of a German language tablet attached to the monument to Nicolaus Copernicus in Warsaw.
• "N" Action - distribution of propaganda newspapers and leaflets among the German soldiers stationed in Poland
• "WISS" Action (short for Wywiad - Informacja Szarych Szeregów - Intelligence and Information of the Szare Szeregi), an action on behalf of the Home Army intelligence, in which the BS groups carried out surveillance of German troops and their movement. The information gathered was then passed on to the Allies. Thanks to that action, the Allies were provided with a complete list of German units, their markings and approximate composition, including units down to battalion size.

Other famous actions included marking the street lamps with the signs Nur für Deutsche, to demonstrate that those who hang people will themselves be hanged. Other such action happened after the German authorities started to destroy most monuments to Polish national heroes and historical personalities. Among them was the monument to Jan Kiliński, a leader of a 17th century uprising in Warsaw against the Swedes during The Deluge. His monument was dismantled and placed in the cellars of the former National Museum in Warsaw, waiting to be delivered to one of German steel mills. The scouts were notified of the place where the monument was hidden and overnight marked the walls of the former museum with giant marking People of Warsaw! I'm here. Kiliński.

As part of their secret training, the boys and girls of the BS were prepared for service in the Home Army on lower posts, as members of the commanders' troops, communication units and reconnaissance units. During the Warsaw Uprising the BS units in the borough of Śródmieście formed a separate company, while in other boroughs they formed separate platoons.

Szare Szeregi - Grupy Szturmowe - ages 17 and up

The Grupy Szturmowe (Assault Groups, GS) were composed of youngsters of ages 17 and up, and were directly subordinate to the KeDyw (Directorate of Diversion) of the Home Army. The GS groups took part in the so-called major sabotage, which included armed struggle against the occupants. In Warsaw the GS groups formed the backbone of the special troops of the Home Army, which carried out various missions. These included liberating prisoners from German prisons and transports, using explosives on railroad bridges, carrying out executions ordered by the Special Courts and open fight against German outposts (Operation Belt). The GS units in Warsaw were organised into several battalions, among them the famous battalions "Zośka", "Parasol" and "Wigry", that later took part in the Warsaw Uprising and were one of the most notable and successful units on the Polish side. Other units (mainly in the Radom-Kielce area) were joined with the partisan units operating in the forests of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains. [1]

The GS groups were trained in secret NCO schools and officer schools for the commanders of motorised and engineering units. Most GS members were also studying at the Secret Universities, to gain experience necessary to reconstruct Poland after the war. Among the best-known such NCO schools was Warsaw-based Agricola.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Internal structure", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki