Anna Żalińska

When German soldiers of the Wehrmacht entered Nowy Sącz on the night of 5 to 6 September 1939, a lot of local offices employed women. When the Germans took over and created the General Government, the office workers automatically became clerks of the German occupational administration. They kept their jobs, but under the new German management. Office work for the Germans during the war was not seen as collaboration. In view of the economic crisis and the work order imposed by the occupant, the position in the administration of the General Government became a way to maintain the material existence of the family and a certain degree of security, not different from any other work (an alternative was going to Germany to work there). The proximity of German co-workers could have been a start of building relationships and subsequent collaboration with the Germans, but it also could have been be an opportunity to help in a broader scope and secretly protect the Polish people of the city.

The attitudes of women working in the administrative service toward the occupant were varied, often diametrically, and the differentiating factors were – as in other situations of choice – the attitude towards the homeland and the degree of the sense of duty toward the nation, the strength of the religious sentiments and sense of morality, the material and family situation, and finally – ones personality. The specific and extreme conditions of the war released people’s predispositions for selfish or noble deeds, ones that were already in there before.

An example of how women working in German offices could have shown invaluable help for their fellow citizens is the case of Maria Fetter “Biedronka” (“Ladybug”) or court clerk Helena Gądek. Maria Fetter worked in the population registration office, from where the Germans obtained the addresses of the people they planned to arrest. “Biedronka” often warned the pursued and their families, which gave them the opportunity to successfully escape and hide[1]. Janina Zagórzycka in her memoirs of the war gives information about the anonymous help of a Polish official from the labor office (Arbeitsampt), that helped destroy her personal files – which allowed the young girl the opportunity to participate in secret education and saved her from being sent to Germany for work[2]. Often, simple actions available to the clerks taken in a fairly safe way, were an effective sabotage of the Germans’ aspirations to destroy the Polish nation. Although it should be remembered that a shadow of suspicion of connections with the underground movement could have ended with arrest and severe punishment.

The Nowy Sącz Branch of the National Archive in Krakow hold interesting memories, written for the local branch of ZBowid in 1979, by a clerk of the Polish Court in Nowy Sącz (in times of peace – the Municipal Court), Helena Gądek[3]. She was Julian Zubek’s half-sister[4] (she took care of his apartment near the end of the war), and she worked closely with his friend Kazimierz Prohaska “Murzyn”, who was the commander of the ZWZ (Union of Armed Struggle) for the city of Nowy Sącz (“Nurt” branch). Zofia typed out various orders for the ZWZ – as a court employee, she could legally use a typewriter; the illegal possession of a typewriter or radio receiver was punished with imprisonment in a concentration camp.

After a major denunciation of the ZWZ, in the summer of 1944, many people with whom she worked, including Kazimierz Prohaska, were arrested and then executed in Zbylitowska Góra. „Murzyn’s” second-in-command – Tadeusz Kołodziej „Sprot” – had to escape. He stayed in hiding in Helena Gądek’s apartment for three weeks. Finally, they joined a unit of the BCh (Peasant Battalions) commanded by “Juhas” and only there Helena was sworn into the ranks. From now on, she received orders from there: The liaison officers would very often come to the Court with my black briefcase and secret messages… So without minding the office hours, I would leave the court building and run to the city to run errands for the underground[5]. Once she was reprimanded for her absence by the court’s president and for repeated absence she lost two weeks of leave. Nobody guessed Helena worked for the underground, but suspiciously frequent visits of the “boys” were finally noticed. Helena then provided the unit with empty witness summon forms. From that moment on, the couriers would come to her with the document (although of course not correctly filled, lacking the file reference, the date of the hearing, etc., to which was also noted by her co-workers, she would also continue receiving president’s negative comments about her absences).

She would often walk to the contact point in Juraszowa on foot. She would bring news from Nowy Sącz and from the court, describe the events happening in the prison yard. Sometimes she would learn beforehand from her private talks with the prosecutor Pisiaczyński, a Ukrainian, when the round-up was planned or who the police were looking for. Requests from the partisans were diverse – as Zofia mentions – often to bring food or clothes. Her relatives would give her pieces of clothing. When this source was exhausted, full of fears, she was forced to go to the craftsmen dormitory at Lwowska Str., where Tadeusz Kołodziej used to live before his escape. She knew that Kołodziej was a wanted person, but she had to use his name when asking his friends who stayed there for his clothes and shoes. Then she delivered the shoes one by one – in fear of being robbed on the way of a pair of almost new, highly sought-after shoes[6].

Communication with prisoners held at Pijarska Str. was possible through the Windows of the court, by gestures or by writing on large pieces of paper – Zofia Gądek recalls. Together with another court employee – Franciszek Kocot, she would coordinate these “window” conversations of prisoners with their families, often with very touching scenes. The court’s president, who caught them in the act, ordered the windows to be covered first, and then for the matt glass to be installed in the windows. Despite the obstacles, Zofia would continue to connect the inmates with their families by opening the window[7]. She was not the only person involved in this. Zofia Rysiówna recalled how her sister Stanisława Rysiówna and Maria Kóskowska, a court employee, on a day before the Zofia was transported to Tarnów, from where she was taken to KL Ravensbrück, hung a cardboard in the court window with a sentence: “Zosia, at 19 today sing Ave Maria.” It was supposed to be a symbolic farewell to the prisoners shot in Biegonice on 21 August 1941[8]

Almost all of Zofia Gądek’s family was involved in underground activities, which certainly also was additional motivation for her. They payed a great price for it, because – as recalled by Zofia – her two brothers-in-law and her brother were caught and sentenced to imprisonment in the concentration camp, where they died. After the war, Zofia received thanks in a form of a a letter from the command of the forest unit with which she cooperated, a poem and a soldier song written about her[9]. Let the next part of these thanks be the lasting memory of women such as her, Polish office workers serving the Homeland under the German occupation

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[1] Julian Zubek „Tatar”, Ze wspomnień kuriera, s. 27.

[2] ANKr O/NS, Materiały do dziejów harcerstwa w nowosądeckim, ref. 31/559/34, Janina Zagórzycka, „Promyk” na ziemi sądeckiej, s. 2.

[3] ANKr O/NS, Związek Kombatantów Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej i Byłych Więźniów Politycznych. Zarząd Okręgowy w Nowym Sączu, ref. 31/558/754, Helena Gądek „Ciotka” – więzienie i sąd w Nowym Sączu w czasie okupacji.

[4] One of the six children of Maria Wojciechowska primo voto Lipińska, secundo voto Zubek from her first marriage to Józef Lipiński, see: Piotr Kazana, Przedwojenna działalność sportowa mjr. Juliana Zubka, „Almanach Sądecki” 2016, nr 3/4 (96/97), s. 67.

[5] ANKr O/NS, Związek Kombatantów Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej…, ref. 31/558/754, Helena Gądek „Ciotka” – więzienie i sąd w Nowym Sączu w czasie okupacji, s. 2.

[6] Ibidem, s.2 et seq.

[7] Ibidem.

[8] Zofia Rysiówna, Z przeżyć okupacyjnych, „Rocznik Sądecki” 1968, t. 9, s. 444

[9] ANKr O/NS, Związek Kombatantów Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej…, ref. 31/558/754, Helena Gądek „Ciotka” – więzienie i sąd w Nowym Sączu w czasie okupacji.

Piotr Kazana

The geographical location of Nowy Sącz had a huge impact on the occupational history of the town. Given the geopolitical relations of the period in central Europe, the short distance between the city and the border with the Slovak Republic was important for the role it played in the underground operations during World War II.[1] From the second half of September 1939 until spring 1944 Nowy Sącz and the whole Sądecki region became one of the most important points on the map of smuggling people through the border and on the routes of the civil and military underground communication between the occupied country and the Polish government in exile (located in Paris until June 1940 and then, until the end of the war, in London).

After the German forces took control of Nowy Sącz on 6 September 1939, one of the first forms of underground activities, spontaneously organized, was helping people who wanted to get out of the occupied country. Their main motivation was the desire to continue fighting against Germany alongside allied France. It was possible because from October 1939 it was in this country that the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile functioned with President Władysław Raczkiewicz and Prime Minister, who also served as Chief Commander, Gen. Władysław Sikorski.[2] In accordance with the Polish-French agreements signed between the end of September 1939 and may 1940, the voluntary units of the Polish Army under the French staff, but commanded by Polish officers were formed in the country.[3] The news about the formation of the Polish Armed forces units in France caused a stir in the occupied country, especially among the surviving soldiers of the defensive war of September 1939 and civilians, who were just now trying to join the fight against the occupant. There were several ways to safely get out of the country: through Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia, and even by sea, through Lithuania and Sweden[4]. However, due to the geopolitical situation at that time, the fastest and safest option turned out to be crossing the southern Carpathian border. From autumn 1939 to spring 1940, thousands of people found their way through it: soldiers, weapons specialists (including artillery officers and pilots), engineers, politicians, people of culture and science and others. The intensifying repressions mad more and more people threatened with arrest and Jews, saving their lives, flee.^[5]

The Hungarian direction, crossing the Sącz region and the city of Nowy Sącz, was the most significant for the emerging smuggling routes. This was due to several factors – mainly due to the closeness of the border and the borderline being charted through the forested hills of the Beskids, relatively easy to get across, in terms of technique. Logistically speaking the fastest way to Budapest led through Nowy Sącz, after traversing Slovakia. From there, mainly through Yugoslavia and then the Mediterranean Sea, it was possible for people to reach the southern French coast by ship. Hungary, despite being part of the Nazi countries axis, has remained neutral towards the September assault of Germany, Slovakia and the Soviet Union on Poland from the first day of the war. After the Soviet Union invaded on 17 September 1939, the Hungarian authorities opened their border with the Second Polish Republic for civilian and military refugees.^[6] Polish soldiers were disarmed and interned in camps scattered around the territory of Hungary. In practice, they were treated as guests and friends who were supposed to be helped.^[7] Moreover, despite German pressure, until June 1941 the Hungarian authorities turned a blind eye to the Polish legation remaining active in Budapest^[8].

However, the situation with the Slovak Republic was completely different. The Slovaks, unlike the Hungarian authorities, assumed the role of aggressors and occupants of small fragments of the Polish Spisz and Orawa regions.^[9] However, the sentiments of Slovak society did not fully align with the state anti-Polish narrative. The mostly positive attitude toward the Polish case was decisive for the success of the cross-border people smuggling operations. Many Slovaks were their active participants. This behavior was influenced by the close neighbor relations of the people on both sides of the border. It often was a result of participation in the contraband smuggling or even of family ties.^[10] Unfortunately, a dark page in history was written by the Slovak militia units of Hlinkova Garda^[11] and Finančna Stráž^[12]catching Polish refugees and handing them over to the Germans.^[13] The geopolitical situation on the southern border also helped increase the chances to reach the destination abroad. That is why in the autumn of 1939 so many refugees had come to the occupied Nowy Sącz. They arrived by all available means, from all corners of the country.^[14] The pre-war contacts were valued like gold, they were quickly spread among the interested “tourists”. Guests such as these often visited the house of Tadeusz Sokołowski at Józef Szujskiego 10 Str. Before the war he studied law at the Warsaw University, which is why he was hosting a lot of friends from Warsaw in the autumn of 1939. Together with his mother Anna, he would provide the refugees with wide-ranging assistance: lodgings, food and organizing their crossing to Hungary.^[15] They were joined in the efforts by Zbigniew Ryś, a colleague of Tadeusz from school, who recalled after the war: […] Our work was spontaneous and makeshift – we were driven by patriotism and desire to oppose the occupant.^[16] Similar points were located in other districts of the city at Kościelna Str., where the law firm of Dr. Hyży used to be, at Galler’s dental practice on Batorego Str., in the Freisler family home at Nawojowska 70 Str., at the Kwiatkowski family at Toczewskiego 3 Str., in the apartment of the Lohs family on Chodkiewicza and Batorego Strs., in the Stramka family house at Gorzkowska 37 Str., in the apartments of the Kuhnen family at Grodzka 16 Str., of Jadwiga Wolska and of the Moszycki and Wzorek families on Tatrzańska Str. and of the Stobiecki family^[17] at Kunegundy 14 Str.^[18], as well as in apartments of Wanda, Maria and Zofia Flis  at Jagiellońska 29 Str. or of Stefan and Arpad Marschalko at Jagiellońska 76 Str.^[19]

Biegonice and Nawojowa, directly adjacent to the city, were two equally important elements of the smuggling arrangements thanks to the involvement of Jadwiga Steifertówna and the Mirek and Stadnicki families^[20]. It is impossible to calculate today how many families and people were involved in this process, but the pattern remained more or less the same. First, friends would arrive, then the next ones would come to the specified specified address, this time – friends of friends. Those without contacts such as these often sought help from local priests. One example is the clergy house of the church in Biegonice. Together with local families, priests Józef Kądziołka, Stanisław Śmiałek and Stefan Zalesiński provided various kinds of help to refugees^[21].

The initial uncoordinated and spontaneous attempts to cross the southern border often would end tragically. Many refugees, instead of Budapest, went to German and Slovak prisons. The atmosphere of these events is perfectly reflected in the account of Leopold Kwiatkowski “Tomek”, one of the main organizers of people smuggling in the Sącz region, a later courier of the Government Delegation for Poland: In 1939, many groups, better or worse organized, tried crossing the Slovak border to go to Hungary, choosing routes in the Sącz district, through Krynica, Piwniczna, Szczawnica. They were often so-called “wild” groups, not organized, making risky decisions when crossing the border […]. When harsh winter came and the control of the Germans and the Gestapo was tightened, the conditions of passage became very difficult. The prison in Nowy Sącz was filled with people who were caught [at the border]. The Sucha Valley near Piwniczna, is now named the Valley of Death^[22].

On the border of the General Government (GG), created on 12 October 1939, which included Nowy Sącz and the Sącz region with Slovakia, the Slovak border guards and the German Zollgrenzchutz^[23] units were very active. The situation was additionally complicated by the issue of national relations near the border in the Sącz region. The greatest threat was the attitude of the ukrainized Lemkos who would look for and catch people at the border.^[24] However, as Józef Bieniek rightly pointed out, it was not possible to continue the people smuggling without the involvement of the Lemkos of the Sącz region.^[25] To prevent further arrests, the crossings, until now uncoordinated and spontaneous, have been put into an organized framework. The most important role in the initial stage of creation of the smuggling routes was played by the Krakow District of the White Eagle Organization (Organizacja Orła Białego, OOB).^[26] On behalf of this organization the routes to Hungary were prepared by Eng. Henryk Radosiński “Herfurt”. Based on the pre-war structures and members of the Non-front Diversionary Group, coming mainly from among young scouts, OOB began creating the first organized smuggling networks.^[27] Nowosądecki district was divided into two parts with the cryptonyms “Lubań” (Nowy Sącz, Linko, Szczawnica, Krościenko nad Dunajcem) and “Poprad” (Nowy Sącz, Piwniczna, Rytro), which was commanded by Lt. Klemens Gucwa “Góral”^[28]. With the establishment of the Service for Poland’s Victory (Służba Zwycięstwu Polski, SZP) and its transformation into the Union of Armed Struggle (Związek Walki Zbrojnej, ZWZ), the achievements of the OOB in the field of people smuggling routes were passed under the command the Main Command (Komenda Główna, KG) of the SZP-ZWZ.^[29] In Nowy Sącz, a smuggling network, led by Ludwik Kowalski, “Leopold Korabiewicz” was created as part of the OOB. However, the young age of its members and the carelessness in its activity led to the organization being busted in spring 1940. Many of the people involved in it were later murdered by the Germans in the June execution in the forest near Wysokie. Alongside the OOB, the people smuggling operation in the Sącz region was also undertaken, from December 1940 by The Union of Military Action (Związek Czynu Zbrojnego, ZCZ) and the Polish Armed Organisation (Polska Organizacja Zbrojna, POZ). Numerous arrests of members of both organizations led to their destruction by the Nowy Sącz Gestapo^[30]. The organizers of the transfer routes first sought cooperation with people trained in diversionary groups in after them – guides who, during the first spontaneous wave, on their own, selflessly or for money, smuggled people across the border. These were mainly small-time smugglers and Polish and Lemko people living near the border. Another desirable group were athletes, as the service required people of high physical fitness level.

The best organized smuggling group in Nowy Sącz was created by “Góral” mentioned above. He asked Jan Freisler “Sądecki” and Leopold Kwiatkowski for help in its creation. They managed to secure the involvement of several couriers: Rudolf Lenc “Rudek”^[31], Zbigniew Lohse “Łupieński”^[32], Roman Stramka “Romek”, Jan Szyszka “Piekarski”^[33], Tadeusz Sokołowski “Ogór”, brothers Kazimierz and Władysław Świerczek^[34], Franciszek Krzyżak “Frantol”^[35], Władysław Olchawa, brothers Józef and Tadeusz Ciastoń^[36] and Zbigniew Ryś “Fantom”. All of them knew each other from a common yard and sports. They lived near each other, mainly in Gorzków, the railway district of Nowy Sącz. Before the outbreak of the war, they practiced skiing, track and field and football together at the “Sandecja” Railway Military Training Sports Club (Klub Sportowy Kolejowego Przysposobienia Wojskowego, KS KPW). The guardian and trainer of the skiing section was the oldest of them, Kwiatkowski, whose life passion, besides skiing, was aviation.

To control the chaos on the border of the GG, establishing of permanent bilateral communication between the occupied country and the Polish government and military authorities located in France, and from June 1940 in the UK, was necessary. It was essential in order to exchange necessary information and money and to coordinate operations against the occupants. In the reality of the Second World War, it was maintained in two ways: with technology, by using radio stations^[37] and with human resources in the form of clandestine and properly trained emissaries, couriers, runners and guides.^[38] Each of the couriers took an oath, received a pseudonym, false documents and wage. As the elite among them, the emissaries, who were properly trained, were assigned the most responsible missions. The courier would be send with a special task, by the safest possible route known to him. Emissaries and couriers carried messages perfectly disguised in everyday objects.^[39] They personally delivered the letters they were entrusted with to designated contact points, without learning their content themselves. A runner was constantly coursing between intermediate points, like a postman moving through area well known only to them. The guides were smuggling groups of people or individuals, they also acted as guides for couriers and government emissaries crossing the border in the area they worked in.

In the autumn of 1939 SZP began to form the Foreign Communication Cell, giving it the code names “Zagroda”, “Łza” and “Zenobia”. In June 1940, the southern transfer routes of the KG SZP-ZWZ were merged into the “South” section divided into four subsections. The routes running through Nowy Sącz were given the code name “Sabina” and the person responsible for them was Stefan Ryś ps. „Waga”. The routes were:

1. Nowy Sącz – Rytro – Kordowiec – Kosarzyska – Eliaszówka (border crossing) – Stará Ľubovňa – Lipany – Prešov (border crossing) – Košice – Budapest;
2. Nowy Sącz – Krynica – Tylicz (border crossing) – Lenartov – Minčol – Čergov (Čergov Mountains) – via Torysa river to Košice – Budapest;
3. Nowy Sącz – Rytro – Kordowiec – Kosarzyska – Eliaszówka (border crossing) – Stará Ľubovňa – Kežmarok – Spišská Nová Ves – Hnilec (border crossing) – Rožňava – Budapest;
4. Nowy Sącz – Krynica (border crossing) – Lenartov – Bardejov – Kapušany – Vranov – Garany (border crossing) – Sátoraljaújhely – Oramus (former vineyard of Kraków merchants) – Budapest;
5. Nowy Sącz – Przehyba – Szczawnica – Lesnica – Poprad – Rožňava – Budapest (or through Andrassy Park near Veľká Poloma to Budapest);
6. Nowy Sącz – Kosarzyska (the Valley of Death) – Eliaszówka – Prešov – Košice – Budapest;
7. Nowy Sącz – Kosarzyska – Eliaszówka (border crossing) – Jarabina – Kežmarok (border crossing) – Budapest;
8. Nowy Sącz – Muszyna (border crossing) – Orlov – Prešov (border crossing) – Košice – Budapest;
9. Nowy Sącz – Muszyna – Powroźnik – Dubne (border crossing) – Lenartov – Prešov (border crossing) – Košice – Budapest.

From November 1939, the communication from abroad was provided by the clandestine Liaison-Intelligence Bases: № 1 in Budapest, code names “Romek”, “Liszt”, “Pestka”; № 2 in Bucharest, code name “Bolek”; №. 3 in Kaunas, code name “Witold”, in summer 1940 it was moved to Stockholm with the code name “Anna”.^[40] Due to numerous conflicts between civil and military structures, on 28 February 1940 the Committee for Home Country Affairs (Komisja do Spraw Kraju, KSK) has decided to set up a separate communication network for the army and politicians. For civilian use, the “W” Branch was established in Budapest, led by Edmund Fitz-Fietowicz, with Wasław Felczak “Lech” directly responsible for coordinating couriers.^[41] In the spring of 1940, a civilian Government Delegation for Poland was established. The courier routes going through Nowy Sącz were delegated for its use in the autumn of 1940, along with a team of guides-couriers-runners operating on them.^[42] It was based on the so-called “relay” system, meaning the transfer of deliveries and information in stages. The emissaries of the Polish Government, as well as many “cichociemny” special paratroopers did go through Nowy Sącz on their way to the west, including Jan Karski “Kozielewski”[43], Tadeusz Chciuk “Marek Celt”^[44], Franciszek Moskal “Martyniuk”.^[45] The courier communication on the southern border was severed in March 1944, when the Wermacht entered Hungary.

Biographies of couriers and guides from Nowy Sącz can be found in the Biographies tab.

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[1] See further: Z. Goetel, Warunki i okoliczności polskiej akcji w kierunku południowym w latach 1939–1945 na Węgrzech i Słowacji, „Rocznik Sądecki”, vol. IX., Nowy Sącz 1968, pp. 211–248.

[2] See further: E. Duraczyński, Polski Rząd na uchodźstwie 1939–1945, Warszawa 1993; Zuziak J., Wojsko Polskie we Francji 1939–1940. Organizacja i działania bojowe, Warszawa 2013.

[3] See further: W. Biegański, Polskie Siły Zbrojne na Zachodzie 1939–1945, Warszawa 1990; W. Biegański, M. Juchniewicz, S. Okęcki, Polacy w ruchu oporu narodów Europy 1939–1945, Warszawa 1977, p. 462.

[4] W. Frazik, Wojskowa i cywilna konspiracyjna łączność kurierska, „Biuletyn Informacyjny Armii Krajowej”, № 1, January 2017, pp. 1–2.

[5] W. Frazik, Kurierskie szlaki Delegatury Rządu i Armii Krajowej, [in:] Wojna i okupacja w Piwnicznej i na Sądecczyźnie, ed. by W. Wdowiak, Piwniczna – Zdrój 2010, p. 105.

[6] See further: W. Felczak, Historia Węgier, Wrocław 1983, pp. 339–370; J. Kochanowski, Węgry – od ugody do ugody 1867–1990, Warszawa 1997.

[7] See further: Z. Antoniewicz, Rozbitkowie na Węgrzech – wspomnienia z lat 1939–1946, Warszawa 1987; J. Łożański, Orzeł z Budapesztu. Wspomnienia kuriera AK, Warszawa 2012; Idem, Warszawa – Nowosielce – Budapeszt (Wspomnienia Kuriera), „Rocznik Sanocki”, vol. II., Sanok 1967; Idem, Wspomnienia Kuriera, „Rocznik Sanocki”, vol. III, Sanok 1971.

[8] B. Ablonczy, Pal Teleki (1879–1941), Warszawa 2020, pp. 154–199.

[9] See further: M. Lacko, Dwuramienny krzyż w cieniu swastyki. Republika Słowacka 1939–1945, Lublin 2012; L. Kościelak, Historia Słowacji, Wrocław 2010, pp. 342–383; D. Golik, Wrzesień 1939 w Dolinie Dunajca. Bój graniczny i walki nad Górnym Dunajcem między 1 a 6 września 1939 r., Kraków 2018; A. Olejko, Niedoszły sojusznik czy trzeci agresor? Wojskowe i polityczne aspekty trudnego sąsiedztwa Polski i Słowacji 1918–1939, Kraków – Rzeszów 2012.

[10] J. Bieniek, Przyjaciele z trudnych lat,  „Rocznik Sądecki”, vol. XV/XVI, Nowy Sącz 1974/1977, pp. 255–330.

[11] Hlinkova Garda – a paramilitary force of the Slovak People’s Party (SLS), based on the German SS formations, see further: P. Sokolović , Hlinkova Garda 1938–1945, Bratislava 2009.

[12] Finančná Stráž – Slovak Financial Guard, equivalent of the Polish Border Guard. In the literature on the subject and in witness accounts referred to as finance, J. Zubek, Ze wspomnień kuriera, Warszawa – Piwniczna 2008, p. 15.

[13] Z. Goetel, Warunki…, op. cit.

[14] P. Kazana, Zielona granica 1939–1940, „Sądeczanin. Historia”, № 3/2019, pp. 77–84

[15] Idem, Tadeusz Sokołowski (1914–2006), „Sądeczanin”, № 8/2014, pp. 66–67.

[16] Z. Ryś, Wspomnienia kuriera, Nowy Sącz 2016, p. 14.

[17] See further: J. Bieniek, Saga rodu Stobieckich, „WTK” 1971, № 10.

[18] J. Bieniek, Między Warszawą a Budapesztem, „Rocznik Sądecki”, vol. IX, Nowy Sącz 1968, pp. 274–280.

[19] L. Migrała, Ulica Jagiellońska w Nowym Sączu od końca XIX w. do 1945 r. – mieszkańcy i zabudowa, Nowy Sącz 2012, pp. 61, 122.

[20] J. Bieniek, op. cit.

[21] Ibidem, p. 261.

[22] L. Kwiatkowski, Walka na zielonych szlakach, typewritten, Nowy Sącz , 9 I 1966.

[23] German customs guard.

[24] Ł. Grzywacz-Świtalski, Z walk na Podkarpaciu, Warszawa 1971, p. 130

[25] J. Bieniek, Łemkowie w służbie Polski Podziemnej, „Tygodnik Powszechny”, № 15, 1985; A. Klonder, Łemkowie Sądecczyzny od początku lat trzydziestych do 1947 r., [in:] Okupacja w Sądecczyźnie 1939–1945, ed. by J. Berghauzen, Nowy Sącz 1974. 

[26] See further: K. Pluta – Czachowski, Organizacja Orła Białego. Zarys genezy, organizacji, działalności, Warszawa 1987.

[27] K. Mrozowski, M. Bron jr, Działalność polskich grup sabotażowo-dywersyjnych na Podhalu w latach 1939–1941, [in:] Podhale during the occupation, ed. by J. Berghausen, Warszawa 1977.

[28] After his death on 18 March 1941, Jan Fresiler “Sądecki” bacame the commander of this section. See further: H. Latkowska-Rudzińska, Łączność zagraniczna Komendy Głównej Armii Krajowej 1939–1945. Odcinek Południe, Lublin 1985, p. 20.; P. Kazana, Klemens Konstanty Gucwa. Zapomniany kurier Polskiego Państwa Podziemnego, „Sądeczanin”, № 2/2014.

[29] H. Latkowska-Rudzińska, op. cit.

[30] See further: G. Mazur, R. Wojciech, M. Zagórniak, , Wojna i okupacja na Podkarpaciu i Podhalu na obszarze Inspektoratu ZWZ-AK Nowy Sącz 1939–1945, Kraków 1998.

[31] Rudolf Lenc “Rudek” (1920–2005) came from Gorzków near Nowy Sącz, he joined the smuggling network thanks to Roman Stramka. In March 1941, together with Franciszek Krzyżak “Frantol” and Klemens Gucwa “Góral” he was shot at by the Slovak border guard patrol in the area of Košice (“Góral” suffered fatal wounds in the skirmish). In the summer of 1943, he was returning to the occupied country together with Jan Szyszka, and in the area of Dukla Pass (then near the border of Hungary with GG) they came across a patrol of the Hungarian border guard. In the resulting Szyszka was fatally wounded, and Lenc was arrested and imprisoned in Miskolc, and then in Budapest, from where he managed to get out after the intervention of the director of the underground “W” Branch, E. Fietowicz. In 1944, he was arrested in Hungary by the Gestapo and after a cruel investigation sent to the concentration camp in Mauthausen-Gusen. After the war he moved to Warsaw. See further: J. Bieniek, Między…, pp. 315–317.; J. Oleksiewicz, Rudek, „Stolica”, № 44 from 1978, pp. 5–6.

[32] Zbigniew Lohse “Łupieński”

[33] Jan Szyszka “Piekarski” came from a railman’s family from Gorzków near Nowy Sącz. He was a talented painter, creating both portraits and paintings with religious themes. Forced to flee from the Gestapo to Hungary, he began his courier service through Roman Stramka. In July 1942, during one of his courier runs, he was killed by the Hungarian border guard in the area of the Dukla Pass. The place of his burial is still unknown to this day. See further: J. Bieniek, Między…, pp. 337–338.

[34] Brothers Kazimierz (1918–1944) and Władysław Świerczek (1912–1944), pre-war skiers of “Sandecja”, couriers and runners of the “W” Branch, connected with the Polish Socialist Party (Polska Partia Socjalistyczna, PPS) cells. They smuggled a lot of Jewish people across the southern border. They died on 31 May 1944 in the Kunowski Forest near Nowy Sącz, after being shot at by a German patrol. They were buried in the place of their death. See further: J. Kitowicz 2003, pp. 336–337.

[35] Franciszek Krzyżak “Franek”, “Frantol”, “Karol” (1915–1986), the pre-war skier of the “Sandecja” KPW , PPS activist, coordinator of sabotage and military intelligence operations in the Nowy Sącz Railway Workshops, guide and courier of the Freedom Equality Independence People’s Guard (Gwardia Ludowa – Wolność Równość Niepodległość, GL-WRN) and the Budapest civilian “W” Branch, organizer of the GL-WRN units in the Sącz region. After the war he was a social and economic activist in Tarnów, among other places. In the years 1951–1957 he was registered in the Voivode Office of Public Security (Wojewódzki Urząd Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego, WUBP) in Krakow as an informer with codename „Kazek”, see further; IPN Kr 009/5427, Teczka personalna informatora ps. „Kazek”;  J. Bieniek, Sądeccy Kurierzy, pp. 19–22; W. Frazik, Emisariusz…, pp. 49–224.

[36] Józef and Tadeusz Ciastoń ( d. 1944), the pre-war athletes of the “Sandecja” KPW, couriers of the PPS-WRN, they died in 1944 in the area of Kosarzyska – the Valley of Death (Sucha Valley), see further; J. Bieniek, Między.…, p. 332; R. Cybulski, J. Leśniak, 75 lat Komunikacyjnego Klubu Sportowego „Sandecja” 1910–1985, Nowy Sącz 1986; D. Weimer, Złota Księga Sandecji 1910–2010, Nowy Sącz 2010, pp. 156–158.

[37] The constant radio communication between the occupied country and the Polish authorities in London was established in the summer of 1940, see further: W. Grabowski, Polska tajna administracja cywilna 1940–1945, Warszawa 2003, pp. 98–105.

[38] See further: W. Frazik, Emisariusz wolnej Polski. Biografia polityczna Wacława Felczaka (1916–1993), Kraków 2013; Idem, Łączność kurierska z Rządem Polskim na Uchodźctwie, [w:] Wojna i okupacja w Piwnicznej i na Sądecczyźnie, ed. by W. Wdowiak, Piwniczna-Zdrój 2010, s. 103–112;  Idem, Historia placówki „W” i przerzutów poczty krajowej. Raport Wacława Felczaka „Lecha” z kwietnia 1945 r., „Zeszyty Historyczne WiN-u”, № 8/1995; Idem, Wojskowa i cywilna łączność kurierska, „Biuletyn Informacyjny Armii Krajowej”, № 321, January 2017; H. Latkowska-Rudzińska, op. cit.; T. Dubicki, Bazy wojskowej łączności zagranicsznej ZWZ-AK w latach 1939–1945, Częstochowa 2000; Kliszewicz L. A. B., Placówki wojskowej łączności kraju z centralą w Londynie podczas II Wojny Światowej, [pt. 1–6], Warszawa–Londyn 1998–2000.

[39] K. Minczynkowska, Cichociemna Generał Elżbieta Zawacka „Zo”, Warszawa 2016; H. Latkowska, op. cit.

[40] W. Frazik, Kurierskie…, p. 106.

[41] Wacław Felczak “Wacek”, “Lech” (1916–1993), historian, courier and government emissary, organizer of the Budapest facility for the communication with the government – the “W” Branch, head of the facility’s couriers. See further: W. Frazik, Emisariusz…, op. cit.

[42] J. Zamojski, Konferencja belgradzka w 1940 r., Najnowsze Dzieje Polski – materiały i studia z okresu II wojny światowej, vol. X, Warszawa 1966, pp. 191–238.

[43] Jan Kozielewski vel Jan Karski “Witold” (1914–2000), an emissary of the Polish Government in exile. In June 1940, he was caught by the Gestapo when crossing the GG border to Slovakia. On 28 July 1940, the ZWZ in Nowy Sącz organized a successful escape of the emissary held in the Nowy Sącz hospital. See further: J. Karski, Tajne państwo, Kraków 2014; S. M. Jankowski, Karski. Raporty tajnego emisariusza, Poznań 2009; A. Puławski, Wobec „niespotykanego w dziejach mordu”. Rząd RP na uchodźstwie, Delegatura Rządu na Kraj, AK a eksterminacja ludności żydowskiej od wielkiej „akcji” do powstania w getcie warszawskim, Chełm 2019.

[44] See further: M. Celt , Raport z podziemia 1942, pp. 183–196;

[45] A. Talar, W. Wdowiak, Cichociemni na szlakach Sądecczyzny, [in:] Wojna., pp. 144–147.

 

Dawid Golik

The German order police (abbreviated Orpo) in the General Government1 had an extensive structure. It was divided into protection police (Schutzpolizei, abbreviated Schupo) and the gendarmerie (Gendarmerie). Regular Schupo units were stationed in larger cities and district capitals, forming battalions, and then police regiments, capable of carrying out immediate operations in several districts. The gendarmerie in turn was grouped in companies and platoons, and stationed in larger towns and district cities.

Nowy Sącz, as the capital of the occupational district, also received its platoon of gendarmerie (Gendarmerie-Zug Neu Sandez), which, along with its twin platoons in Jasło and Tarnów, was subordinate to the gendarmerie company in Tarnów (Gendarmerie-Hauptmannschaft Tarnow), commanded by Gendarmerie Cpt. Theodor Sielaff .[1] In the city there was a platoon headquarters with a commander (Zugführer) titled the Gendarmerie Inspector (Gendarmerie-Inspektor). And in the field, outposts of a dozen-or-so people were created, located in the localities most threatened by the underground resistance activity. That is why the gendarmerie platoon in Nowy Sącz, commanded by Lt. (later Cpt.) Georg Mittelmeier, close to its headquarters had its posts in Nowy Sącz itself and in Limanowa, Krynica, Muszyna and Rożnów.^[2] The plutoon size, according to the 1940 guidelines, was to be a total of 55 people. The posts in turn should be manned by a commander and at least 12 gendarmes. Each gendarme was equipped with a rifle and a handgun, additionally each platoon received 4 machine guns and 2 light machine guns.^[3]

In the summer of 1944, companies and platoons of gendarmerie evacuated to the Kraków district of the GG from the eastern territories also appeared in the Sącz region. In Nowy Sącz, the command of the Dębica gendarmerie platoon was quartered (2 officers, 17 sub-officers and regular gendarmes). It eventually became part of the special tasks gendarmerie company merged from the former Dębica, Krosno, Jasło, Przemyśl and Sanok gendarmerie platoons (Gendarmerie-Hauptmannschaft z.b.V.; 18 officers, 190 German sub-officers and regular gendarmes, 33 non-German sub-officers and regular gendarmes). It was created in November 1944, and stationed in Ujanowice. Platoons making up this unit were also temporarily stationed in other areas of the Sącz region.[4]

In the district of Krakow there were also independent motorized gendarmerie platoons (Gendarmerie-Zug mot.), which were sent to a specific localization or district when the local order police forces proved to be insufficient to carry out individual tasks. From 1943, such units were also temporarily present in the Sącz region. First to mark their activity in the region were the 64th and the 69th motorized gendarmerie platoons, which took part in operations against the underground resistance in the autumn of 1943.[5] Between August and October 1944 the Sądcz region has become the area of activity of the 54th motorized gendarmerie platoon (1 officer, 39 sub-officers and regular gendarmes). As one of the last, in December 1944, the notorious 63rd motorized gendarmerie platoon arrived in Nowy Sącz.[6] In the last motnh of the war, the German gendarmerie was stationed in the buildings on the Jagiellońska, Kościelna and Naściszowska Strs.

Schupo units also had an important place on the map of the occupying forces. Although during most of the war the gendarmerie forces proved to be sufficient to carry out police activities in the Sącz region, almost all of that time separate units of protection police were present in the district. These were primarily sub-units of the so-called Krakow Police Regiment (Polizei Regiment Krakau), consisting of several reserve battalions of police formed earlier in Germany. In July 1942 the Krakow Police Regiment was renamed as the 23rd Police Regiment, and a year later (in February 1943), in recognition of the Schipo regiments activities, the term “SS Police Regiment” was added to their names. From now on, until the formation was dissolved, it used the name 23rd SS Police Regiment (SS-Polizei Regiment 23).^[7]

We find a trace of the presence of the policemen of the Krakow Schupo regiment in Nowy Sącz at the turn of 1940 and 1941, when the 4th and the 6th companies of the 106th reserve police battalion were stationed in the city. Later, in January 1942, when the 111th reserve police battalion became part of the Polizei Regiment Krakau, its individual companies and platoons were sent to Tarnów (the staff and the 1st platoon of the 1st company), Rzeszów (2nd company), Przemyśl (3rd company), Nowy Sącz (2nd platoon of the 1st company), Gorlice (3rd platoon of the 1st company) and to Jasło and Sanok.^[8] They took part in numerous operations against the Polish underground and the Jewish population. In May 1942, the battalion was sent to the USSR occupied by the Germans. It was replaced by the 307th reserve police battalion, then commanded by maj. Siegfried Binz^[9]. The staff and the 1st company moved to Rzeszów, the 2nd company was sent to Przemyśl, and the 3rd company was divided between Tarnów and Nowy Sącz.^[10] The policemen of the Kraków Schupo regiment were barracked in the building of the inactive II Gymnasium and Lyceum in Nowy Sącz at Jagiellońska 63 Str.[11]

The German police also had in its structures guard police battalions (Polizei-Wachbataillone) and protective police battalions (Schutzmannschafts-Bataillone, abbreviated as Schuma), composed primarily of volunteers – former citizens of the USSR and Ukrainians. In August 1944, in the areas of Czchów, Rożnów and Nowy Sącz also the 111th and 206th Schuma battalions were present, which consisted mostly of Cossacks and Ukrainians. The first of them, the 111th “Cossack” protective police battalion was formed at the turn of 1942 and 1943 in Ukraine as a guard battalion. Its commander was Cpt. Werner Bellmann.^[12] When it was quartered in Nowy Sącz, it had 9 officers (including 5 Ukrainians), 13 sub-officers and 294 regular policemen (all of them Ukrainians).^[13] In December 1944 the battlion left the GG.^[14]

The 206th protective police battalion was created in September 1943 from Ukrainians, who were to be part of the Ukrainian 32nd police rifle regiment.^[15] It was commanded from 2 March 1944 by SS-Sturmbannführer and major of the protective police Rudolf Maschlanka^[16]. In July 1944, after skirmishes with the Soviet front units near Rzeszów, the unit was sent to the Sącz region, where from December 1944 it was the main part of the battle group created here (Kampfgruppe Maschlanka). It consisted of a small staff of German policemen (8 officers, 2 sub-officers, 76 regular policemen officers) and Ukrainians (5 sub-officers, 515 regular policemen).^[17]

It should be assumed that both battalions were barracked at Jagiellońska Str. (Using also the building of the II Gymnasiumand Lyceum in Nowy Sącz), while the 206th Schuma supply vehicles were located at Jagiellońska 36 Str.

The order police structures also included the auxiliary police (Hilfspolizei, abbreviated Hipo), consisting of Volksdeutsch and collaborators recruited in the territories occupied by the Germans and German citizens employed in the GG periodically serving in it, and also the uniformed Polish Police of the General Government, i.e. the so-called “blue” police (also called the district police). The latter, despite the separation of the lower-level command structures within it, was directly subject to the German gendarmerie. In the Nowy Sącz district, the “blue” police stations were located in: Nowy Sącz (main police station and suburban outpost), Chełmiec, Mszana Dolna, Niedźwiedź, Limanowa, Męcinie, Szczyrzyc, Skrzydlna, Krasne-Lasocice, Korzenna, Tymbark, Dobra, Ujanowice, Kobyle-Gródek, Łososina Dolna, Łukowica, Łącko, Stary Sącz, Podegrodzie, Grybów, Kamienica, Nawojowa, Piwniczna, Krynica and Muszyna.^[18]

In Nowy Sącz there was also a district command of the uniformed police, commanded initially by Cpt. Leon Leśniewski (1940), after whom the commanders were Volksdeutsch Maj. Vinzenz Edler vion Strohe (1941) and Cpt. Adam Kostyrka (1941–1945). Its headquarters was located at Szwedzka 9 Str.[19] The number of the “blue” policemen in the Nowy Sącz district, according to the emploment documents from July 1940 was 2 officers and 150 sub-officers and regular policemen.^[20] The district command of the “blue” polic in Nowy Sącz was also closely connected with the  School of the Polish Police of the General Government (Polizeischule der Polnischen Polizei des Generalgouvernements), which operated from 1 October 1941, and for the entire occupation period was commanded by Maj. Edler von Strohe (later promoted to the rank of Schupo Major).^[21] ZWZ-AK counterintelligence wrote about him in 1941: Wincenty von Strohe gendarmerie, r[etired] major of the Polish Army, former president [another report names him as the treasurer] of the Nat[ional] Par[ty] in N[owy] S[ącz], MP candidate, now a Volksdeutsch appointed by the Germans as the chief commandant of the BP. His wife, born Migaczówna, is a great supporter of the Germans, and his daughter attends the German gymnasium in Zakopane.^[22] At that time von Strohe (before the war he used the name Wincenty Słoma) lived in a private house at Naściszowska 42 Str.

The permanent staff of the school consisted of 11 officers and 24 sub-officers and regular policemen who would train about 250–300 candidates for police service at one course. The premises of the school were located in the building of the inactive I State Gymnasium and Lyceum at Długosza 5 Str. In the spring of 1944, the building was transformed for the needs of the military hospital, and the school was moved to Żegiestów.^[23]

——————————————————————————————

[1] See: https://www.forum-der-wehrmacht.de/index.php?thread/65249-aufbau-und-stellenbesetzung-der-gendarmerie-im-distrikt-krakau-1939-1944/ [accessed on: 20.08.2021].

[2] Amtliches Fernsprechbuch für den Distrikt Krakau, Krakau 1942, pp. 44, 46–47; W. Curilla, Der Judenmord in Polen und die deutsche Ordnungspolizei 1939–1945, Paderborn 2011, pp. 382, 395; A. Krawczyk, Hitlerowski aparat okupacyjny na Sądecczyźnie [in:] Occupation in Sądecczyzna, ed. by J. Berghauzen, Warszawa 1979, p. 74.

[3]Archiwum Głównej Komisji Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej w Warszawie [later as: IPN GK], 196/258, Akta procesu Josefa Bühlera, Organisation der Gendarmerie im Generalgouvernement, Krakau, 17.06.1940, pp 116–117; ibidem, Organisation und Kräftebedarf der Gend. im Generalgouvernement, Berlin, 5.06.1940, pp 118–119; ibidem, Stärke und Ausrüstungsnachweisung für die Gendarmerie des Reiches im Generalgouvernement, pp 120–122

[4] Based on: Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv Freiburg im Breisgau [later as: BAMA], RH 53-23/47, Militärbefehlshaber im Generalgouvernement, Abteilung Ia, Anlagen zum Kriegstagebuch (1. Jan.–19. Feb. 1945), Stärkemäßige Gliederung der Div.z.b.V. 601, Krakau, 3.01.1945, pp. 10–11; RH 53-23/48 [later as: RH 53-23/48], Militärbefehlshaber im Generalgouvernement, Abteilung Ia, Anlagen zum Kriegstagebuch (1. Jan.–19. Feb. 1945), Karten der vorbereiteten Stellungen mit geplanter Besetzung 1944 – Januar 1945, Division z.b.V. 601 Kraftgliederung, 30.12.1944, p. 1; Einsatz „Ziethen”, Div.z.b.V. 601 [figures for 6.01.1945], p. 2; RH 53-23/71, Militärbefehlshaber im Generalgouvernement Abteilung Ia, Besetzung der vorbereiteten Stellungen (1944–1945) [later as: RH 53-23/71], [Zestawienie sił niemieckich OFK 226/601 Div.z.b.V. figures for the break of October and November 1944]; ibidem, Kampfgruppen der Ordnungspolizei im Raum der A 1 und A 2 Linie, Krakau, 24.12.1944; ibidem, Kampfgruppen der Ordnungspolizei im Raum der A 1 und A 2 Linie, Krakau, 2.01.1945; ibidem, Kampfgruppen der Ordnungspolizei im Raum der A 1 und A 2 Linie, Krakau, 11.01.1945.

[5] IPN GK 107/41, Wnioski odznaczeniowe policji niemieckiej, Vorschlagliste Nr 31 für die Verleihung des Kriegsverdienstkreuzes 2. Klasse mit Schwertern, Krakau, 17.04.1944, pp. 55–60

[6] IPN Kr 075/1, Wywiad i kontrwywiad niemiecki, vol. 24, Tłumaczenie dot. Philippa Riedingera, pp. 69–70. See: Archiwum Oddziałowej Komisji Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu IPN w Krakowie, S 4/75, Kopie wniosków odznaczeniowych żandarmerii niemieckiej w dystrykcie krakowskim; D. Golik, Żandarmi od Kreskego, “Dziennik Polski”, 2.01.2020.

[7] H.J. Neufeldt [J. Huck, G. Tessin], Zur Geschichte der Ordnungspolizei, 1936–1945, Koblenz 1957, p. 29.

[8] W. Curilla, op. cit., p. 359.

[9] Ibidem, p. 346.

[10] Ibidem, pp. 346–356

[11] J. Bieniek, W cieniu swastyki, cz. II. Starostwo powiatowe w Nowym Sączu, “Rocznik Sądecki” 1995, vol. 23, p. 141.

[12] Bundesarchiv Berlin-Lichterfelde [later as: BArch], R 19/326, Chef der Ordnungspolizei [later as: R 19/326], pp. 39, 43; IPN GK 107/11, Wnioski odznaczeniowe policji niemieckiej, Wniosek o nadanie Żelaznego Krzyża 2 klasy Wernerowi Bellmannowi, 6 X 1944 r., p. 185; H.J. Neufeldt [J. Huck, G. Tessin], op. cit., p. 105.

[13] BAMA, RH 53-23/71, [Zestawienie sił niemieckich OFK 226/601 Div.z.b.V. stan na przełom października i listopada 1944 r.].

[14] BArch, R 19/326, p. 43. At that moment the battalion already had 14 officers and 412 sub-officers and regular policemen.

[15] BArch, R 19/333. Chef der Ordnungspolizei, Aufstellung des Schutzmannschaftsbatl. 206 im Generalgouvernement, 25.08.1943, p. 78; H.J. Neufeldt [J. Huck, G. Tessin], op. cit., p. 106.

[16] Barch, R 19/507, Personalakten Rudolf Maschlanka, pp. 58, 65, 68, 70–71; R 9355/739, Wnioski awansowe dla członków SS Polizei Regiment 4.

[17] J. Bieniek, Łącko konspiracją kwitnące, Nowy Sącz 1988, pp. 156–157.

[18] IPN Kr 075/204, Policja Państwowa krypt. „Targowica”, Materiały operacyjne z lat 1949–1953. Doniesienia agenturalne, Spisy policji granatowej z pow. N. Sącz, p. 161; Amtliches Fernsprechbuch…, pp. 38, 40, 42, 44–46, 48, 50, 53, 55.

[19] Cf. L. Zakrzewski, Bierna obrona przeciwlotnicza ludności miasta Nowego Sącza w okresie okupacji [in:] Bierna obrona ludności cywilnej Nowego Sącza – zarys dziejów, ed. by L. Zakrzewski, Nowy Sącz 2017, p. 86.

[20] IPN GK 901/16, Der Höhere SS und Polizeiführer Ost (Wyższy Dowódca SS i Policji Wschód) [later as: IPN GK 901/16], Wykazy stanu liczbowego policji polskiej i ukraińskiej w GG, Sollstärkenachweisung der polnischen und ukrainischen Polizei im Distrikt Krakau vom 1.7.1940, 15.07.1940, p. 3.

[21] Amtliches Fernsprechbuch…, p. 47.

[22] Archiwum Akt Nowych w Warszawie, AAN, Armia Krajowa, 203/XI-9, Agenci i szpicle Gepo i GPU, Akta ZWZ z roku przypuszczalnie 1941, odnalezione i przepisane jesienią 1943 r., „Niedźwiedź”, p. 11.

[23] A. Hempel, Pogrobowcy klęski. Rzecz o policji „granatowej” w Generalnym Gubernatorstwie 1939–1945, Warszawa 1990, pp. 74–75; J. Bieniek, W cieniu swastyki cz. III. Wspomnienia, “Rocznik Sądecki” 1996, vol. 24, pp. 97.

Dawid Golik

Undoubtedly, the most important role among the units existing for most part of the war outside the military and police structures was played in the border areas of the General Government by Zollgrenzschutz, i.e. the German custom and burder guard^[1]. It was a formation functioning under the Ministry of Finance of the Third Reich. Its main tasks included guarding the German border, and later also the borders of the Reich’s conquered and dependent territories(including the GG). From autumn 1939, posts of the guard were also created on the border between the General Government and the territories directly incorporated into the Reich and on the Reich’s and the GG’s border with the Slovak Republic. Crossing the border in these areas required even the Germans or Slovaks, their allies to obtain a special pass, which was issued by the German or Slovak authorities^[2].

In July 1944 the Zollgrenzschutz was brought under the control of the SS and its members formed battalions, used initially to supervise fortification works, and later also used in front fights^[3]. Thus individual offices and posts were placed under the territorial structures of the SS and the security police. In GG, the takeover of the Zollgrenzschutz by Sipo was formalized by the directive of the Commander of the Security Police (BdS) from 18 September 1944^[4] In the last days of the war, the formation was brought back into the structures of the Finance Ministry of the Reich.

Initially, individual guard posts located in occupied Poland were managed directly by the authorities of the Reich’s Ministry of Finance, but in 1941 a separate Command of the Custom and Border Guard in the General Government (Kommandostelle des Zollgrenzschutzes im Generalgouvernement) was created. It was in control of the Zollgrenzschutz Commands (Befehlsstelle des Zollgrenzschutzes) for the individual border sections, located in larger towns, and they in turn were in control of District Customs Commissariats (Bezirkszollkomissariat, BZKom) and its three types of facilities under them: border crossing points (Grenzübergangsstelle), border security posts (Grenzaufsichtsstelle, GASt) and the motorized border security posts (GaSt mot.).

The occupant located one of the Zollgrenzschutz Commands in Nowy Sącz^[5]. Its headquarters was located at Jagiellońska 52 Str. (in the same building as the Tax Office). Until mid-1944 it was in command of the District Customs Commissariats in Krynica, Piwniczna and Szczawnica^[6]. Befehlsstelle des Zollgrenzschutzes in Nowy Sącz was headed by Customs Counselor (Zollrat) Kurt Dörre until 1942, followed by Customs Counselor Anton Esser^[7].

Figures on the commanders and the commissariats of the Nowy Sącz Befehlsstelle have been preserved. Based on them a conclusion can be made, that in the beginning of the occupation – before Germany launched their attack on the USSR – the personnel of the Zollgrenzschutz in the border areas of GG was relatively numerous and the command in Nowy Sącz maintained the level of more than 500 regular customs officers and reservists assigned to serve in the formation. Between July 1943 and October 1944, their number was at about 350 to 370 officers. It increased again only at the end of the war, when customs officers and guards evacuated from the east were assigned to individual commissariats. The number recorder on 15 January 1945 was 580 people (70 regular customs officials and 510 reservists)^[8].

In September 1944, after the the Zollgrenzschutz was brought under the control of the GG security police, its organizational structure was also changed. The Komandostelle in Krakow was incorporated into the BdS on 20 September 1944 as an independent department of the office. The command in Nowy Sącz, along with its commissariats and outposts, was in turn brought under the control of the KdS in Kraków^[9].

Also other commands of the Zollgrenzschutz, evacuated from the east, ended up in the Nowy Sącz district. Especially noteworthy is Befehlsstelle Stryj (commanded by Friedrich) – which located its new headquarters in Nawojowa, but its commissariats were also located in Nowy Sącz (commanded by Heeger), Rożnów and Tęgoborze. Another one worth mentioning was Befehlsstelle Czortków (commanded by Alfred Grunewald) – the unit at the time was part of the “Galizien” regiment of the customs and border guard formed in the former district of Galicia, with the designation of a 2nd battalion (II Bataillon Zollgrenzschutz-Regiment “Galizien”) or the “Grunewald” battalion from the name of its commander. The unit was also initially involved primarily in the protection of German fortifications on the line of the Dunajec river, and its command was headquartered in Bochnia^[10]. However, at the turn of 1944 and 1945, the dislocation of the “Grunewald” battalion changed. At that time the 1st company of the battalion was moved to Nowy Sącz (probably Jagiellońska 52 Str.) and to the Nawojowa region. However, its size fluctuated greatly, most probably due to the officers being transferred between the various subdivisions of the battalion and more guards evacuated from the east being assigned to it. In October – November 1944, the company consisted of as many as 301 people (officers, sub-officers and regular guards), in December its size decreased to one officer and 53 regular guards and in January 1945 the number reached 8 officers (including 3 office workers), 44 sub-officers and 466 regular guards. At the same time, 110 members of the Zollgrenzschutz were also transferred under the command of the order police unit of major Maschlanka (Schuma 206)^[11].

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[1] Although the full name of the formation is „Zollgrenzschutz”, very often both Germans and Poles used its simplified version and called it “Grenzschutz”. This is also how many Polish authors writing about the second World War call it.

[2]Archiwum Głównej Komisji Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej w Warszawie [later as: IPN GK], 196/281, Akta procesu Josefa Bühlera, Tätigkeitsbericht der Kreishauptmannschaft Neumarkt (Dunajec) vom 17. September bis 31. Mai 1941, pp. 129–130.

[3] The size of the Zollgrenzschutz at the time was close to 90 000 total personnel (active and reserve officers and auxiliary staff).

[4] IPN GK 196/239, Akta procesu Josefa Bühlera, Uzasadnienie, cz. I, pp. 49–50; IPN GK 196/258, Akta procesu Josefa Bühlera [later as: IPN GK 196/258], Vermerk. Unterstellung des Zollgrenzschutzes unter den Reichsführers SS, Krakau, 25.08.1944, p. 148; Ibidem, Übernahme des Zollgrenzschutzes in die Sicherheitspolizei, 18.09.1944, pp. 149–150. The directive’s goal, among other things, was to make the border formations join the police and SS units, and not be conscripted into the Wehrmacht units.

[5] In the beginning of the German occupation, commands of custom and border guard were operating in Nowy Targ and in Krosno, but over time the command in Nowy Sącz was formed, and the headquarters of the Nowy Targ command was moved to Zakopane. See: Bundesarchiv Berlin-Lichterfelde [later as: BArch], R 2/25253, Neueinrichtung von Zolldienststellen an der Grenze zu Litauen, der Sowjetunion und dem Generalgouvernement, Übersicht über die gem. Erl/ RFM v. 14. Dez. 1939 PD 480/39 GJZ im Bereich des Grenzabschnittskommandos Süd-Krakau einzurichenden Zollamter.

[6] BArch, R 110/63, BZKom Makow, Übersicht uber die Zollidienstellen im Innern und an den Grenzen des Generalgouvernement, 1 II 1941; Amtliches Fernsprechbuch für den Distrikt Krakau, Krakau 1942, p. 47 (here the information about the headquarters is different – probably incorrect – at Jagiellońska 62/2 Str. Cf.: L. Zakrzewski, Bierna obrona przeciwlotnicza ludności miasta Nowego Sącza w okresie okupacji [in:] Bierna obrona ludności cywilnej Nowego Sącza – zarys dziejów, ed. by L. Zakrzewski, Nowy Sącz 2017, s. 88.

[7] IPN GK 196/258, Organisationsübersicht der Dienststellen des Zollgrenzschutzes im Generalgouvernement, Stand September 1944, pp. 151–154; R 110/Anh./18, Befehlsstelle des Zollgrenzschutzes Neu-Sandez.

[8] BArch, R 110/10, BSt Neu-Sandez 1.9.42–15.1.45, Personalbestand der Befehlsstelle Neu-Sandez.

[9] IPN GK 196/258, Übernahme des Zollgrenzschutzes in die Sicherheitspolizei, 18.09.1944, pp. 149–150.

[10] Ibidem.

[11] Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv Freiburg im Breisgau, BAMA, RH 53-23/47, Stärkemäßige Gliederung der Div.z.b.V. 601, Krakau, 3.01.1945, pp. 10–11; ibidem, RH 53-23/48, Karten der vorbereiteten Stellungen mit geplanter Besetzung 1944 – Januar 1945, Division z.b.V. 601 Kraftgliederung, 30.12.1944, p. 1; ibidem, Einsatz „Ziethen”, Div.z.b.V. 601 [stan na 6.01.1945], p. 2; RH 53-23/71, [Zestawienie sił niemieckich OFK 226/601 Div.z.b.V. stan na przełom października i listopada 1944 r.].

Sylwester Rękas

The archives of Nowy Sącz have a turbulent history, both at the end of the 19th century and at the end of the German occupation the resources suffered great losses. However, the first big disaster occurred already in the late Middle Ages – in 1486, the town record books of Nowy Sącz burned, although parchment documents fortunately survived. On 17 April 1894, the town hall in Nowy Sącz burned down, with the town archive inside, and about 150 royal privileges from the years 1273–1773 were destroyed with it. This time, the town record books for the period from 1488 to the end of the 18th century were saved, but the parchments were lost. A special room for the municipal archive and J. Szujski library was planned in the new town hall, but immediately after the fire, the oldest city archival materials that survived the fire were placed on deposit in the Archive of Historical Records of the City of Krakow (currently the National Archives in Krakow). A separate room was not prepared in the town hall and the library was passed over in 1909 to the People’s School Society together with other valuable files that still remained in Nowy Sącz (also guild records, apart from the town records). An attempt was also made to enlarge the archival resource; in 1913 Władysław Mazur helped acquire the deposit of the Nowy Sącz archives by the People’s School Society library (documents, files and court record books) and some of the files of the Stary Sącz customs chamber. Before the Second World War, there were two archives in Nowy Sącz: the municipal (in the attic of the town hall) and the second one at the J. Szujski Municipal Library. When the castle was renovated in the 1930s, it was intended to be the new seat of the Museum and some of the files were placed there.[1] It is worth mentioning that Homecki, as the main head guildsman, kept the collection of the old guild files of Nowy Sącz. The Old Polish files held in the library were not properly stored and sorted, as reported by the Head of the State Archive in Krakow in a letter dated 21 October 1938.[2]

During the occupation, the Germans were very interested in the archives, they began collecting them and inventory the files. The city commissioner, Dr. Hein sent the first reports on the archives kept in Nowy Sącz to his superiors in Kraków in March 1940. In them he mentioned valuable 19th-century German files of the imperial-royal customs chamber in Stary Sącz. The German authorities got interested in the files stored in the library, in the castle and in the town hall. They also ordered he city library to be closed and cabinets with archival materials to be sealed. Then some of the materials were successfully hidden in the nearby apartment of a teacher (Szybiakówna) on the other side of Jagiellońska Street. On 18 July 1940, the management of the German Archive in Kraków sent all of the municipal authorities a questionnaire on archives and current registries. From it we can learn, among other things, that the city files from recent years (1919–1939) were kept in a toilet on the second floor of the town hall (!), the older files, dating back to the 19th century, were kept in the attic. The Nowy Sącz castle held files concerning various localities, including document concerning the German settlers. These answers were not precise, but the Germans only began to research the resources. Bringing the Nowy Sącz archives to order was entrusted to a professor of the II Gymnasium in Nowy Sącz, Jan Weimer.

In October 1940, the new city commissioner, Dr. Friedrich Schmidt visited the archive in the Nowy Sącz castle. Since the files kept there were stored in damp toilets, the Commissioner even sent a letter to Prof. Romuald Reguła, which was then responsible for the management of the castle museum and archive, expressing his outrage at the conditions in which the documents are held. The Commissioner ordered the valuable archives, stored in the castle in an unsuitable way, to be transported to the municipal library in the “Manor” in the Nowy Sącz planty park (Jagiellońska 35). In September 1940, City Commissioner Hein summoned the head of the Library Laura Markowska and informed her, that the library building would be given over to the Hitlerjugend and the collections should be quickly moved. The Commissioner designated the monastery of the Jesuit fathers as the transfer location. However, they did not have suitable free rooms. The ones that were available were too damp, which would put the archival materials at risk of being destroyed. The Germans were successfully convinced to change the place of storing files. Fr. PA Mazur was asked to allocate the rooms of the “Świt” parish house at Św. Ducha 2 Str. for a Polish library. Meanwhile, the Germans searched for valuable files in the city archive too; the city plan in German language from 1831 found in them was sent to Kraków to be copied. In October 1940 a Volksdeutsch Dr. Rudolf Kesserling, former lecturer of evangelical religion at the University of Warsaw, was entrusted with the supervision of the archive and the German library. It is worth mentioning that Rudolf Kesserling came from a family of German settlers, who came from Saxony to Galicia in the second half of the 18th century. He was born in 1884 in New Chorosno, a German colony near Lviv. He studied at the universities of Vienna, Leipzig and Halle. He was the vicar of the Evangelical parish in Lviv (until 1929), and then a military chaplain. In 1932 he was awarded with the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (!) and in the same year he became a professor of the Faculty of Evangelical Theology at the University of Warsaw. After the war, he was a religion teacher in post-war Germany (West Germany).

The authorities of the Archive of the General Government in Kraków were very interested in the Nowy Sącz archives. As early as November 1940, Dr. Kesserling reported the storage location of the files in the municipal library, their number and importance, to the counselor of the state archive in Kraków, dr Goering. A few days later, he sent in a general inventory of the files kept in the city hall.

Kesserling, notified the head of the Polish library that he takes control over all of the libraries and archives in the Sącz district, and at the same time he asked to borrow a number of books and Stary Sącz court record books. They were placed in the German library in the “Sokół” building. The Old Polish books were kept in Kesserling’s office, who during the entire occupation period ensured that they will soon return to the Polish library. He used the files, among others, to write a propaganda monograph of Nowy Sącz, which presented the city as a center with German roots [Neu-Sandez und Neu-Sandezer Land: Ihre deutsche Vergangenheit und Aufbauarbeit (1230–1940), Krakau – Warschau 1941]. In order to do justice to Kesserling, it should be mentioned that the book collections confiscated from the whole district, were first brought to Kesserling’s German archive, and from there, in batches, they were transferred to the Polish library. In the autumn of 1940, the city commissioner sent the files from the Evangelical parish offices of the region to the archive supervised by Kesserling. In April 1941 Kesserling in turn sent the commissioner a report on the work on the files stored in the German archive, which shows that some of the files were sorted out due to them being decayed; he inventarized more than 200 volumes of different books, more important documents were specially marked, he also organized 2,206 files, and all of the privileges (from Stary Sącz) he placed in separate envelopes.[3]

Information about the Nowy Sącz archives sent in by Pastor Kesserling allowed the head of the German State Archive in Krakow, Dr. Erich Randt to include them in his second paper on archives in the General Government (Die Archive des Generalgouvernements, Die Burg, Heft 2, Krakau 1941, pp. 60-61.) The files were divided into three general groups: the history of culture, economic history and the history of the German settlement. Continuing to organize the archive, Kesserling mentioned in his report of July 1942 the necessity of sorting out the decayed archival materials (about 4,000 files) and creating several thematic groups:

1. The city records of Nowy Sącz, dating back to 1750, with the following comment: Although these files may be important for Polish historical research, they are irrelevant for German history of that period;
2. The Magistrate Records dating back to 1750, on which he commented that those written between 1772 and 1867, until the period of autonomous Galicia, are written in German. He grouped the records in this archive into detailed groups: materials important to the Germans, Jewish matters, school matters, etc.;
3. Files of kreis (district) and tax offices and chambers (of Stary Sącz, Nowy Sącz, Limanowa, Tymbark, Krynica and Muszyna, etc.). Files written mainly in German;
4. A library of national and regional laws from 1772 onwards;
5. Nowy Sącz and Stadła Evangelical parish records. The files from this collection were sent to a branch of the Internal Board. Some of them are currently part of the resources of the National Archive in Krakow.[4]

Kesserling’s 10-page inventory and description of city and guild record books of the municipal archive in Nowy Sącz, created on 11 August 11 1942 is extremely valuable. The books listed in this inventory were later taken away by the Germans and lost.[5]

In relation to the Old Polish records, it is worth mentioning that in December 1942, the city commissioner of Nowy Sącz sent 16 photocopies of city and guild privileges to Krakow, to the director of the GG Archive. It is not known what the content of these privileges was. The most valuable files were collected in the private apartment of the City Commissioner Dr. Hueller.

A large part of the records, including valuable files and documents from Stary Sącz, were loaded on trucks and taken to the west by the Germans in July 1944. It is possible, however, that some day these files will be found, as it happens with various cultural goods looted by the Germans, as long as they were not destroyed during the war. Kesserling left three large empty envelopes, in which he kept the privileges and copies of documents taken from Stary Sącz (7 items). After the war Wiktor Bazielich asked Kesserling, who stayed in Germany, to describe the circumstances of the files being transported out of Nowy Sącz. Kesserling explained that he was reluctant to send the Old Polish files into Germany, as their importance is mainly connected with the area where they are stored. The pastor even wrote that he risked a lot, trying to protect these files from being taken away. When he tried to find out where the files would go to, he received the answer that they will be taken to Goerlitz (Zgorzelec) and that the care of them was entrusted to Landkomissar Muege, who was in Limanowa during the war. However, the post-war testimony from the head of the municipal library, Laura Markowska, brought completely different facts, that did not match Kesserlig’s version. Before leaving Nowy Sącz in 1944, Dr. Kesserling informed Markowska that the files he had taken to the German archive some time before, were stored in the town hall, in a special shelter. Unfortunately, it was not true, such a shelter never existed in the town hall. The trace of the archives taken away was lost and they were not found to this day, although soon after the war the management of the State Archive in Krakow tried searching for them. They were searched for in Zgorzelec, Bolesław and other towns in Lower Silesia. Wiktor Bazielich participated in the search; after receiving information that some archival materials were found in Zgorzelec in 1947, he wrote to the authorities of the State Archive in Wrocław about them, but they asnwered, that the discovered files concerned only Zgorzelec itself.[6]

Hopefully the looted archives have not been destroyed on their way into Germany and will be found some day.

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[1] K. Golachowski, Inwentarz Archiwum Miasta Nowego Sącza z lat 1292–1772 (Inwentarz idealny) „Rocznik Sądecki”, vol. 3, pp. 192–200.

[2] Archiwum Narodowe w Krakowie Oddział w Nowym Sączu (ANKNS), Korespondencja w sprawie archiwów miejskich zamku królewskiego w Nowym Sączu, zabytków, muzealiów oraz pomocy finansowej dla Redakcji „Rocznika Sądeckiego”, ref. 31/15/790, p. 59.

[3] K. Golachowski, pp. 201–203, L. Markowska, Karta z kroniki Biblioteki Miejskiej im. J. Szujskiego w Nowym Sączu) “Rocznik Sądecki”, vol. 2, pp. 173-179. ANKNS, Archiv der Stadt Neu- Sandez Archiwum Miejskie w Nowym Sączu [Korespondencja w sprawie archiwów sądeckich], ref. 31/15/929.

[4] K. Golachowski, pp. 204–205

[5] The inventory is stored in the Nowy Sącz Branch of the National Archive in Krakow, in the above-mentioned correspondence collection, see: footnote 3.

[6] K. Golachowski, pp. 206–210; L. Markowska, pp. 182–184.

Dawid Golik

The defeat of Poland in 1939 led to the Nowy Sącz district being seized by the German troops. Initially, the authority over occupied Polish lands was exercised by the Wehrmacht, but after the fights were over, it was to be taken over by the so-called “Civil Administrations” created specially for this purpose under each of the Army Groups. On 9 September 1939 the staff of the Civil Administration of gen. Wilhelm List’s 14th Army found itself in Kraków, where it began forming the occupation administration in the territories of Lesser Poland already occupied by the army.

Already on 15 September 1939 Dr. Hans Frank became the Chief of Civil Administration of the so-called occupied Eastern lands. Three weeks later, on 8 October 1939, the decree of Adolf Hitler entered into force, under which Pomerania, Greater Poland, part of Masovia, Kuyavia and Suwałki region, as well as Silesia and western parts of the pre-war Kraków voivodeship were incorporated directly into the Reich. From the remaining Polish territories under German occupation, the General Government with the capital in Krakow was created on 26 October (it was done by Hitler’s decree of 12 October 1939).

Formally full authority in the GG was held personally by the governor, and the body supporting him was the Office of the General Governor, which was transformed in 1940 into the Government of the General Government. It was headed by Dr Josef Bühler, who coordinated the work of its administrative department and individual departments – internal affairs, treasury, justice, economy, food and agriculture, forests, labor, propaganda, science and education, construction, railroad and mail. The institution structures subordinate to the particular departments had their own representation in the various districts of the GG, and they also had their agendas on the poviat level.^[1]

The General Government was divided into four districts (Kraków, Radom, Warsaw and Lublin), to which the Distrikt Galizien was added in 1941, formed from some of the lands occupied by the German army after their aggression against the USSR. The Kraków district did not cover the exact territory of pre-war Kraków voivodeship – its area added up to 26.000 km², so it was larger than the former administrative unit by almost 9.000 km². It was also inhabited by a much larger number of people (3.660.000 in 1940).^[2] The district itself consisted of one city-poviat (Stadhauptmannschaft) in Kraków and the so-called district poviats (Kreishauptmannschaften): Kraków (rural poviat), Miechów, Tarnów, Dębica, Rzeszów, Jarosław, Nowy Targ, Nowy Sącz, Jasło and Sanok. In 1941, two other district poviats were added – Przemyśl and Krosno. The remote departments of the poviat administration, known as the land commissariats (Landkommissariat), also functioned in Limanowa, Gorlice and Rabka^[3], and additionally in some cities municipal commissariats (Stadtkommissariat) were created. At the lower level of the administration, the offices of mayor (Bürgermeister), wójt (Vogt) and sołtys (Schulze) were retained, but they were not elected, instead they were appointed by the Germans. In most cases, the officials of the lowest level were left in their positions, only in special situations, they were replaced with new people.^[4]

The Germans included the pre-war Limanowa poviat in the newly established Nowy Sącz district (Kreishauptmannschaft Neu-Sandez). To improve their administrative efficiency, they created a land commissariat there (Landkomissariat Limanowa), as a remote department of the starosty. The entire district territory in 1942 was a total area of 2.510 km² and was inhabited by about 315.000 people. The district consisted of 7 cities – Nowy Sącz (officially referred to as Neu-Sandez with 27.037 inhabitants)[5], Krynica (Bad-Krynica), Stary Sącz (Alt-Sandez), Piwniczna, Muszyna, Grybów and Limanowa – and 26 rural communes: Chełmiec, Dobra, Grybów (village), Jodłownik, Kamienica, Kobyle-Gródek, Korzenna, Krynica (village), Limanowa (village), Łabowa, Łącko, Łososina Dolna, Łukowica, Mszana Dolna, Mszana Górna, Muszyna (village), Nawojowa, Nowy Sącz (village), Niedźwiedź, Piwniczna (village), Skrzydlna, Stadło, Stary Sącz (village), Tylicz, Tymbark and Ujanowice.^[6]

DR Walter Hübschmann became the first civilian administrator of the future Nowy Sącz district of GG (formally as a district commissioner), and from 13 December 1939 until the end of the war, the office of the staroste was held by Dr. Reinhard Busch.^[7] He lived in an official apartment located in the starosty building at Jagiellońska 33 Str.[8] Otto Bauer, who was his deputy from 1941, lived at that time at Czarnieckiego-boczna 5 Str. In 1940 the land commissioner in Limanowa was Dr. Heinz Georg Neumann, who was replaced in 1942 by Viktor Muegge, while the city commissioners (Stadtkomissar) of Nowy Sącz were Dr. Ernst Hein (until October 1940), Dr. Friedrich Schmidt (from October 1940 to January 1942) and Dr. Herbert Hüller (until January 1945).^[9] The great part of the city officials worked in the Town Hall, while they were mostly accommodated in official apartments at Jagiellońska, Czarnieckiego and Czarnieckiego-boczna Strs. For example, in 1942, the commissioner’s official apartment was located at Czarnieckiego-boczna 3 Str. A separate municipal commissariat also functioned in Krynica, which received a special status as a health resort. From 15 April 1940 the municipal commissioner (Stadtkommissar) and at the same time the director of the health resort was Dr. Georg Nave.^[10]

In addition to the starosty main headquarters, there were also starosty departments and other offices connected with it located in separate buildings in the city. Opposite the starosty building, at Jagiellońska 26 Str. (the building of the pre-war Municipal Savings Bank) there was the Food and Agriculture Department (Amt für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft), headed by Paul Dorsch. His private apartment was located at Czarnieckiego 5 Str. Other locations worth mentioning was that of the Labour Office at Jagiellońska 28 Str. (moved there from Konarskiego 6 Str.), and that of the Road Administration (Strassenbauamt) and the District Council – both were located at Dunajewskiego 11 Str.[11] Other relevant offices were: the Remote Department of the Central Technical Office in Kraków (Jagiellońska 12 Str.), the Tax Office (Jagiellońska 52 Str.) and the Issuing Bank Branch (Jagiellońska 56 Str.).[12] One can also not forget about objects important for propaganda and Germanization, such as the Parteihaus (former Gen. Pieracki Riflemen’s House) or the German House at Jagiellońska 14 Str.[13]

Another service directly connected with the district administration in Nowy Sącz was the Sonderdienst (Special Service), which was established with the 1940 regulation of Hans Frank. It was a particular type of police or auxiliary paramilitary organization subordinate to the GG administration. Its members were Germans and the Volksdeutsche. Therefore the Sonderdienst could have been seen as a special formation protecting the staroste and other officials in Nowy Sącz. As Grzegorz Olszewski, a Nowy Sącz historian wrote, based on the account of Maria Giza-Podgórska who worked in the starosty: Few people, recruited only from the non-local Volksdeutsche, served in it. They wore blue and green uniforms.[14] In 1942 The Sonderdienst was incorporated into the Orpo, and in September 1944 a large part of its members were made soldiers of the Wehrmacht.

During the war the command of the Nowy Sącz Sonderdienst was located at Jagiellońska 32 Str. The number of members of this formation varied over the years, but there is no detailed information on this subject, apart from the intelligence gathered by the Home Army, according to which in December 1944 there was 30 Sonderdienst officers in Nowy Sącz.[15] In August 1944, all Sonderdienst battalions were ordered to join the works on fortifications construction and to collect overdue quotas in the entire General Government. At that time, as many as 3 battalions of the formation were stationed in the Krakow district (1st, 7th and 8th). None of them was in the area at that time, but because of the reorganization of the 5th (Lviv) battalion os Sonderdienst, withdrawn from the east in July, one of its platoons (counting one officer and 50 servicemen) was sent to Nowy Sącz.^[16]

Although in theory Sonderdienst was supposed to serve the local civil administration, it sometimes also became a problem for it. In January 1941, the staroste of Nowy Sącz complained to his superiors that some members of the formation had to be dismissed and went to prison due to abuse of their power. There have been cases of officers unlawfully entering private apartments of Poles, seizing their property and appropriating it for private purposes, as well as of unjustified use of violence (including cases of beatings).[17] These cases and the lack of adequate knowledge on the uniforms and functions of various German police units, resulted in some of the actions of the Sonderdienst being perceived as done by the security police; members of this organization were sometimes also called “Gestapo officers”.

The policy of the German authorities in the occupied territories included maximised usage of their economic potential and natural resources. One of the sectors of industry particularly important for the Third Reich was the wood industry, as wood was needed both for civil construction and for the armaments plants. Due to the large number of forests located in the Nowy Sącz district, numerous offices connected with the wood industry had to be located here. Nowy Sącz was the headquarters of the Forest Supervision Authority, as well as of the forest district office (Walter Philipp was the forest district manager in 1943[18]), the forest guard was also stationed in the city. The offices of these institutions were located at Św Ducha Str.[19], and the Forest Inspectorate was located at Zygmuntowska 8 Str.[20]

It is worth writing a few words to the units of the German forest guard – Forstschutzkommando (FSK), known in short as Forstschutz.^[21] It was established in 1939 and its members were recruited from among German officials and forest workers who voluntarily joined the formation, underwent training and were later sent to the GG. Their highest superior was the Reich’s Forest Master and Master Huntsman of the Reich Hermann Göring, who was also the main commander of the German air force Luftwaffe – it was one of the reasons why, the training of the forest guard was carried out by the soldiers of the Luftwaffe and the officers of the German police. Forstschutz was supposed to prevent wood theft, prepare wood transport, supervise sawmills and train Polish foresters and forest workers in the professional techniques. In addition, the guards tasks included catching poachers and people illegally staying in the forests – which in practice meant Polish and Jewish people hiding there and members of the underground. The FSK guards were armed, they could direct cases to German courts and issue fines.^[22]

Not much is known about the structure of the German forest guard in the southern poviats of the Kraków district^[23], but it was certainly active at larger facilities of the wood industry, and supervised the Polish workers involved in tree logging in the areas of Rabka, Kamienica and Nawojowa. The FSK was subordinate to the Department of Forests (Hauptabteilung Forsten) of the GG Government, headed by Oberlandforstmeister Dr. Eißfeldt.^[24] In turn, the forestry department in the office of the head of the Kraków district was directed by Landforstmeister Dr. Schnell.^[25] At the end of the war, the head of the combined forest supervision offices for Nowy Sącz, Jasło and the western part of the Krosno poviat was Forstmeister (from 1943 Oberforstmeister) Paul Drosihn.^[26]

In 1942, the Forstschutzkommando III/6 was headquartered in Nowy Sącz.^[27] In turn the list drawn up by the Home Army in October 1944 descibed the 20-person group of forest guards stationed in the city, as Forstschutzkompanie 6/III and 3/V.^[28] The archives also hold a note saying that in January 1945 a group of forest guards from Nowy Sącz area was transformed into a regular unit (Forstschutzkorps III/16; 1 officer, 40 sub-officers and regular guards) and subordinated it to the order police unit of Mjr. Maschlanka (Schuma 206).^[29]

The last formation, which is worth mentioning when talking about the operation of central structures of civil administration in the Nowy Sącz district, is the Baudienst (Construction Service). It was a mass organization of forced labor created by the Germans in the GG in the spring of 1940, which employed German officials and instructors. Polish and Ukrainian youth, as a cheap and efficient labor force, was to serve in it, working in the agriculture and for the military. Membership in the formation was mandatory for groups of young men born in specified years (so-called “junaks”). In the period of its greatest development, which falls between 1942 and 1944, the service operated in the Kraków, Radom and Lublin districts, as well as the district of Galicia. It consisted then of about 45.000 people.[30] Nowy Sącz was the location of the Baudiensthauptstelle № 111, with its office at Jagiellońska 7 Str. From 1943 it was headed by Richard Lippke, who lived at Konarskiego 3 Str.

It should be mentioned that in the initial period the conscription into the construction service in the Nowy Sącz district was not going to well for the Germans. Therefore, in October 1940, there was even a decision to choose hostages for the persons who were to be mandatory conscripted; and the task to search for and bring the junaks to the assembly points was jointly performed by the protective police company, the gednarmerie platoon and the Sonderdienst.^[31] In the following years, the members of the Baudienst performed various works ordered by the Germans in the entire district and in the city itself. Among others, they installed paving slabs in Nowy Sącz in 1941, they were also responsible for removing snow from the sidewalks.^[32]

——————————————————————————————

[1] G. Mazur, W. Rojek, M. Zgórniak, Wojna i okupacja na Podkarpaciu i Podhalu na obszarze inspektoratu ZWZ-AK Nowy Sącz 1939–1945, Kraków 1998, p. 53. See: Das Deutsche Generalgouvernement Polen, Krakau 1940; Struktura organizacyjna urzędu dystryktu (Amt des Distrikts) i starostw (Kreishauptmannschaft) w Generalnej Guberni, Informacja wewnętrzna Nr 12 Ministerstwa Sprawiedliwości – Głównej Komisji Badania Zbrodni Hitlerowskich w Polsce, Warszawa 1970.

[2] E. Rączy, Zagłada Żydów w dystrykcie krakowskim w latach 1939–1945, Rzeszów 2014, pp. 71–72; M. Roth, Herrenmenschen. Die deutschen Kreishauptleute im besetzten Polen – Karrierwege, Herrschaftspraxis und Nachgeschichte, Göttingen 2009, p. 441. In 1940, approximately 6% of the district’s population were Jews and 7% were Ukrainians.

[3] G. Mazur, W. Rojek, M. Zgórniak, op. cit., pp. 54–55.

[4]Archiwum Głównej Komisji Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej w Warszawie [later as: IPN GK], 196/281, Akta procesu Josefa Bühlera, Tätigkeitsbericht der Kreishauptmannschaft Neumarkt (Dunajec) vom 17. September bis 31. Mai 1941, p. 160.

[5] This was of course, data for 1943. Already in 1941, in one of official letters the employees of the German starosty in Nowy Sącz noted that there are about 40.000 people living within the city, including 11.000 Jews. See Bundesarchiv Berlin-Lichterfelde [later as: BArch], Obj. 12 ZD 55-1020, Hermann Hammelmann, Personalakten, Der Chef des Amtes, Personalamt, 10.06.1941. Formally, the name of the city of Nowy Sącz was changed to Neu-Sandez only as of 1.10.1941. See: IPN GK 196/302, Änderung von Ortsnamen im Generalgouvernement, Krakau, 15.09.1941, p. 73.

[6] Amtliche Gemeinde- und Dorfverzeichnis für das Generalgouvernement auf Grund der Summarichen Bevölkerungsbestantsaufnahme am 1. März 1943, Krakau 1943, pp. 29–30. According to German data from February 1940, the Nowy Sącz district had an area of 2.535,3 km² and was inhabited by 300.140 people (IPN GK 196/277, Akta procesu Josefa Bühlera, Statistik der Bevölkerungsdichte im Generalgouvernement, p. 26); M. Roth, op. cit., p. 216.

[7] IPN GK 196/267, Akta procesu Josefa Bühlera [later as: IPN GK 196/267], Wykaz nominacji wyższych urzędników zatwierdzonych bezpośrednio przez Josefa Bühlera, p. 299; J. Bieniek, W cieniu swastyki, cz. II…, s. 128–146; M. Roth, op. cit., pp. 463–464, 482.

[8] G. Olszewski, Ziemia sądecka. Monografia historyczna administracji lokalnej, Nowy Sącz 2014, p. 457.

[9] BArch, ZB II, 1429 A02, Distrikt Krakau, Tagebuch des Stadtkomissars von Neu Sandez, Bericht über die Räumung der Kreishauptmannschaft Neu-Sandez, Meißen, 12.02.1945; IPN GK 196/258, Akta procesu Josefa Bühlera [later as: IPN GK 196/258], „Die Dienststellen des Generalgouvernements und Ihre Leiter. Stand vom 1. Juni 1940”, p. 304; IPN GK 196/267, Wykaz nominacji wyższych urzędników zatwierdzonych bezpośrednio przez Josefa Bühlera, p. 270; IPN GK 196/276, Akta procesu Josefa Bühlera [later as: IPN GK 196/276], Lagebericht für den Monat Oktober 1940, Neu Sandez, 29.10.1940, p. 162; F. Grodkowski, Okupacja hitlerowska w Nowym Sączu i Sądeczyźnie w latach 1939–1945, „Rocznik Sądecki” 1964, vol. 6, p. 146; M. Roth, op. cit., pp. 480, 501– 502. It is worth mentioning that before the civil administration was introduced, the first military commander of the city was capt. Behrens. It can also not be ruled out before Dr. Hein the office of the municipal commissioner of Nowy Sącz was held by another German official – a man named Stabdill.  See: J. Bieniek, W cieniu swastyki, cz. II. Starostwo powiatowe w Nowym Sączu, “Rocznik Sądecki” 1995, vol. 23, pp. 130–131; Barch, Obj. 12 ZD 55-1020, Hermann Hammelmann, Personalakten.

[10] BArch, ZR 940, Wnioski odznaczeniowe urzędników GG; IPN GK 196/258, Übersicht über die Dienststellen des Generalgouvernements und Ihre Leiter, 1.09.1941, p. 377; IPN GK 196/276, Lagebericht für den Monat November 1940, Neu Sandez, 29.11.1940, pp. 100–101.

[11] Cf. L. Zakrzewski, Bierna obrona przeciwlotnicza ludności miasta Nowego Sącza w okresie okupacji [in:] Bierna obrona ludności cywilnej Nowego Sącza – zarys dziejów, ed. by L. Zakrzewski, Nowy Sącz 2017, p. 86.

[12] Ibidem, pp. 87–88.

[13] Ibidem, pp. 87, 90.

[14] G. Olszewski, op. cit., p. 457.

[15] Muzeum Krakowa [later as: MK], Zbiory Andrzeja Szczygła, Zespół 1. psp AK, 1/VII do 2/I, Uzupełnienie do O de B npla, 15.12.1944.

[16] IPN GK 196/380, Akta procesu Josefa Bühlera, Einsatz der Sonderdienstes, Krakau, 15.08.1944, pp. 229–230.

[17] IPN GK 196/269, Akta procesu Josefa Bühlera [later as: IPN GK 196/269], Auszug aus den Lageberichten der Kreis- und Stadthauptleute für den Monat Januar 1941, Krakau, 28.02.1941, p. 303.

[18] IPN GK 196/267, Wykaz nominacji wyższych urzędników zatwierdzonych bezpośrednio przez Josefa Bühlera, p. 301.

[19] MK, Zbiory Andrzeja Szczygła, Zespół 1. psp AK, c/10 do c/0014, O de B npla, 4.10.1944.

[20] L. Zakrzewski, op. cit., p. 90.

[21] IPN GK 196/265, Akta procesu Josefa Bühlera, Umbenennung des Forstschutzkommando, Krakau, 8.10.1943, k. 346. From 1.10.1943 Forstschutzkommando was renamed to Forstschutzkorps – forest guard corps, which was motivated by the fact that the formation also operated outside the GG borders.

[22] IPN GK 196/289, Akta procesu Josefa Bühlera, Das Forstschutzkommando (FSK) im Generalgouvernement, Krakau, 3.06.1941, pp. 243–245; T. Sudoł, Poligon Wehrmachtu „Południe”, Rzeszów 2009, pp. 107–108.

[23] Amtliches Fernsprechbuch für den Distrikt Krakau, Krakau 1942, p. 18. Its headquarters was then located in Kraków at Karolinger-Seitenstrasse 9.

[24] IPN GK 196/259, Akta procesu Josefa Bühlera, „Dienststellen des Generalgouvernement mit Namens- und Anschriftenverzeichnis (Stand: 1. September 1941)”, p. 293. In other German documents the name is sometimes also spelled differently – Eissfeldt.

[25] IPN GK 196/258, „Die Dienststellen des Generalgouvernements und Ihre Leiter. Stand vom 1. Juni 1940”, p. 303.

[26] BArch, ZA VI, 1902 A11, Vorläufiges – Kriegstagebuch 14.1. – 28.1.1945. IPN GK 196/267, Lista urzędników mianowanych przez Józefa Bühlera, pp. 256, 328; Archiwum Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej w Krakowie [later as: IPN Kr] 075/1, Wywiad i kontrwywiad niemiecki, vol. 17, underground note concerning officials in the district of Krakow GG, p. 155. In 1940, the structure of forest offices in the Kraków district was completely different. Forest supervision offices (Forstinspektionen) at that time were located in Kraków, Rabka, Zakopane, Stary Sącz and Nowy Sącz as well as in Miechów, Tarnów, Mielec and Jasło (IPN GK 196/258, “Die Dienststellen des Generalgouvernements und Ihre Leiter. Stand vom 1. Juni 1940”, p. 306).

[27] Amtliches Fernsprechbuch für den Distrikt Krakau, op. cit., p. 47. According to a testimony of a Sipo officer from Nowy Sącz, Johann Gorka, the local branches of Forstschutzkommando were used, among others, in the ghetto liquidation operations and the executions of Jewish population living in the Nowy Sącz district. See: IPN KR 075/1, vol. 39, Zeznania Jana Górki, 10.10.1945, p. 143.

[28] MK, Zbiory Andrzeja Szczygła, Zespół 1. psp AK, O de B nieprzyjaciela na terenie inspektoratu Nowy Sącz z 4.10.1944 r.

[29] Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv Freiburg im Breisgau, BAMA, RH 53-23/48, Karten der vorbereiteten Stellungen mit geplanter Besetzung 1944 – Januar 1945, Einsatz „Ziethen”, Div.z.b.V. 601 [as at 6.01.1945], p. 2.

[30] For more information on the Construction Service in GG see: M. Wróblewski, Służba Budowlana (Baudienst) w Generalnym Gubernatorstwie 1940–1945, Warszawa 1984

[31] IPN GK 196/276, Lagebericht für den Monat Oktober 1940, Neu Sandez, 29.10.1940, p. 32.

[32] IPN GK 196/269, Auszug aus den Lageberichten der Kreis- und Stadthauptleute für den Monat January 1941, Krakau, 28.02.1941, p. 303.

Dawid Golik

W początkowym okresie okupacji Polski jednostki armii niemieckiej stacjonujące na terenie Generalnego Gubernatorstwa podlegały rozkazom Naczelnego Dowództwa Wschód (Oberkommando-Ost), które z uwagi na działania frontowe dysponowało ok. 30 dywizjami piechoty. Dowództwo to łączyło w sobie typowo wojskowe funkcje operacyjne z okupacyjno-administracyjnymi. Wiązało się to z tym, że porządkowane były w tym czasie kwestie związane z niedawno zakończonymi działaniami wojennymi (m.in. z tworzeniem obozów dla jeńców wojennych), a nie została jeszcze wypracowana odpowiednia formuła funkcjonowania jednostek stricte okupacyjnych. Już wiosną 1940 r. siły podległe Oberkommando-Ost znacznie stopniały, w związku z przerzuceniem dużej części jednostek na zachód, gdzie przygotowywano je do agresji przeciwko Francji, Danii i Norwegii oraz krajom Beneluksu. W granicach GG pozostało tylko 9 dywizji, z czego dwie stacjonowały na terenie dystryktu krakowskiego, wchodząc w skład Okręgu Wojskowego Kraków^[1]. Niebawem zaczęto też tworzyć na bazie batalionów strzelców krajowych przeznaczone do zadań okupacyjnych tzw. dywizje do zadań specjalnych (lub też specjalnego przeznaczenia) określane jako Divisionen zur besonderen Verwendung (Div.z.b.V.).

W lipcu 1940 r. Oberkommando-Ost zostało rozwiązane, a jego dotychczasowe funkcje podzielone między dowództwo 18. Armii (dowodzenie operacyjne całością sił w GG) i nowo powstałe Dowództwo Wojskowe w Generalnym Gubernatorstwie (Militärbefehlshaber im Generalgouvernement), mające odpowiadać za kwestie okupacyjne i administracyjno-terytorialne. Szefem Dowództwa Wojskowego w GG został gen. Curt Freiherr von Gienanth, któremu podlegały trzy Wyższe Dowództwa Wehrmachtu – w tym XXXIV Wyższe Dowództwo w Krakowie (Höhere Kommando XXXIV) obejmujące swoim zasięgiem dystrykty krakowski i radomski^[2]. W skład XXXIV Wyższego Dowództwa wchodziły 231., 258. (ze sztabem w Krakowie) i 365. Dywizja Piechoty. Ponadto w poszczególnych dystryktach istniały nadkomendantury polowe (Oberfeldkommandantur) oraz podległe im komendy miast i garnizonów. Na terenie dystryktu krakowskiego funkcję nadrzędną pełniła Oberfeldkommandantur Krakau (OFK Krakau), przekształcona w sierpniu 1943 r. w Oberfeldkommandantur 226 (OFK 226) i przeniesiona do Tarnowa^[3].

Sytuacja wojskowa w GG zmieniła się w roku 1941, kiedy okupowane przez Niemców tereny Polski stały się strategicznym zapleczem do ataku wojsk Hitlera na ZSRS^[4]. Na terenie dystryktu krakowskiego koncentrowały się m.in. elementy Grupy Armii „Południe” (z dowództwem w Tarnowie) oraz jednostki tyłowe, pancerne i odwodowe. Od końca 1940 r. Kraków stał się również siedzibą przeniesionego z Wrocławia dowództwa VIII Okręgu Lotniczego (Luftgaukommando VIII)^[5]. Warto zaznaczyć, że na terenie GG funkcjonowały nie tylko wchodzące w skład Luftwaffe jednostki lotnictwa, ale także podległe jej formacje obrony przeciwlotniczej, kompanie wartownicze, placówki obserwacji lotniczej, jednostki budowlane oraz szkoły. Na przykład w Nowym Sączu działała od 1942 r. podległa Luftwaffe szkoła podoficerska nr 4 (Unteroffizierschule Nr 4). Liczba personelu szkolnego oraz kursantów nowosądeckiej szkoły Luftwaffe sięgała nawet 500 osób. W październiku 1944 r. AK szacowała jej stan osobowy na 200 żołnierzy zajmujących koszary przy ul. Piłsudskiego^[6].

Atak na ZSRS 22 czerwca 1941 r. spowodował, że obszar GG stał się bezpośrednim zapleczem frontu, a po odsunięciu areny walk dalej na wschód przez jego teren przebiegały główne szlaki zaopatrzeniowe (kolejowe i drogowe) wojsk niemieckich. W celu ich zabezpieczenia przed ewentualną dywersją wzmocniono także siły okupacyjne wchodzące w skład Dowództwa Wojskowego w GG. W dystrykcie krakowskim (poza siłami OFK Krakau) znalazły się w tym czasie m.in. 201. Brygada Zapasowa (z czasem przekształcona w tzw. Sicherungsbrigade – Brygadę Ochrony) oraz Dywizja Nr 154 (była to tzw. dywizja uzupełnień, z czasem przekształcona w 154. Dywizję Rezerwową)^[7].

Z dniem 1 września 1942 r. Dowództwo Wojskowe w GG przekształcono w Dowództwo Okręgu Wojskowego GG (Wehrkreiskommando Generalgouvernement, WKGG). W październiku 1942 r. nowym dowódcą Okręgu został gen. Siegfried Haenicke, który w sierpniu 1943 r. przeniósł siedzibę dowództwa WKGG ze Spały do Krakowa^[8]. W kolejnych latach na terenie GG coraz częściej znajdowały się jednostki odwodowe walczących na froncie wschodnim armii niemieckich. Rozbite w walkach z Armią Czerwoną dywizje Wehrmachtu czy Waffen-SS odtwarzały się na ziemiach polskich, kierowano je tam też na wypoczynek przed kolejnym przerzuceniem na front. Do służby w GG wysyłano także bataliony tzw. Ostlegionów – formacji ochotniczych złożonych z dawnych obywateli ZSRS (często jeńców wojennych)^[9]. Zacieśniła się również współpraca wojska z kierującymi działaniami okupacyjnymi na terenie GG formacjami policji i SS^[10].

W 1944 r., kiedy linia frontu coraz bardziej zbliżała się do stolicy GG, dużą rolę pośród sił zbrojnych na tym obszarze zaczęły odgrywać dowództwa obszarów tyłowych poszczególnych armii (Kommandant des rückwärtigen Armeegebietes, Korrück), które zabezpieczały bezpośrednie zaplecze pasa frontu. W dystrykcie krakowskim były to przede wszystkim Korrück (nr 531) 1. Armii Pancernej^[11] gen. Gottharda Heinrici oraz w późniejszym okresie Korrück (nr 550) 17. Armii gen. Friedricha Schulza. Ponadto w skład sił WKGG stacjonujących w dystrykcie wiosną 1944 r. wchodziły: 68. i 363. Dywizje Piechoty, 154. Dywizja Rezerwowa, 229. kompania przeciwpancerna, 223. kompania łączności i 223. kompania artylerii. Funkcjonujący w ramach 154. Dywizji Rezerwowej 223. rezerwowy pułk grenadierów posiadał swój sztab w Krakowie, natomiast będące jego częścią 192. i 465. rezerwowe bataliony grenadierów miały garnizony odpowiednio w Krakowie i Tarnowie^[12]. Ponadto OFK 226 dysponowała w lutym 1944 r. sztabem 115. pułku strzelców krajowych (w Łańcucie), dwoma batalionami pułków ochrony – Sicherungs-Regiment (I/611. w Krośnie i II/611. w Tarnowie), dwoma batalionami ochrony – Sicherungs-Bataillon (965. w Jarosławiu, 966. w Dębnie), dwoma batalionami strzelców krajowych – Landesschützen-Bataillon (994. i 995. w Krakowie), dwoma batalionami Ostlegionu (817. azerbejdżańskim batalionem piechoty w Rzeszowie i 828. tatarskim batalionem piechoty w Skawinie) oraz ośmioma komendami miast (w tym jedną w Nowym Sączu) i pięcioma ekspozyturami wojskowymi. W tym samym czasie w Limanowej stacjonowała 544. kompania warsztatów samochodowych (Kraftfahrparkkompanie 544), której podlegały m.in. rozlewnia paliwa w Krakowie oraz stacje benzynowe w Zakopanem i Nowym Sączu^[13]. Co istotne, w lipcu 1944 r. do Nowego Sącza przeniesiono też 385. rezerwowy batalion grenadierów (wchodzący w skład 154. Dywizji Rezerwowej) dowodzony przez kpt. Kipfera^[14].

Również w lipcu nastąpiły kolejne przekształcenia w strukturze OFK 226 – w jej skład wchodził wówczas 1017. batalion ochrony (pod dowództwem ppłk. Otto i z miejscem stacjonowania w Nowym Sączu)^[15], dwa bataliony Ostlegionu, pięć sztabów taktycznego rozpoznania obrony (w Bochni, Nowym Sączu, Starym Sączu, Grybowie i Tarnowie), pięć komend miast (Bochnia, Miechów, Nowy Sącz, Wieliczka i Zakopane) oraz cztery kompanie artylerii przeciwpancernej^[16].

W związku z postępami ofensywy sowieckiej sztaby OFK 226 i 154. Dywizji Rezerwowej zakwaterowano w Krakowie, powierzając im jednocześnie zadanie budowy rubieży obronnych między Grybowem a Miechowem. OFK 226 odpowiadała za odcinek na południe, natomiast 154. Dywizja Rezerwowa za odcinek na północ od Wisły^[17]. W tym mniej więcej czasie w Nowym Sączu znajdował się również sztab transportowy (Kf. techn. Überw. St. 1), składający się łącznie z pięciu złożonych z samochodów ciężarowych kolumn transportowych (Inst. 502, 1./700, 6./700, 9./700, 13./700)^[18].

We wrześniu 1944 r. WKGG przemianowano na Dowództwo Obszaru Tyłowego GG (der Befehlshaber im Heeresgebiet GG – istniało ono formalnie do lutego 1945 r.) i dokonano reorganizacji jego składu, w związku z faktem znacznego zmniejszenia się terytorium GG po letniej ofensywie Armii Czerwonej. Do rejonu Krakowa zostały przerzucone OFK 225 z Warszawy, dowodzona przez gen. Wernera Schartowa, oraz OFK 603. Z kolei 154. Dywizja Rezerwowa została przeniesiona na Słowację (jej zadania wykonywać miała odtąd OFK 225). W październiku 1944 r. OFK 226 przekształcono w 602. Dywizję do zadań specjalnych, OFK 225 w 601. Dywizję do zadań specjalnych, a OFK 603 w 603. Dywizję do zadań specjalnych^[19].

W połowie 1944 r. na Sądecczyźnie pojawiły się liczne jednostki saperskie, które latem rozpoczęły pracę nad budową umocnień linii A-1 (kryptonim „Wenus”) i A-2 (kryptonim „Merkury”). W Nowym Sączu na przełomie sierpnia i września 1944 r. stacjonował sztab saperów mjr. Krohma (Erkundungsstab Merkur 2), rozwiązany w październiku 1944 r.^[20] Jesienią 1944 r. dotarł tam również specjalny sztab saperski nr 2 płk. Prahla (Pionier Sonderstab 2 Oberst Prahl; liczący 5 oficerów, urzędnika, 5 podoficerów i 29 szeregowych), który zimą przeniesiono do Rabki, zmieniając także jego nazwę^[21].

Na przełomie 1944 i 1945 r., podczas przygotowań do obrony przed ofensywą Armii Czerwonej, poszczególnym dywizjom wchodzącym w skład Dowództwa Obszaru Tyłowego GG podporządkowano także grupy bojowe i jednostki złożone z formacji SS, policji i żandarmerii oraz straży celno-granicznej. W chwili rozpoczęcia ofensywy przez Sowietów miały one zakończyć działania okupacyjne oraz przeciwpartyzanckie i obsadzić jako załogi bezpieczeństwa konkretny odcinek frontu w pasie działań 17. Armii gen. Schulza oraz Grupy Armijnej „Heinrici” (1. Armii Pancernej) do czasu przybycia jednostek liniowych^[22]. I tak, na południowych odcinkach linii A-1 i A-2, w rejonie Grybowa i Nowego Sącza, jednostki wojska i policji, które dozorowały ich rozbudowę od jesieni 1944 r. stanowiły jednocześnie jej załogę bezpieczeństwa, na wypadek nagłego ataku Armii Czerwonej. Do walk przewidziane były także niektóre znajdujące się w rejonach przyfrontowych jednostki zaopatrzeniowe i administracyjne. Takimi były m.in. podlegające nowosądeckiej wojskowej komendzie miasta:

a) w Nowym Sączu – administracja garnizonu wojsk lądowych nr 317 (H.St.O.Verw. 317; 1 oficer, 10 podoficerów i szeregowych – przy Jagiellońskiej 30); zmotoryzowane polowe laboratorium bakteriologiczne [Bakt. Feldlabor (mot); 1 oficer, 7 podoficerów i szeregowych]; 501. armijne warsztaty samochodowe (Armee-Kraftahr-Park; A.K.P. 501 – przy ul. Jagiellońskiej 80; wycofane w grudniu 1944 r.); kompania ratownicza czołgów (Panzer-Berge-Kompanie), zlokalizowana na rogu ul. Romanowskiego i Pijarskiej (druga podobna jednostka najprawdopodobniej stacjonowała przy ul. Koszarowej); komando rolnicze 15 (Landwirtschafts-Kommando; Kdo. La 15; Sonderführer, 45 podoficerów i szeregowych) oraz nieustalone jednostki – s. KIK 252 (4 oficerów, 152 podoficerów i szeregowych), Kdo. BB 8 (5 oficerów, 4 podoficerów i szeregowych) i Einsatzzug mot 2. u. 3.;
b) na zachód od Zabełcza – 319. kompania warsztatowa (Werkstatt-Kompanie 319);
c) na zachód od Stadła – nieustalona jednostka Rei-Ru-E-Staffel 690 (przypuszczalnie w grudniu 1944 r. zakwaterowana w Nowym Sączu w rejonie Krakowskiej i placu 3 Maja)^[23].

Na przełomie grudnia 1944 r. i stycznia 1945 r. w składzie operującej na południe od Wisły 601. Dywizji do zadań specjalnych oraz z ramienia innych służb tyłowych w Nowym Sączu znajdowały się następujące jednostki wojskowe:

– wojskowa komenda miasta (Ortskommandantur I/444; O.K. I/444; komendant kpt. Balitzki oraz 2 oficerów, 2 urzędników, 11 podoficerów, 10 szeregowych; przez jakiś czas w sierpniu 1944 r. mieściła się tam również O.K. I/402), zlokalizowana na rogu ulic Jagiellońskiej i Mickiewicza (według innych zestawień przy ul. Jagiellońskiej 27);

– posterunek 949. oddziału żandarmerii polowej (Feldgendarmerie Posten 949; w listopadzie 1944 r.), stacjonował przy ul. Jagiellońskiej (inny, nie opisany dokładniej posterunek żandarmerii polowej, zlokalizowany był też przy ul. Pijarskiej 5);

– zmotoryzowana wojskowa komenda dworca kolejowego II/59 (Bahnhof-Kommandantur II/59 mot);

– forteczny sztab saperski ppłk. Römera (Fest. Pi. Stab. Römer/F. Sandorst/Pionier-Sonderstab X; 4 oficerów, 3 urzędników, 12 podoficerów, 75 szeregowych);

– sztab 1017. batalionu ochrony (Sicherungs-Bataillon 1017; ppłk Otto; 5 oficerów, 1 urzędnik, 13 podoficerów, 44 szeregowych), pododdziały tego batalionu zakwaterowane miały być przy ul. Pijarskiej;

– niewielka część 2. kompanii 1017. batalionu ochrony (2./Sicherungs-Bataillon 1017; 3 oficerów, 26 podoficerów, 150 szeregowych; z zadaniem dozoru drogi między Nowym Sączem a Grybowem);

– niewielka część 3. kompanii 1017. batalionu ochrony (3./Sicherungs-Bataillon 1017; kpt. Giehrl; 2 oficerów, 24 podoficerów, 135 szeregowych);

– niewielka część 4. kompanii 1017. batalionu ochrony (4./Sicherungs-Bataillon 1017; rtm. Henrikus; 2 oficerów, 24 podoficerów, 115 szeregowych; z zadaniem dozoru drogi między Nowym Sączem a Grybowem);

– sztab 595. batalionu ochrony transportu (Transport-Sicherungs-Bataillon 595; cały batalion liczył w październiku 1944 r. 10 oficerów, 244 podoficerów i 137 szeregowych);

– 7. kompania fortecznej artylerii przeciwpancernej z grupy IV (Fest. Pak. Kp. 7/IV; ppor. Herrmann; 4 plutony – 12 armat 7,62 cm i 3 armaty 8,8 cm; 1 oficer, 15 podoficerów, 91 szeregowych, 10 ochotników wschodnich; czasowo stacjonująca w Naszacowicach i Klęczanach);

– część 3. kompanii fortecznej artylerii przeciwpancernej z grupy IV (Fest. Pak. Kp. 3/IV; kpt. Reihenberg; 4 plutony – 12 armat 7,62 cm i 3 armaty 8,8 cm; 1 oficer, 18 podoficerów, 88 szeregowych; czasowo stacjonująca w Tymowej i Gosprzydowej);

– część 903. kompanii zaporowej saperów (Pionier-Sperr-Kompanie 903);

– kolumna transportowa Wehrmachtu nr 629, w dawnych koszarach 1. Pułku Strzelców Podhalańskich, przy ul. Pierackiego 11 oraz przy ul. Narutowicza;

– ukraińskie pododdziały ochronne należące do Werk-Sicherungs-Kommando Galizien;

– jednostka Luftwaffe (najprawdopodobniej artylerii przeciwlotniczej, określanej w źródłach AK jako batalion Flakartillerie), przy ul. Batorego;

– Luftwaffe-Schule 4 (ok. 180 żołnierzy w grudniu 1944 r.), w koszarach przy ul. Piłsudskiego;

– lazaret polowy nr 173 (Feldlazarett 173) – lazaret ten zlokalizowany miał być przy ul. Staszica oraz Szczęsnego Morawskiego 34 (inne lazarety znajdowały się przy ul. Długosza 5 oraz w Białym Klasztorze)^[24].

Warto dodać na koniec, że niemieckie jednostki wojskowe bardzo często w czasie wojny zmieniały swoje rozmieszczenie, stąd też dokładne odtworzenie wszystkich oddziałów, urzędów i posterunków wojskowych na terenie okupacyjnego Nowego Sącza jest obecnie bardzo trudne. To samo dotyczy kwestii ich zakwaterowania, chociaż pod tym względem wojsko wykorzystywało przede wszystkim już wcześniej istniejącą w mieście infrastrukturę koszarową. Oczywiście Wehrmacht nie miał też najmniejszych oporów, żeby na potrzeby swoich jednostek zajmować inne budynki – szkolne, publiczne czy prywatne. A kiedy zbliżał się front, wojsko de facto przejmowało władze w terenie i musiał się jego decyzjom podporządkowywać zarówno starosta, jak też miejscowy komendant policji bezpieczeństwa.

——————————————————————————————

[1] G. Mazur, W. Rojek, M. Zgórniak, Wojna i okupacja na Podkarpaciu i Podhalu na obszarze inspektoratu ZWZ-AK Nowy Sącz 1939–1945, Kraków 1998, s. 58.

[2] A. Toppe, Militär und Kriegsvölkerrecht: Rechtsnorm, Fachdiskurs und Kriegspraxis in Deutschland 1899–1940, München 2008, s. 399–400; G. Mazur, W. Rojek, M. Zgórniak, op. cit., s. 75–76; T. Sudoł, Poligon Wehrmachtu „Południe”, Rzeszów 2009, s. 23.

[3] G. Mazur, W. Rojek, M. Zgórniak, op. cit., s. 77; K. Radziwończyk, Niemieckie siły zbrojne w okupowanej Polsce 22.6.1941 – wiosna 1944 r., część I, „Wojskowy Przegląd Historyczny” 1962, nr 3, s. 121–122.

[4] Więcej na temat strategicznego znaczenia ziem polskich w przeddzień agresji wojsk niemieckich na ZSRS zob. K. Radziwończyk, Niemieckie siły zbrojne w okupowanej Polsce 22.6.1941 – wiosna 1944 r., część I, op. cit., s. 103–159.

[5] Ibidem, s. 118–121.

[6] Zob. Muzeum Krakowa [dalej: MK], Zbiory Andrzeja Szczygła, Zespół 1. psp AK, c/10 do c/0014, O de B npla, 4.10.944, bp; ibidem, 1/VII do 2/I, Uzupełnienie O de B npla, 15 XII 1944 r., bp.; K. Radziwończyk, Niemieckie siły zbrojne w okupowanej Polsce 22.6.1941 – wiosna 1944 r., część I, op. cit., s. 119; H. Bremer, Meine Erinnerungen, s. 28–31, 2004, http://www.tilsit-ragnit.de/breitenstein/download/falkenort_bremer.pdf [dostęp: 26.06.2011].

[7] G. Mazur, W. Rojek, M. Zgórniak, op. cit., s. 77; K. Radziwończyk, Niemieckie siły zbrojne w okupowanej Polsce 22.6.1941 – wiosna 1944 r., część I, op. cit., s. 126–127, 136–137.

[8] G. Mazur, W. Rojek, M. Zgórniak, op. cit., s. 78; K. Radziwończyk, Niemieckie siły zbrojne w okupowanej Polsce 22.6.1941 – wiosna 1944 r., część I, op. cit., s. 148–149.

[9] Więcej na ten temat zob. m.in. C. Bishop, Zagraniczne formacje SS. Zagraniczni ochotnicy w Waffen-SS w latach 1940–1945, Warszawa 2008.

[10] K. Radziwończyk, Niemieckie siły zbrojne w okupowanej Polsce 22.6.1941 – wiosna 1944 r., część I, op. cit., s. 114–115.

[11] G. Mazur, W. Rojek, M. Zgórniak, op. cit., s. 79; K. Radziwończyk, Niemieckie siły zbrojne w okupowanej Polsce 22.6.1941 – wiosna 1944 r., część II, „Wojskowy Przegląd Historyczny” 1962, nr 4, s. 68–69.

[12] M. Mączyński, Niemieckie siły zbrojne jako element aparatu represyjno-policyjnego na terenie Krakowa [w:] „Zeszyty Naukowe UJ” MCXLII, „Prace Historyczne”, z. 112, „Wojna i polityka. Studia nad historią XX wieku”, red. A. Pankowicz, Kraków 1994, s. 144.

[13] The National Archives and Records Administration [dalej: NARA], T 501, R 218, [Przegląd sił Wehrmachtu na terenie GG – stan na 15.02.1944], k. 389–402; G. Mazur, W. Rojek, M. Zgórniak, op. cit., s. 80; M. Mączyński, op. cit., s. 142–143.

[14] NARA, T 501, R 224, Verlegung nicht kampffähiger Teile, Krakau, 27 VII 1944 r., k. 1095–1096.

[15] W połowie 1944 r. bataliony (I i II) Sicherungs-Regiment 611 przekształcono w 1017. i 1018. Sicherungs-Bataillon. Stacjonującym w Nowym Sączu 1017. batalionem ochrony dowodził początkowo mjr Stürmer. Batalion brał w lipcu 1944 r. udział w walkach z Armią Czerwoną w rejonie Sanoka, Krosna, Rymanowa i Jasła. Od czasu pojawienia się batalionu na Sądecczyźnie dowodził nim ppłk Otto.

[16] G. Mazur, W. Rojek, M. Zgórniak, op. cit., s. 80; M. Mączyński, op. cit., s. 145.

[17] M. Mączyński, op. cit., s. 144–145

[18] NARA, T 501, R 218, [Przegląd sił niemieckich na terenie GG z 1944 r.], k. 693, 696.

[19] Ibidem, Abtransport restlicher Teile 320. Volks-Gren. Div., Krakau, 27.12.1944, k. 603–604; ibidem, Unterbringung einer Volksgrenadier-Division, Krakau, 1.11.1944, k. 641; G. Mazur, W. Rojek, M. Zgórniak, op. cit., s. 81

[20] NARA, T 501, R 218, [Przegląd sił Wehrmachtu na terenie GG – stan na 25 IX 1944 r.], k. 672; ibidem, [Przegląd sił niemieckich na terenie GG z 1944 r.], k. 693, 695; NARA, T 501, R 225, Übersicht der im Abschnitt Süd…, 19.08.1944, k. 353.

[21] Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv Freiburg im Breisgau [dalej: BAMA], RH 53-23/71, Militärbefehlshaber im Generalgouvernement Abteilung Ia, Besetzung der vorbereiteten Stellungen (1944–1945) [dalej: RH 53-23/71], [Zestawienie sił niemieckich OFK 226/601 Div.z.b.V. stan na przełom października i listopada 1944 r.], b.p.

[22] G. Mazur, W. Rojek, M. Zgórniak, op. cit., s. 81.

[23] NARA, T 501, R 225, Übersicht über den Einsatz Versorgungstruppen, 12.12.1944, k. 520; Einsatz der Versorgungstruppen, 12.12.1944, k. 526–529; ibidem, Stärkeangaben der Versorgungstruppen – A2 – Stellung, 13.12.1944, k. 530–531.

[24] Zestawiono na podstawie: BAMA, RH 53-23/47, Stärkemäßige Gliederung der Div.z.b.V. 601, Krakau, 3.01.1945 r., k. 10–11; RH 53-23/48, Militärbefehlshaber im Generalgouvernement, Abteilung Ia, Anlagen zum Kriegstagebuch (1. Jan. – 19. Feb. 1945) [dalej: RH 53-23/48], Karten der vorbereiteten Stellungen mit geplanter Besetzung 1944 – Januar 1945, Division z.b.V. 601 Kraftgliederung, 30.12.1944, k. 1; Einsatz „Ziethen”, Div.z.b.V. 601 [stan na 6.01.1945], k. 2; RH 53-23/71, [Zestawienie sił niemieckich OFK 226/601 Div.z.b.V. stan na przełom października i listopada 1944 r.], bp; Kampfgruppen der Ordnungspolizei im Raum der A 1 und A 2 Linie, Krakau, 24.12.1944 r.; Kampfgruppen der Ordnungspolizei im Raum der A 1 und A 2 Linie, Krakau, 2.01.1945, bp; Kampfgruppen der Ordnungspolizei im Raum der A 1 und A 2 Linie, Krakau, 11.01.1945, bp; Bundesarchiv Berlin-Lichterfelde, BArch, ZA VI 1902 A11, Vorläufiges – Kriegstagebuch 14.1. – 28.1.1945; R 110/31, Befehlsstelle ZGS Neu-Sandez; MK, Zbiory Andrzeja Szczygła, Zespół 1. psp AK, c/10 do c/0014, O de B npla, 4.10.1944, bp; ibidem, 1/VII do 2/I, Uzupełnienie O de B npla, 9.12.1944, bp; 1/VII do 2/I, Uzupełnienie O de B npla, 15.12.1944, bp; NARA, T 311, R 274, Transport GG Nov – Dec 1944; T 501, R 225, 75026-11 Mil. Befh. GG – Erkundung der BX-Stellung Sep – Dec 1944; T 501, R 225, 75026-11 Mil. Befh.GG – Erkundung der IVb-Stellung Nov – Dec 1944; ibidem, Abschnitt Div. Stab zbV 601, 25.10.1944, k. 459; ibidem, Übersicht über den Einsatz Versorgungstruppen, 12.12.1944, k. 520; ibidem, Einsatz der Versorgungstruppen, 12.12.1944, k. 526–529; ibidem, Stärkeangaben der Versorgungstruppen – A2 – Stellung, 13.12.1944, k. 530–531; ibidem, Einweisungsübung 6./7.11.44, Krakau, 31.10.1944, k. 971–972; ibidem, Anruf Hpt, Plössl, Florian Ia meß, k. 998; ibidem, Sicherung von Vermessungsarbeiten, Krakau, 30.10.1944, k. 999; T 501, R 218, [Przegląd sił Wehrmachtu na terenie GG – stan na 15.02.1944], k. 389–402; ibidem, Sicherung der Holzaufbringungsgebiete, Krakau, 31.12.1944, k. 561; ibidem, Stärke und Bewaffnug der Festungstruppen, 31.12.1944, k. 591; ibidem, Divisions-Stab z.b.V. 601, Monatsbericht für die Zeit vom 1.11. bis 1.12.1944., k. 623–624; ibidem, Sanitätseinrichtungen im Bereich der A 1, A 2 u. B-Stellung, 29.08.1944, k. 709–710; ibidem, Fernspruch an Div.Stab.z.b.V. 601, 14.01.1945, k. 1145; T 501, R 224, An Verteiler, Krakau, 7.08.1944, k. 1072; Archiwum Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej w Krakowie, IPN Kr 075/126, t. 9, cz. 5, Fremdenbuch für Neues Kurhotel (26 VII – 7 XII 1944 r.); ibidem, cz. 6, Fremdenbuch für Neues Kurhotel (od 7.12.1944).

Dawid Golik

The first police forces coming to the area of the occupied Nowy Sącz district in September 1939, were the Einsatzkommando I/3 units, part of Einsatzgruppe I of SS-Oberführer Bruno Streckenbach. They secured the front infrastructure of the German 14th Army, and they were also responsible for the first arrests and executions. Later, their role was taken over by the Einsatzkommando I/2 headquartered in Krakow. Its personnel was used as a foundation for the police structures formed later in the entire district. However, a decision to establish a permanent security police station in the Sącz region was made only after the General Government was created. It was the so-called border police commissariat – Grenzpolizeikommissariat Neu-Sandez, called in short Greko Neu-Sandez – under the office of the Commandant of Security Police and Security Service (Kommandeur der Sipo und SD, abbreviated as KdS) in Kraków which was located in Nowy Sącz.^[1] It is worth noting here that the border police, often confused in witness accounts with the German border and customs guard (Zollgrenzschutz), was a separated part of Sipo and SD, designated to operate in border areas. The counterparts of the border police commissariats in the central districts of GG were security police outposts (Sipo Außendienststelle).

In the initial period of the occupation, the tasks of the German security police in the GG were carried out by the following departments of the KdS: Department I – administrative, legal and economic; Department II – Security Service (SD); Department III – Secret State Police (Gestapo) and Department IV – Criminal Police (Kripo). In 1942, a new numbering was introduced, which reflected the structure of the departments of the Reich Main Security Office to a large extent: Department I was an administrative department, Department II – legal and economic, Department III included SD, Department IV – Gestapo, and Department V – Kripo. The most important from the point of view of fighting the Polish underground resistance were the III, IV and V departments. The Security Service (SD) was the most elite and, from the perspective of RSHA, the most important part of Sipo, it was also derived directly from the NSDAP structures, in which it appeared already in 1931. It was responsible for intelligence and counterintelligence, but also for controlling the activities of German officials and the direct implementation of the Nazi party guidelines. Gestapo, on the other hand, was charged with fighting the resistance, fighting the partisans and underground organizations. This department was responsible for the extermination of Jewish people, it had its own counter-intelligence apparatus, an extensive network of agents and meticulously gathered records – both on its collaborators and on the wanted members of the underground. Kripo was a typical criminal police, intended primarily to fight against common crime, but also used for repressive, anti-partisan and anti-Jewish operations.

The station of the Nowy Sącz police was located at Czarnieckiego 13 Str. It was directed in succession by: SS-Untersturmführer August Schulze or SS-Hauptsturmführer Heinz Schultze (for a very short time, until December 1939)^[2], SS-Obersturmführer (later promoted to SS-Hauptsturmführer) Heinrich Hamann (1939 – August 1943), SS-Hauptsturmführer Wilhelm Raschwitz (August 1943 – October 1944), SS-Obersturmführer Peter Leideritz (from October 1944), and finally, most probably, SS-Sturmbannführer Jakob Seinsche (break of years 1944/1945).^[3] The Nowy Sącz commissariat also had its branch in Krynica and outposts (Grenzpolizeiposten, abbreviated as Grepo) in Muszyna and Piwniczna.^[4] The Greko in Nowy Sącz employed about 35 people, most of whom worked in the city of Nowy Sącz and lived near the commissariat (e.g. Heinrich Hamann lived at Czarnieckiego-boczna 9 Str.). The personnel of the commissariat frequently changed, and it can be estimated that more than one hundred officers went through the structures of the German security police and security service in the Sącz region over the five years of occupation.

The Gestapo and SD divisions, formally did not employ Polish people, and most policemen were native Germans or Austrians. However, Volksdeutsche or Ukrainians were employed as interpreters, drivers or prison guards; some of them, thanks to their eagerness and devoutness to the Germans, could count on promotion and assignment to the criminal police. It was the interpreters, with perfect knowledge of the Polish language and often coming from local communities, as well as other Volksdeutsche employed as members of the so-called auxiliary police (Hilfspolizei), who were, along with the Silesians or German people from Silesia, the most dangerous members of the Gestapo. They were able to set up provocations, act under cover, and easily recruit agents and informers. No wonder that next to the name of the Executioner of the Sącz region, Heinrich Hamann, the most famous and recognizable officers of the Gestapo in the Nowy Sącz district were Georg Wiesner, from Upper Silesia, who was controling a huge network of informers, and Johann Gorka (Jan Górka), interpreter for the chief of the commissariat (who lived in a private apartment at Jagiellońska 7 Str.). His work for the Gestapo was mentioned in the underground resistance reports already in 1941: […] From Poznań or Pomerania – he speaks excellent Polish, a Gepo spy, he arrested a large number of young people in N[owy] S[ącz] (round-up), he lives at Wałowa 1 Str. [it was most likely Górka’s pre-war place of residence] – currently an uniformed Gestapo officer.^[5]

As a matter of fact, the role of informants and agents was mentioned by Hamann himself in a famous interview given to Michael Foedrowitz: […] the informants […] were recruited in various ways. It was relatively easy for us. I was always saying to my subordinates: “I judge my own strength by the number of informants I can recruit; this is a measure for me.” Nowhere is it so easy to obtain informants as in our field. The captured, when accused feel such crazy fear that everything can happen to them… even execution… when someone is guilty, the only thing one needs to say is: “listen, if you just tell us what you know, you will walk free, or…”; one could make promises that naturally had to be kept. Thanks to that, in Nowy Sącz I had 150–200 informants, of the highest, but also of worse quality, and so I can say that at any given moment I had the best available information. But no one was forced. Some people, such as the Volksdeutsche, came of their own volition; we did not count those as informants at all.^[6] He also added: They most often met with translators, Wiesner and Górka, sometimes I took care of them myself myself. They met in private apartments, they did not come to the station of course, and if they did it was only after dark.^[7]

The primary duties of the border police commissariats included: securing the border zone and the actual border between the GG and Slovakia and the Reich; coordinating the Sipo and SD protection of the border areas, as well as police forces (Gendarmerie and Schupo) and customs and border guards; controlling border traffic (pedestrians, vehicles, trains) and fighting attempts to cross the border by unauthorized persons. Also important was fighting smuggling and courier traffic and the emerging political and armed underground – but this was already part of the tasks of all Sipo and SD cells in occupied Poland, not characteristic just to the so-called border police.^[8] Of course, from the perspective of the conquered Polish population, the brutality and ruthlessness of German policemen, as well as shameful methods of forcing people to testify, were something noticed first and foremost.

At the very end of the occupation, at the turn of 1944 and 1945, there were further changes in the structure of the security police and security service operating in the Sącz region, which involved changing the Sipo units subordinate to Zollgrenzschutz to match police models. The new Sipo outpost (Sicherheitspolizei Außendienststellen) was set up to replace the Zollgrenzschutz command operating in Nowy Sącz, and all existing customs district commissariats were transformed into border police commissariats.^[9]

Around May 1940, a crime police commissariat (Kriminalkommissariat) was also established in Nowy Sącz, localized at Czarnieckiego 10 Str., with outposts in Limanowa, Grybów, Mszana Dolna and probably in Piwniczna and a branch in Krynica.^[10] According to the data collected by the Home Army in 1941, the Kripo commissariat in Nowy Sącz consisted of 2 German officers and 17 Poles.^[11]

The German criminal police structures included the so-called “Polish Criminal Police” (Polnische Kripo), separated from the “blue” police – it was made up of pre-war officers of the police criminal investigation department and volunteers who enlisted for the service after the war started.^[12] One of its characteristic features was, among others, the fact that its officers did not have uniforms and performed their duties only in plain clothes. Similar to the “blue” police, some officers of the Polish Kripo also worked for the Polish Underground State^[13]. Some of them, however, were very negatively remembered by the Polish people, also in the Sącz region. These officers were responsible for provocations, pretended to be connected with the underground, infiltrated the independence organizations or tried to penetrate the ranks of partisan units. In this activities they cooperated with the German gendarmerie and with the Gestapo department. The so-called “Polish Kripo” did not have higher command structures apart from district commissariats (which were part of the German Kripo commissariats) and the Directorates of the Criminal Police (which were part of the German Directorate of Kripo) in district capitals. These directorates were headed by Polish officers, who were simultaneously acting as liaison officers and coordinators of the operations of Polnische Kripo in the district.^[14]

In Nowy Sącz, SS-Untersturmführer Edmund Mertens was initially to serve as the district commandant of Kripo, and after him, in the years 1942–1944, SS-Sturmscharführer (later promoted to SS-Untersturmführer) Karl Neinzling (vel Neuzling).^[15] Around November 1944, the former head of Kripo in Nowy Targ SS-Untersturmführer Walter Männich began working in Nowy Sącz as a criminal police commandant, which he was until January 1945, when he was incorporated into the front units of the field gendarmerie. A lot points to the fact that from November 1944 to January 1945 he combined the function of the Kripo commandant in both Nowy Targ and Nowy Sącz districts.^[16] It is worth mentioning that the criminal police commissariats were officially subordinate to the respective police commissariats – that is why the head of the Greko in Nowy Sącz was de facto simultaneously the head of the district Kripo structures in the Sącz region.

In Nowy Sącz there was also an outpost of the German security service (SD Außenkommando).^[17] It was commanded by SS-Hauptscharführer Josef Glunz, and it employed Irmgard Wellermann as a stenotypist. The outpost was located at Jagiellońska 36 Str. (the building also housed other German institutions).

Most of the people detained by the German police were held in provisional detention facilities, and then were sent to the prison at Pijarska 1 Str. In 1941, a group of underground activists connected with the Union of Military Action, which was destroyed by the Germans, was imprisoned in Nowy Sącz prison. In one of the reports the staroste prepared for the district authorities in Kraków he noted that a total of 60 people got in the hands of police officers from the Border Police Commissioner in Nowy Sącz. Among them there was Capt. Leon Leśniowski, the commander of the “blue” police commissariat in Nowy Sącz, and two policemen – Jeżyk and Łaznowski. It was additionally noted: The detainee, who was the leader of the organization in Nowy Sącz, committed suicide in prison, cutting open his artery and with his own blood he wrote on the wall of the cell: Long live Poland!^[18] In this case, the Germans referred to the commander of the Mountain Sub-Circuit of ZCZ Antoni Gryzina-Lasek “Dr. Świder”, who on 19 January 1941 in such a heroic way escaped his torturers who could not get make him give up any information. Because of that, the German authorities ordered the strengthening of the prison guards carrying firearms with “trustworthy Ukrainians”.^[19] The Nowy Sącz prison fulfilled its purpose until the end of the German occupation.

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[1] See: S. Zabierowski, Organizacja hitlerowskiej policji bezpieczeństwa we wschodnich powiatach dystryktu krakowskiego w latach 1939–1945, “Biuletyn Głównej Komisji Badania Zbrodni Hitlerowskich w Polsce”, vol. XXV, Warszawa 1973, pp. 158–159; W. Curilla, Der Judenmord in Polen und die deutsche Ordnungspolizei 1939–1945, Paderborn 2011, p. 53. The supreme power over the police units in the GG was held by the Higher SS and Police Leader of the GG (Höhere SS- und Polizeiführer, abbreviated as HSSSPF), whose subordinates were all SS and Police Leaders (SS- und Polizeiführer) of the particular districts, and who was directly supervised from Berlin by the Reich Main Security Office (Reichssicherheitshauptamt, abbreviuated as RSHA). At the same time, the RSHA issued an order to create the office of the Commander (Order-giver) of the Security Police and Security Service (Befehlshaber der Sicherheitspolizei u. SD, abbreviated as BdS) in the GG, whose task was to coordinate the work of all Sipo and SD agencies in the GG. It also had territorial structures of lower level in each district, which functioned as the offices of the Commandant of the Security Police and Security Service.

[2] The question of the identity of the first director of the border police commissariat in Nowy Sącz is still not answered. Two very similar names appear in this context – SS-Untersturmführer August Schulze and SS-Hauptsturmführer Heinz Schultze. The former is associated with the later personnel of the Greko branch in Krynica and the Grepo outpost in Muszyna. On the other hand, the fact that SS-Hauptsturmführer Schultze headed the border police commissariat in Jasło from May 1940 to January 1941 points to him. Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that he was the first to temporarily be in charge of the formation of police structures in the Nowy Sącz district.

[3]Archiwum Głównej Komisji Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej w Warszawie [later as: IPN GK], 678/158, Akta osobowe funkcjonariuszy KdS Krakau, Teczka personalna Wilhelma Raschwitza; J. Bratko, Gestapowcy, Kraków 1990, pp. 336–337; A. Krawczyk, Hitlerowski aparat okupacyjny na Sądecczyźnie [in:] Okupacja w Sądecczyźnie, ed. by J. Bergauzen, Warszawa 1979, pp. 72–75. In the last period of the occupation Jakob Seinsche most likely combined the office of the chief of the border police commissariat in Nowy Sącz with heading the Kripo structures of KdS in Kraków. Archiwum Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej w Krakowie [later as: IPN Kr], Kr 075/1, Wywiad i kontrwywiad niemiecki [later as: IPN KR 075/1], vol. 10, Analiza działalności hitlerowskiego wywiadu i kontrwywiadu na terenie województwa krakowskiego przed 1939 rokiem i w okresie okupacji, p. 67; ibidem, vol. 17, Książka mundurowa funkcjonariuszy zamiejscowych placówek KdS w Krakowie zdobyta przez Armię Krajową, pp. 85–107

[4] Bundesarchiv Berlin-Lichterfelde [later as: BArch], R 58/415, Reichssicherheitshauptamt [later as: R 58/415], Zestawienia posterunków Sipo w Rzeszy i GG; Amtliches Fernsprechbuch für den Distrikt Krakau, Krakau 1942, p. 47; A. Krawczyk, op. cit., p. 77; Piwniczna-Zdrój. Studia i szkice z dziejów miasta 1772–1998, ed. by J. Długosz, Piwniczna-Zdrój 1998, p. 317.

[5] Archiwum Akt Nowych w Warszawie, AAN, Armia Krajowa, 203/XI-9, Agenci i szpicle Gepo i GPU, Akta ZWZ z roku przypuszczalnie 1941, odnalezione i przepisane jesienią 1943 r., “Niedźwiedź”, p. 11.

[6] S. Dąbrowa-Kostka, Hamann i Foedrowitz, “Zeszyty Historyczne” 1996, pp. 65–66.

[7] Ibidem, p. 67.

[8] IPN Kr 075/1, vol. 22, Zeznania Kurta Heinemayera, p. 56 – 63

[9] BArch, R 110/7, BSt Neu-Sandez, Zollgrenzschutz, Besetzung der Bef.-Stelle, BZKom G und GAST’en [Besetzung der ADSt, Greko’s und Grepo’s]; Nachweisung über die Starke des ehemaligen Zollgrenzschutzes nach dem Stände vom 31. Dezember 1944, Neu-Sandez, 1.01.1945, Cf. BArch R 110/16, Befehlstelle ZGS Neu-Sandez.

[10] BArch, R 58/415, Zestawienia posterunków Sipo w całym GG i Rzeszy; G. Mazur, W. Rojek, M. Zgórniak, Wojna i okupacja na Podkarpaciu i Podhalu na obszarze inspektoratu ZWZ-AK Nowy Sącz 1939–1945, Kraków 1998, pp. 56–57, 62.

[11] IPN Kr 075/1, vol. 47, Policja Polityczna stan na 1.02.1941 [underground analysis; photocopy of a typewritten document]; Policja Kryminalna na terenie dystryktu krakowskiego [underground analysis; photocopy of a typewritten document; period 1940–1941]; Policja Ukraińska w Generalnym Gubernatorstwie stan na 20.09.1940 [underground analysis; photocopy of a typewritten document]; IPN Kr 075/131, Sprawa “Targowica” w pow. Nowy Targ [later as: IPN KR 075/131], vol. 2, Opracowanie na temat Policji Państwowej autorstwa Adama Latawca z 22.11.1950, p. 20 – 23

[12] G. Mazur, W. Rojek, M. Zgórniak, op. cit., p. 60; W. Borodziej, Terror i polityka. Policja niemiecka a polski ruch oporu w GG 1939–1944, Warszawa 1985, pp. 42–43; J. Bratko, op. cit., pp. 59–63.

[13] A. Hempel, Pogrobowcy klęski. Rzecz o policji „granatowej” w Generalnym Gubernatorstwie 1939–1945, Warszawa 1990, pp. 124–137.

[14] Ibidem, pp. 124–125.

[15] IPN Kr 075/1, vol. 6, Struktura organizacyjna policji bezpieczeństwa i służby bezpieczeństwa w woj. krakowskim, Kraków 20.06.1967, p. 27; ibidem, vol. 47, Policja Kryminalna na terenie dystryktu krakowskiego [underground analysis; photocopy of a typewritten document; period 1940–1941]; ibidem, vol. 17, Książka mundurowa funkcjonariuszy zamiejscowych placówek KdS w Krakowie zdobyta przez Armię Krajową, pp. 85–107; IPN GK 678/135, Akta osobowe funkcjonariuszy KdS Krakau, Teczka personalna Edmunda Mertensa.

[16] IPN Kr 502/3044, Akta sprawy przeciwko Walterowi Männichowi, Protokół przesłuchania podejrzanego Waltera Männicha z dnia 17.12.1945, p. 25; Przesłuchanie oskarżonego Waltera Männicha z 13.12.1945, p. 26; Protokół przesłuchania podejrzanego Waltera Männicha z dnia 17.05.1946, p. 31–32; Protokół przesłuchania świadka Edwarda Onyszko z dnia 7.06.1946, p. 35. IPN KR 075/131, vol. 2, Opracowanie na temat Policji Państwowej autorstwa Adama Latawca z 22.11.1950, p. 18–23

[17] See: BArch, R 58/415, Zestawienia posterunków Sipo w całym GG i Rzeszy; R 70-POLEN/117, BdS Krakau: 2 Enthält u.a.: SD-Angehörige der Dienststellen der Sipo und des SD in Krakau (Aufstellung, Stand: 1. Sept. 1944) Entschädigung als Kommandierte der Waffen-SS bzw. Notdienstverpflichtete für die Zeit vom 1. – 31. Aug. 1944 (Liste), p. 2, 13, 36, 38.

[18] IPN GK 196/269, Auszug aus den Lageberichten der Kreis- und Stadthauptleute für den Monat Januar 1941, Krakau, 28.02.1941, p. 303.

[19] Ibidem.

Dawid Golik

The Red Army offensive and its advances in July 1944,resultet also in the Sącz region in intensive preparations of the occupants for the future defense of the line of the Poprad and Dunajec Rivers, but also in the evacuation of the German offices. The effectiveness of the fortifications being built was to be verified only in January 1945, while the partial evacuation of the German administration, and in particular of the documents and families of officials and functionaries, took place already in 1944.^[1]

The Germans assumed that the Dunajec River would become one of the most important terrain obstacles in Southern Lesser Poland for the Soviets pushing west. Therefore, the planned A-2 line (code name “Mercury”) was to go through the area of Nowy Sącz (including the city itself as a fortified enclave on the right bank of the river); first it was outlined by by sappers along the Poprad and Dunajec Rivers, and then built using the work of Polish forced laborers from August 1944. As Piotr Sadowski rightly points out: An important point […] was the Sącz Basin, where between the areas of Chełmiec and Podegrodzie the fortifications were built on varying levels – the first line consisting of two to three trenches was located in the valley on the western bank of the Dunajec River, the second line was crossing the the slopes of hills surrounding the valley from the west. The second line included artillery posts that controlled the exit roads from Nowy Sącz. The fortifications had a system of anti-tank and anti-personnel obstacles with added minefields.^[2]

At that time, not only the structures of the Home Army, but also Soviet guerrilla and sabotage units operating in the Beskid Mountains since mid-1944, were involved in gathering information about German fortifications, as well as about the warehouses of explosives and forces being prepared to face the Red Army. The most famous of the operations of the Soviet partisans was undoubtedly blowing up, in cooperation with a group of Poles commanded by Tadeusz Dymel “Srebrny”, the castle in Nowy Sącz. The operation was planned by the partisans from the Union of Soviet Partisan Units in Poland of Lt. Col. Ivan Zolotar „Artur”, and it was carried out by young Poles employed for construction works by the sapper uniot stationed in Nowy Sącz. Dymel’s subordinates, cooperating with the Soviets (first operating within the structures of the Peasant Battatlions of the Home Army [BCH-AK], and in the last period of the occupation as an independent unit with the code name “Opór”) provided them with sketches of the German fortifications around the city, and later informed them about the explosives and munitions being stored in the cellars of the Nowy Sącz castle.^[3]

One of the main executors of the operation, Witold Młyniec, in his diary on 10 January 1945 mentions: […] The Germans are transporting explosives from the railway station, and we have been specifically instructed to observe where ammunition, weapons, explosives, etc. are stored We learned from Jurek, the assistant of the TODT chauffeur, that they were transporting explosives by car. They made four trips to the castle and one to the TODT warehouse in the former concrete plant at Długosza Str.^[4] “Srebrny” passed this information to the staff of Lt. Col. Zolotar’s group, where on 13 January the decision was made to blow up the storage. It is worth noting that the Soviets, thanks to the intel from the “Srebrny’s” group, were perfectly aware that not only explosives are stored in the castle grounds, but above all the currently used combat means among others in the form of “armour fists” (the so-called panzerfausts, manual launchers designed to destroy tanks), which were supposed to be equipped by the German troops defending the fortifications of the Dunajec-Poprad line. Despite all, it was deemed necessary to destroy the storages, at the same time blowing up a monument priceless from the point of view of the Sącz region.^[5] This is how the whole operation was described by Józef Bieniek: Using mines with timed detonators, which were given to Dymel by the head of the sapper team in Zolotar’s group, Kostia Pich, Dymel passed on the received order [to blow up the storage] and mines to Młyniec and [Edward] Skórnog, instructing them to perform the task. […] On 16 January, both boys, who were then employed to transport these materials to the castle, and stealthily located both mines in packages of donarite, which they then carried down to the castle cellar and left in the storage, where about 10 tons of dynamite, donarite and TNT, as well as a large number of mines, were kept. When they finished the unload, it was 14 o’clock. The detonators of the mines were set to explode in between thirty and forty hours. And indeed, the explosion occurred exactly 39 hours later – on 18 January at 5.20.^[6] It is worth noting that while he agreed to blow up the castle, Dymel also decided to warn the Polish people living nearby about the expected explosion. Two of his colleagues – Emilia Dobrowolska and Agata Klostermajer – were tasked to do so.^[7]

From the point of view of the Soviets, only the military benefit of blowing up the castle was important – nota bene not really necessary, as without it the Red Army would still have easily taken over Nowy Sącz. The propaganda points, that have been repeated for many years, about it being sacrificed to save the city itself and the Rożnów dam, which were supposedly being mined by the Germans, are completely untrue. The theory repeated today by the media of the Russian Federation, saying that the explosion in Nowy Sącz saved Kraków from destruction sounds even more fantastically.^[8]

The explosion of the castle itself was undoubtedly spectacular. It was described in the reports from that time by both the city commissioner of Nowy Sącz and the district staroste, both stressing that the storage of explosive was located in it. Staroste Dr. Reinhard Busch reported: About half to 7 in the light of the dusk I evaluate the damage that resulted from the explosion of the castle. Krakowska Street – transit route № III – is completely blocked with rubble at the entrance to the bridge. I instruct the police to gather the people to remove the rubble^[9]. The explosion almost completely destroyed the castle and damaged the adjacent tenement houses, throwing tons of bricks and stones up in the air, which, among others, temporarily prevented passage through the nearby bridge on the Dunajec River. However, it was not damaged – it was destroyed later by the Germans themselves when they were withdrawing from the city. Also in the detonation an undetermined number of German soldiers was killed – probably more than ten and less than twenty (and not – as it was repeated in the postwar propaganda – several hundred).^[10]

Even before the explosion in the cellars of the castle, the first harbingers of the arriving front line began to be felt in the city. On Sunday, 14 January, Dr. Busch ordered to draft the German men from the district fit for service into the so-called Rural Guards, who were to be included in the military operations this way (similarly to the Volkssturm). Two days later, on Tuesday, 16 January, the military situation in the east became so serious that the troops of the German gendarmerie from the district were ordered to man part of the fortifications of the A-2 line, and at the same time in the so-called German district, several houses were prepared to be used as headquarters for the staff of the 11th SS Corps, which was soon to retreat to Nowy Sącz under the pressure of the Red Army.^[11]

On 16 January 1945, around 14.00, Nowy Sącz also experienced its first Soviet bombing, which was aimed at the railway station and the storages located there.^[12] The planes with the red star operated over strategic targets, including the railway and roads in the following days as well. The first waves of refugees – especially German employees of the GG administration, who had to leave their places of residence – visible on that day were a tangible proof of the advancing Soviet offensive. Even before noon, the evacuation column of the district administration from Jasło reached the Nowy Sącz – after it was incorporated into the front zone in the autumn of 1944, the city administration temporarily stationed in Gorlice. The officials together with the staroste received accommodation in the headquarters of the Nowy Sącz gendarmerie platoon.^[13] Nevertheless, on this day the staroste recorded in the war diary of the district he was keeping: I noticed that we all believe that the Wehrmacht, with the right use of the fortification system, will manage to push back the Russian assault.^[14]

The decision to also evacuate the Nowy Sącz district (or at least the part of it to the east of the A-2 line) was made around noon on 17 January, and at 13.30 such an order was given to the officials by Dr. Busch. The assembly point for the departing officials was to be Długosza Str. – whereby the head of the evacuation column was to form at the “Dunajec” cinema. From 18.00 everyone was supposed to be ready to march out, but the command was not given yet, as everyone was waiting for the developments in the situation. At the same time, Dr. Herbert Hüller, the city commissioner of Nowy Sącz, acted as an official assigned to the staff of the 11th SS Corps as a district office liaison. In addition to the officials, under the care of some the Sonderdienst officers, other German civilians were leaving – they were to go, in case of no communication with the staroste, through Limanowa to Rabka, further toward Sucha, and the meeting point for all was designated in Bolesławiec, in Lower Silesia.

The actual fights for the city broke out only after the Soviets had dealt with the German defense of Grybów and crossed the Dunajec River north of Nowy Sącz. The assault began on 18 January, and on that day the Red Army troops coming from Dąbrowa and Librantowa got closest to the defenders’ positions. Around 9.30 a.m. Nowy Sącz also experienced artillery fire for the first time – the missiles fell on the eastern edges of the city, striking, among others, near the candle factory. This became a direct reason for the German authorities leaving the city on that very day, going by cars to Limanowa. The final stage of the evacuation of Germans from Nowy Sącz was also accompanied by attacks of dive bombers and explosions of bombs dropped by Soviet planes.^[15]

On the night of 18 to 19 January, Chełmiec was already seized, the Soviet armored troops supported by infantry moved also from Naściszowa toward Zabełcze.^[16] The fights on the streets of Nowy Sącz began on the next day. Infantry supported by tanks of the 31. Guards Tank Brigade before evening had reached Lwowska Str. (in the area of the intersection with Naściszowska Str.) and Gołąbkowice (these were units of the 264th, 332nd and 318th Rifle Regiments, which belonged to the 241st Rifle Division). In the skirmishes of that day, several Soviet OT-34 tanks were destroyed or damaged: the wreck of one of them was left near Naściszowska Str., another burned down on the Kołłątaja Str.. On Naściszowska Str., before the bridge on Łubinka River, the ISU-152 self-propelled gun was also lost. While the crews of combat vehicles reported destroying, among others, two German assault guns.^[17]

The Germans, despite being pushed out to the other side of the Kamienica River, continued firmly resisting. The city center was defended by parts of the 1017th security battalion and other minor sub-units of the 601st Special Division, as well as groups of soldiers of the 320th and 545th Volksgrenadier Divisions.^[18] The assault was coming also from the direction of Grybów, from where the 121st Rifle Division was attacking. It reached Falkowa in the evening. On the night from 19 to 20 January 1945, the attack was continued, preceded by artillery fire; the northern districts of Nowy Sącz were cleared of the enemy until the early morning hours. The defense of the line of the Kamienica River was also eventually broken and the Soviets continued toward the railway station, which the Germans, however, managed to defend for some time. It wasn’t until about 11.00 a.m. that the German forces left the city, retreating to south-west, along the Dunajec River. The former occupants still weakly resisted in the area of Stary Sącz, but their positions, due to the threat of being surrounded – both those on the left bank of the Poprad River, as well as the points of resistance in the area of Biegonice (including at Winna Góra Mountain) – were abandoned very soon.^[19]

After they completely seized the city, the Soviets could continue their attack in three directions simultaneously – north-west, toward Limanowa and Mszana Dolna; south-west, along the upper Dunajec River to Krościenko nad Dunajcem and further toward Podhale and the Nowy Targ Basin; and south, toward Krynica and Piwniczna.

It is estimated that during the fights in the Sącz region the Soviet losses amounted to a total of about 320 killed, 25 missing and several hundred wounded. It is assumed that a total of 93 Red Army soldiers killed in the fights were buried in Nowy Sącz or in its immediate vicinity (which are now administratively part of the city).^[20] The German losses are much more difficult to estimate, but it seems that their number (including the victims of the castle explosion) does not exceed several dozen. Many soldiers were buried in the German military quarter at the Gołąbkowice cemetery. In total, 564 German soldiers and officers killed in service or dying of wounds and diseases in the years 1942–1945, rest there.^[21] The losses of the civilian population can also be retraced to some extent. Between 18 and 21 January 1945, most likely 66 people were killed in Nowy Sącz (inside its borders of that time), with as many as 31 of them on 19 January 1945 in the ruins of a tenement house at Matejki 34 Str. demolished by a Soviet bomb.  It is also worth to mention the buildings at Lwowska 86 and Wałowa 12 Str. destroyed during the fights, in which a total of 5 people died, including 2 children.[22]

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[1] Bundesarchiv Berlin-Lichterfelde [later as: BArch], ZB II 1429 A. 02, Bericht über die Räumung der Kreishauptmannschaft Neu-Sandez, Meiβen, 12.02.1945

[2] P. Sadowski, Działania wojenne na Sądecczyźnie w styczniu 1945 r. [in:] Masz synów w lasach, Polsko… Podziemie niepodległościowe i opór społeczny na Sądecczyźnie w latach 1945–1956, ed. by D. Golik, Nowy Sącz 2014, p. 14.

[3] For more about Tadeusz Dymel and his unit, see: D. Golik, Tadeusz Dymel „Srebrny” – bohater czy konfident?, “Rocznik Sądecki” 2010, v. 38, p. 167–188.

[4] Archiwum Muzeum Okręgowego w Nowym Sączu, Arch. MNS 72305 II/66, W. Młyniec, “Z mojego pamiętnika”, typewritten, p. 2. Organisation Todt was a German paramilitary construction formation, carrying out various projects they were instructed to do, but it was primarily responsible for the creation of strategic military facilities (including fortification).

[5] The decision to blow up the storage at Długosza Str. was finally not made. In his diary, Witold Młyniec suggested that it might have been connected with the fear for the fate of Polish people living nearby (the area was densely built-up).

[6] J. Bieniek, Łącko konspiracją kwitnące, Nowy Sącz 1988, p. 169.

[7] IPN Kr 111/2820, op. cit., p. 13, Protokół przesłuchania podejrzanej Emilii Dobrowolskiej z 31.08.1947; p. 14, Protokół przesłuchania podejrzanej Agaty Klostermajer z 31.08.1947. On the basis of the testimonies quoted above, it is difficult to assess what effect the action to warn the citizens of Nowy Sącz of the expected explosion had, because Dobrowolska refused to execute Dymel’s order, while Klostermajer in her testimony does not clearly confirm that she notified anyone about the castle being mined.

[8] More about the propaganda aspect of the Nowy Sącz castle being blown up, among others in: D. Golik, Nieszczęście „Aloszy”, “Biuletyn IPN” 2009, № 8–9, pp. 152–158. The “miraculous” saving of Krakow was described by: J. Bieriezniak, Hasło „D.S.”, Kraków 1977; R. Sławecki, Manewr, który ocalił Kraków, Kraków 1975.

[9] BArch, ZB II 1429 A. 02, Bericht über die Räumung der Kreishauptmannschaft Neu-Sandez, Meiβen, 12.02.1945 Cf.: ibidem, Tagebuch der Stadtkommisars, fortsetzung, Neu-Sandez.

[10] The names of 12 Germans were identified, whose deaths were directly connected with the explosion or it can be assumed that they were caused by it. It is however not known how many people were wounded and injured. Data on Polish people who suffered from the explosion is also difficult to determine. On that day, a total of 9 people died within the borders of Nowy Sącz, but the vast majority of them probably died as a result of Soviet artillery fire and bombings. The death of one person could be cautiously connected with the consequences of the explosion. See: Urząd Stanu Cywilnego w Nowym Sączu [later as: USC Nowy Sącz], “Nowy Sącz Miasto 1927–1945 Zgony”; “Kolejowa 1937–1945 Zgony”.

[11] BArch, ZB II 1429 A. 02, Bericht über die Räumung der Kreishauptmannschaft Neu-Sandez, Meiβen, 12.02.1945.

[12] Ibidem.

[13] BArch, ZB II 1429 A. 02, Der Kreishauptmann im Jasło, Kriegstagebuch fuer die Zeit vom 12. Januar 1945 – 6. Februar 45, typewritten. Around 17.00 on 17 January, the officials of the Jasło district continued their journey through Limanowa to Rabka, where they arrived only after midnight on 18 January.

[14] Ibidem.

[15] BArch, ZB II 1429 A. 02, Bericht über die Räumung der Kreishauptmannschaft Neu-Sandez, Meiβen, 12.02.1945. The staroste of Nowy Sącz finally reached the meeting point in Bolesławiec on 27.01.1945.

[16] P. Sadowski, op. cit., p. 35.

[17] Ibidem, p. 36

[18] Ibidem.

[19] Ibidem, pp. 36–38.

[20] Ibidem, pp. 45–47.

[21] In the literature on local history the number of 381 German soldiers and officers buried in this cemetery appears (P. Sadowski, op. cit., pp. 35, 48–49), which is probably taken from the data contained in the Polish graveyard surveys prepared after the end of the war (Archiwum Narodowe w Krakowie, Oddział IV, UWKr II 1043, Groby wojenne – groby żołnierzy niemieckich). However, the correct number was determined based on more precise German documents. See: “Lista imienna żołnierzy niemieckich pochowanych na kwaterach w Nowym Sączu i Rabce-Zdroju” – document shared with the aithor by the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge through Mrs. Barbara Chlebus from the “Memory” Foundation, 17.07.2012.

[22] In the analysis of this issue I used the working list of people killed and buried in the parish cemetery at Rejtana Str. in 1945 prepared by Dr. Marcin Kasprzycki for the purpose of the research and identification division of the Institute of National Remembrance, Cf.: USC Nowy Sącz, “Nowy Sącz Miasto 1927–1945 Zgony”; “Kolejowa 1937–1945 Zgony”; L. Migrała, Historia Nowego Sącza, Nowy Sącz 2017, pp. 306–307.