The Warsaw Underground: A Memoir of Resistance, 1939-1945 by Rosinski Jan & Hile Richard

Author:Rosinski, Jan & Hile, Richard [Rosinski, Jan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: McFarland
Published: 2013-10-18T00:00:00+00:00

Jan’s best friend and fellow AK operative, Zosia Gasienica-Gladczan, in the Tatra Mountains, 1937.

My first reaction was that this might be a provocation, a trap ending in my arrest by the Gestapo. Thinking on, I concluded he must be sincere, that it was not a provocation. So, I decided to take the risk. Actually, what prompted me to do so was the news we were hearing about the gradual withdrawal westward of major German forces in the aftermath of the surrender of the German Sixth Army at Stalingrad. Added to that, of course, was the British defeat of the Afrika Korps at El Alamein, as well as the allied landings in North Africa. In view of all this, it was likely this soldier’s fears of becoming a combat statistic were well founded.

I said, “OK, I’ll tell you what I can do. But first, I must talk to some people. The Tatra Mountains are not extensive, so there are not many places where you can get lost, or hide. Do you have something personal or small issued by the army that still could be noticed if left on a trail?” He could offer nothing but an “official issue” handkerchief. “All right, we can use something like that,” I told him. “My mind is starting to think of a plan … maybe a strategy we might use.” When the restaurant owner approached our table, I asked him to prepare four more trout for us the next evening at 6:00 P.M. I told my “friend” to be prompt so that we could work out a plan for what I suggested would be our last meeting.

After assuring myself that I was not being followed, I made my way to meet Zosia, my AK contact, at her house in the Zakopane area. I explained, to her initial disbelief, my encounter with the young German officer and his plea for help in escaping the Eastern Front. Finally convinced, she gave me instructions to pass on to the officer about where he could rendezvous with an AK member, whose orders he would have to follow. She told me to arrange for a few drops of blood on the handkerchief, which they would leave on a bush along a decoy route into the mountains. We agreed that it was unlikely the Germans would send a patrol to search for him since most of the mountainous areas were off limits to their troops. Zosia purposely did not tell me their specific plans beyond the rendezvous plan, again under the principle of “what you don’t know….”

The soldier and I met the next evening at the appointed time and enjoyed another trout dinner. I asked him directly if he still intended to go through with his desertion, and he answered without hesitation that he did. I then passed on Zosia’s instructions, telling him he would meet a woman who would take him under her charge. He was to accept whatever orders she gave, without questions. I also explained to him that I was purposely not privy to what plans they had for him.

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