Kedyw

Part of a series on the
Polish Underground State
History of Poland 1939–1945
Authorities Government Administration Parliament Courts
Political organizations Major parties Polish Socialist Party People's Party National Party Labour Party Minor parties Camp of National Unity Democratic Party Jewish Labour Bund Hashomer Hatzair Betar (Zionist youth) Opposition National Radical Camp Polish Workers' Party
Military organizations Home Army (AK) Service for Poland's Victory (SZP) Armed Resistance (ZWZ) Gray Ranks National Security Corps (PKB) Mostly integrated with Armed Resistance and Home Army Gwardia Ludowa WRN Peasant Battalions Partially integrated with Armed Resistance and Home Army National Military Organization National Armed Forces Camp of Fighting Poland Pomeranian Griffin Konfederacja Narodu Non-integrated but recognizing authority of Armed Resistance and Home Army Jewish Combat Organization Jewish Military Union Opposition Military Lizard Union Armia Ludowa
Related topics Cultural activities Education History of Poland during 1939–1945

Kedyw (Polish pronunciation: [ˈkɛdɨf], from Kierownictwo Dywersji, "Directorate for Subversion"), was an underground movement - Armia Krajowa organization during World War II, which specialized in active and passive sabotage, propaganda and armed action against Nazi German forces and collaborators.^[1]

Operations

Kedyw was created on January 22, 1943, from two pre-existing Armia Krajowa organizations: Związek Odwetu, and Wachlarz. Initially the units were small and town-based. Eventually, as more were formed, some moved into forested areas to begin partisan warfare. Kedyw organized weapon and munition factories, military schools, intelligence, counter-intelligence, field hospitals, and a communication network.

Soldiers from Kolegium "A" of w:Kedyw on Stawki Street in Wola district - Warsaw Uprising 1944

Most members of Kedyw were Boy Scouts from Związek Harcerstwa Polskiego and its wartime organization, Szare Szeregi. Many of the officers were cichociemni, special agents trained in the United Kingdom and parachuted into occupied Poland. Selected Kedyw groups (patrole) carried out operations all over occupied Poland. Notable types of operations included:

• the sabotaging of rail lines, bridges and roads
  • the burning of trains and fuel depots
• the destruction or damaging of weapon factories working for the Wehrmacht
• the liberation of hundreds of prisoners and hostages
  • a famous operation of this type, which took place on March 26, 1943, is known as "Akcja pod Arsenałem"
• executions of Nazi collaborators and traitors sentenced by an underground court
  • one of these involved Igo Sym, a Polish actor who had been informing the Germans about Home Army operations
• executions of particularly brutal individuals among the German occupation troops, Gestapo, SS and police known as Operation Heads^[2]
  • those executed included SS and police General Franz Kutschera, killed on February 2, 1944, SS-Hauptscharfuehrer August Kretschmann, commandant of the Gęsiówka concentration camp, SS-Rottenführer Ewald Lange , SS-Obersturmführer Herbert Schultz, SS-Oberscharführer Franz Bürkl and many others (more than 2,000 people). It should be noted, that such individuals were officially sentenced to death for their crimes by Polish Underground State court and such sentence had been delivered to those individuals - many could not stand the pressure and returned to Reich.
• Operation Belt

Warsaw Uprising

Prior to the Warsaw Uprising, most of the Kedyw units in the Warsaw area were moved into the city and grouped into infantry battalions. Notable among them were "Zośka", "Parasol" and "Miotła". After fighting broke out, most of the Kedyw forces joined the Radosław group. Kedyw units were among the most successful in the Uprising. The boy scouts not only had more experience than many regular soldiers, they had also managed to collect more supplies and arms.

Kedyw units first took part in seizing control of Warsaw's Wola district. After 10 days' heavy fighting in the Powązki Cemetery, in which all German attacks were repulsed with heavy casualties, the units withdrew overnight to the city center and Starówka (the old town), where they regrouped and defended their sectors until the capitulation of the Uprising in October 1944.

Commanders

• Brigadier-General Emil August Fieldorf (Nil) (until March 1944)
• Jan Mazurkiewicz (Radosław) (until August 1944)

Bibliography

• HENRYK WITKOWSKI "KEDYW" OKRĘGU WARSZAWSKIEGO ARMII KRAJOWEJ W LATACH 1943 - 1944", Instytut Wydawniczy Związków Zawodowych 1985, ISBN 83-202-0217-5,
• Rybicka Hanna "Kedyw okręgu Warszawa Armii Krajowej Dokumenty - rok 1944", Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego 2009, ISBN 978-83-235-0508-2
• Drzyzga Bernard "Kedyw Okręgu AK Łódź i 60 Pułk AK", 1988,
• Jan Gozdawa-Gołębiowski "Kedyw "Białowieży", Książka i Wiedza 1990, ISBN 83-05-11968-8, ISBN 978-83-05-11968-9,

See also

• Armia Krajowa
• Cichociemni
• Polish Secret State
• Kotwica

References

Home Army (Armia Krajowa)
Main articles Polish resistance movement in World War II Polish Underground State
Operations Uprisings and battles Warsaw Uprising Zamość Uprising Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Lwów Uprising Murowana Oszmianka Osuchy Ostra Brama Tempest Underground, field, and espionage Arsenal Heads Kutschera Project Big Ben Bürkl Most III Operation Belt V1 / V2 Wieniec Propaganda Biuletyn Informacyjny Operation N Operation Antyk Directorates Civil Resistance Covert Resistance Underground Resistance Political Republic of Pińczów Personnel, emblems and decorations Commanders Michał Karaszewicz-Tokarzewski Stefan Rowecki Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski Leopold Okulicki Senior officers and prominent members J.Aleksandrowicz J.Arkusz K.K.Baczyński H.Bartnicka-Tajchert W.Bartoszewski J.Batory R.Białous S.Bittner F.Błażej A.Bohdziewicz J.Bokszczanin S.Braun T.Gajcy H.Lederman S.Jankowski S.Karpiel K.Kierzkowski B.Kostrzewska H.Krahelska A.Krzyżanowski L.Kulej J.J.Lerski J.Mazurkiewicz W.Micuta K.Moczarski A.Nadolski T.Pełczyński A.Pilch W.Pilecki R.Reiff Z.Romanowiczowa Z.Rumel J.Rutkowski D.Smoleński A.Stelmachowski R.Syski J.Szczepański Z.Szendzielarz A.Szklarski H.Szwarc E.Umińska J.Zabłocki J.Zabłocki A.Zakrzewska W.Zalewski J.Zamoyski T.Zawadzki T.Żenczykowski M.Żuławski T.Żychiewicz Membership lists Armia Krajowa members Warsaw Uprising insurgents Emblems and decorations Armia Krajowa Cross Kotwica Krzyż Powstania Warszawskiego Units, affiliates, and predecessors Headquarters and Directorates Information and Propaganda Kedyw Civil Resistance Covert Resistance Underground Resistance Combat units 27 Volhynian Division Battalion Parasol Battalion Zośka Żaglowiec Group Żbik Group Żmija Group Żniwiarz Group Żyrafa Group Warsaw commands I Śródmieście Żoliborz III Wola IV Ochota V Mokotów VI Praga VII Warsaw suburbs Other Błyskawica radiostation Little Andrews (Jędrusie) Underground Police (PKB) Secret Military Printing Works (TWZW) Silent Unseen (Cichociemni) Wachlarz Predecessors Service for Poland's Victory (SZP) Union of Armed Struggle (ZWZ) Affiliates Peasants' Battalions (BCh) Confederation of the Nation (KN) Leśni (Forest Soldiers) National Military Association (NOW) (split) National Armed Forces (NSZ-AK) (faction) Camp of Fighting Poland (OPW) Gray Ranks (Szare Szeregi - Boy Scouts) Secret Polish Army (TAP) Socialist Party People's Guard (GL-WRN) Union of Retaliation (ZO) Successors Independence (NIE) Freedom and Independence (WiN) Opponents and rivals Opponents Nazi Germany UPA Ukrainian Insurgent Army Lithuanian Security Police Rivals NSZ National Armed Forces (split) AL Armia Ludowa (People's Army) Soviet partisans
Related articles The Holocaust in Poland Warsaw Uprising Warsaw Ghetto Uprising