2017-02-01 19:27 update: 2018-09-27, 00:13
Obchody 73. rocznicy Akcji "Kutschera Fot. PAP/Szymon Pulcyn
The events from 73 years ago are proof of the unyielding nature of Home Army (AK) soldiers who never accepted the loss of freedom by our nation, the Polish PM wrote in a letter read during observances marking the 73rd anniversary of Operation Kutschera.
Operation Kutschera was the successful execution of Franz Kutschera, SS and Reich's Police Chief in German-occupied Warsaw, who was shot dead on Feb. 1, 1944 by a special team of the Home Army. Earlier a special underground court of the Polish Underground State sentenced Kutschera to death for crimes against the Polish nation, in particular mass murders of civilians in occupied Warsaw. The death sentence was approved by the Polish government-in-exile. Twelve people carried out the operation, two of them were killed trying to escape and two heavily wounded died in hospital.
The Polish Underground State operated in the years 1939-1945. It was subordinated to the Polish government-in-exile operating first in France and later in Great Britain. In Poland the government-in-exile had a secret administration, secret courts, secret prosecution, underground schools and universities, publishing houses and the Home Army (AK), the armed wing of the Polish Underground State.
The Home Army was the largest underground army in German-occupied Europe.
On the next day, Feb. 2, 1944, the Germans executed 100 civilians in one of the last executions in the city before the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising on August 1. They also imposed a 100-million-zloty tribute on the city.
Prime Minister Beata Szydlo stressed that thanks to those people who "showed that Poland could not be erased from the map of Europe and the world, we can live today in an independent Poland".
The observances were held in Warsaw's downtown where Operation Kutschera had taken place 73 years ago.
Sejm (lower house) Speaker Marek Kuchcinski stressed that the execution of Franz Kutschera was one of the most important combat operations carried out by AK soldiers. "It had not only a military dimension but was also a sign of resistance and proof that Poles would continue to fight," he wrote.
Deputy PM and Culture Minister Piotr Glinski stressed in his letter that "Kutschera fully deserved the name of the butcher of Warsaw" for the terror and persecution he had brought to the city. (PAP)
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