Home Army

WWII hero donates his old Leica camera used to capture war-torn capital to Uprising museum

As a soldier of the National Military Organisation and the Home Army, Ryszard Witkowski whose nom de guerre was Orliński, used the Leica camera to record the destruction of Warsaw. Katarzyna Stefanowska/MPW/Ryszard Witkowski

As a soldier of the National Military Organisation and the Home Army, Ryszard Witkowski whose nom de guerre was Orliński, used the Leica camera to record German railway transports, patriotic underground events, the activities of Home Army soldiers in Milanowek, the exodus of refugees from Warsaw and the destroyed city after the Uprising.

House of horror where secret police tortured hundreds to become museum in memory of victims

The building in the centre of Augustów in north-east Poland was used by the NKVD and the Communist secret police to hold and interrogate victims of the 1945 Augustów Roundups, known as the little Katyń.

Harrowing story of the Warsaw ‘Robinson Crusoes’ who after the Warsaw Uprising, defied the Germans and stayed in the capital

The ‘castaways’ numbered from 500 up to possibly 2,000 people, but only a few hundred made it to the end. To survive, they formed themselves into small groups, pooling skills and dividing tasks. For the months ahead they hunkered in their shelters, each an island in the ocean of ruins.

Investigators uncover remains of teenagers murdered in Stalinist horror jail

WARNING! GRAPHIC IMAGES: The remains of three bodies belonging to victims judged to be around 19-20 years old were found by the Search and Identification Bureau of the Institute of National Remembrance.

Mystery man leaves nearly 400 WWII Home Army IDs in envelope to Warsaw Uprising Museum

The haul of 383 ID cards and three insurgent passes is more than twice as many as the entire collection that the museum has built up over several decades, with museum sources saying the batch may be worth as much as one million złotys. But the identity of the donor remains a mystery.

Belarusian opposition activists receive Polish distinction

Three Belarusian opposition activists have received Poland's Jan Nowak-Jeziorański Award for their fight for human rights.

“I stood on the edge of Germany’s historical abyss…” The day West German Chancellor Willy Brandt stunned the world as he atoned for his country’s past

Commonly cited as one of the most iconic reconciliatory moments ever captured on camera, on this day 50 years ago the West German Chancellor, Willy Brandt, sank to his knees in Warsaw in atonement of his nation’s wartime atrocities.

Internet users come to aid of Uprising hero after crooks swindled him out of life savings

After ruthless conmen posing as roofing contractors walked off with PLN 10,000 that Bogusław Czarmiński had saved to repair his roof in time for the winter cold the BohaterON organisation swung into action.

Doctor known as ‘Mother of Lepers’ takes first step towards sainthood with beatification

Known for helping her patients without wearing gloves during treatment so as not to frighten and discourage them, Wanda Błeńska who died at the age of 103 cured thousands of Ugandans of leprosy.

Remembering the Polish anti-Soviet independence movement founded 75 years ago

We take a look at the Freedom and Independence movement formed to combat Soviet terror in Poland following World War 2.

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