We commemorated the next Postmen who fought in the Warsaw Uprising
On August 5th of this year, the Janusz Kurtyka Educational Center of the Institute of National Remembrance in Warsaw (Przystanek Historia) hosted the official presentation of the second edition of the album entitled: The Forgotten History of Uprising Warsaw in the Personal Files of the Polish Post Archive . The publication is a tribute that the Company – the guardian of the memory of the history of the Republic of Poland – pays to the newly discovered heroes, participants of the Warsaw Uprising.
The album is a natural continuation of last year's first edition, uncovering new, previously unknown pages of history. It presents the profiles of 22 postal workers who joined the fight for a free Warsaw. Materials prepared for the publication were developed in collaboration with the Institute of National Remembrance, the Military Historical Office, the Museum of the Second World War, and the Office for War Veterans and Victims of Oppression. The presentation of the album was attended by, among others, Tomasz Zdzikot, President of the Management Board of Poczta Polska (Polish Post); Jan Kasprzyk, Head of the Office for War Veterans and Victims of Oppression; and Dr. Karol Polejowski, Deputy President of the Institute of National Remembrance. During the ceremony, Dr. Maciej Pieńkowski from the Military Historical Office delivered a lecture on the Warsaw Uprising, and the event was complemented with a concert of songs from the Warsaw Uprising performed by a vocal and musical trio.
Much is said about the Scout Field Post Office, which operated during the Uprising and the defense of the Gdańsk Post Office. We won't hear about the Postal Insurgents, discovered through analysis of personnel files in the Polish Post archives, in history classes or from other publications or books. These are silent heroes who, like other Warsaw residents, fought with pride and dedication for the freedom and dignity of Poles, which the German occupiers tried to deprive our ancestors of.
" The history of the Polish Post Office is not only the history of our institution, but above all, it illustrates key events in the history of Poland. It is a story told through the biographies of our employees – individuals known to us by name and surname, who personally participated in uprisings and demonstrated courage by fighting in landmark battles such as the Battle of Warsaw and both world wars. As the oldest company in the country, with nearly 500 years of tradition and thousands of employees employed throughout the country, we can say that virtually every heroic uprising that has taken place in Poland has involved the participation of postal workers. We find traces of this heroism every day in our valuable and still unexplored archives. They contain, among other things, documents submitted during the recruitment process and later, illustrating the course of their entire postal careers. It was in these documents, during archiving, that the personal files of postal workers who participated in the Warsaw Uprising were discovered. In August 1944, they joined the fight against the German aggressor with extraordinary sacrifice. "The discovery of new files in the archives makes us realize that this part of the Uprising's history requires research and popularization. By publishing subsequent albums, we are fulfilling our historical mission and uncovering the stories of those who fought for our freedom and that of our homeland, " emphasized Tomasz Zdzikot, CEO of Poczta Polska.
Employees of the Polish Post Archives continue to discover new, fascinating, and incredibly valuable historical documents. Given the sheer number of archived materials, the company plans to publish similar albums periodically.
– This postcard, carried by liaison officers, usually young people, through the streets of fighting Warsaw, was often – not only for the fighters, but above all – for the civilian population the only way to obtain information and knowledge about what was happening to their loved ones – emphasized Jan Kasprzyk, head of the Office for War Veterans and Victims of Oppression.
" The Polish Post album contains extraordinary biographies, the biographies of heroes who did not hesitate to put their lives on the line, always with the good of Poland in mind. For this, they deserve remembrance, honor, and glory, " said Dr. Karol Polejowski, Deputy President of the Institute of National Remembrance, during the ceremony.
Poczta Polska is also undertaking other initiatives to commemorate the events of August 1944. These include: issuing a postage stamp "70th Anniversary of the Outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising" and "75th Anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising," a commemorative card from the issue "To You, Poland! Warsaw Uprising, August 1, 1944," and a postcard with the printed postage mark from the "Heroes of the Grey Ranks" issue. For many years, the company has also supported the nationwide BohaterON – Turn on History! , which aims to commemorate and honor participants of the Warsaw Uprising. Together with PGE, we have also participated in the "Memorial Plaques" mobile application project, the aim of which is to highlight and give due honor to places of remembrance, including plaques and monuments commemorating events from World War II. The postmen are also involved in cleaning the graves of Warsaw Insurgents at the Wawrzyszewski Cemetery and at the Powązki Military Cemetery in Warsaw.
Each year, representatives of the Polish Post also pay tribute to the insurgents by participating in state ceremonies and laying flowers at monuments commemorating the Warsaw Uprising. The national operator pays special attention to and remembers the heroic postmen who operated as part of the Field Post during the Warsaw Uprising. The history of the Scout Field Post (HPP) is closely linked to the activities of the Home Army Field Post (PP AK). Clandestine communications within the Underground State were among the most extensive among the underground organizations in occupied Europe. It is estimated that postmen transported 200,000 parcels during the Warsaw Uprising.
As every year, members of the Company's management board laid red and white wreaths at the plaque commemorating the Warsaw Uprising Postmen, located in the building of the Warsaw 1 Post Office at 31/33 Świętokrzyska Street, and at the plaque funded by the Polish Post at 41 Wilcza Street. The latter address housed the Pasieka, i.e. the Headquarters of the Grey Ranks, where the field post office began its operations.