Active 1944 Engagements Warsaw Uprising | Allegiance Polish Underground | |
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Branch Armia Krajowa (Home Army) Type Underground and urban warfare | ||
Batalion Zośka (pronounced Zoshka; Sophie in Polish) was a Scouting battalion of the Polish resistance movement organisation - Home Army (Armia Krajowa or "AK") during World War II. It mainly consisted of members of the Szare Szeregi paramilitary Boy Scouts. It was formed in late August 1943. A part of the Radosław Group, the battalion played a major role in the Warsaw Uprising of 1944.
Zośka was named after Tadeusz Zawadzki, who used the name as his pseudonym during the AK's early days. He was killed during a partisan action.
Liberation of the concentration camp "Gęsiówka"
Zośka fighters liberated prisoners of the concentration camp Gęsiówka in the August 1944. The 383 able-bodied prisoners (including 348 Jews), both men and women who were left in Gęsiówka to assist with the destruction of the evidence of mass murder, were rescued from certain death. Most of these survivors joined the Zośka unit and fought in the Warsaw uprising.
Other famous Home Army battalions were: Miotła, Czata, Pięść, and Batalion Parasol. Between 1944 and 1956, all of the former members of Batalion Zośka were incarcerated in the Soviet NKVD prisons.