Maciej Aleksy Dawidowski codename: Alek, Glizda, Kopernicki, Koziorożec (3 November 1920, in

Drohobycz Drohobych ( ; ; ) is a city in the south of Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Drohobych Raion and hosts the administration of Drohobych urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. In 1939–1941 and 1944–1959 it was ...

– 30 March 1943, in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

) was a Polish scoutmaster ( podharcmistrz), Polish Scouting resistance activist and Second Lieutenant of the

Armia Krajowa The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

.Gimnazjum nr 56 im. Aleksego Dawidowskiego ps. Patron biography
Dawidowski is a main character in the books ''

Kamienie na Szaniec ''Kamienie na szaniec'' (lit. ''Stones for the Rampart'', also translated as ''Stones on the Barricade'') is a 1943 non-fiction novel by Polish writer Aleksander Kamiński. Published by the Polish underground press during the World War II Occupat ...

'' by

Aleksander Kamiński Aleksander Kamiński, assumed name: ''Aleksander Kędzierski''. Also known under Pseudonym, aliases such as ''Dąbrowski'', ''J. Dąbrowski, Fabrykant, Faktor, Juliusz Górecki, Hubert, Kamyk, Kaźmierczak, Bambaju'' (28 January 1903 - 15 March ...

, and '' Rudy, Alek, Zośka'' by Barbara Wachowicz.

Early life

The son of Aleksy Dawidowski, an engineering technologist and Janina Dawidowska (née Sagatowska), who worked in chemical engineering, Maciej Aleksy Dawidowski graduated from the Stefan Batory Warsaw Gymnasium. He was active in the Polish Boy Scout movement. In the fall of 1939 Dawidowski's father was the administrative director of a rifle factory in

. Following the German occupation of Warsaw in late September 1939, the senior Dawidowski was arrested in November 1939, and in December 1939 the father was shot in the Sejm Gardens.

Resistance work

In 1939 the younger Davidowski was a member of

PLAN A plan is typically any diagram or list of steps with details of timing and resources, used to achieve an Goal, objective to do something. It is commonly understood as a modal logic, temporal set (mathematics), set of intended actions through wh ...

, in 1940 he became a member of

Szare Szeregi Grey Ranks () was a codename for the underground paramilitary Polish Scouting Association () during World War II. The wartime organisation was created on 27 September 1939, actively resisted and fought German occupation in Warsaw until 18 ...

(the underground organization of Polish Boy Scouts) and Wawer. He took part in several

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, government, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, demoralization (warfare), demoralization, destabilization, divide and rule, division, social disruption, disrupti ...

actions against the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

forces, among others. In the Copernicus action he removed the German language plaques beneath the Warsaw statue of Copernicus on 11 February 1942.

Participation in Operation Arsenal

Jan Bytnar Jan Roman Bytnar, ''nom de guerre'' "Rudy" (''Ginger'') (born 6 May 1921, Kolbuszowa, Poland – died 30 March 1943, Warsaw, Poland) was a Polish scoutmaster, a member of Polish scouting anti-Nazi resistance, and a lieutenant in the Home Army du ...

, another resistance leader, was arrested by the Germans on 23 March 1943. The Polish underground army designed a plan to rescue him called "

Operation Arsenal The Operation Arsenal (), code name: "Meksyk II" (''Mexico 2''), was the first major operation by the Gray Ranks, Polish Underground formation during the Nazi German occupation of Poland. It took place on March 26, 1943 in Warsaw. Its name was ...

". Dawidowski participated in the planning and the execution of the operation. During the attack, he was seriously wounded in the stomach by fire from Germans in the gate house where Bytnar was held. Despite this he threw two grenades enabling his comrades to withdraw from the action. He later died in a hospital from his wounds, aged 22. During the

Warsaw uprising The Warsaw Uprising (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from ...

, Dawidowski's code name "Alek" was later used as the code name for the 2nd Platoon of the 2nd company ("Rudy") of

Batalion Zośka A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several companies, each typically commanded by a major or a captain. The typical battal ...

. He was

posthumously awarded A posthumous award is an award that is granted after the recipient has died. Many prizes, medals, and awards can be granted Wiktionary:posthumously, posthumously. Military decorations Military decorations, such as the Victoria Cross or the Med ...

the Silver Cross of the

Virtuti Militari The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', ) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was established in 1792 by the last King of Poland Stanislaus II of Poland, ...

and promoted to sergeant. In 2011 he was posthumously awarded the Commander's Cross with Star of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

Legacy

An elementary school, Szkoła Podstawowa nr 391 im. Macieja Aleksego Dawidowskiego, in

is named in his honour. An elementary school, Szkoła Podstawowa nr 52 im. Macieja "Alka" Aleksego Dawidowskiego, in

is named in his honour.

References

External links

Gimnazjum nr 56 im. Aleksego Dawidowskiego ps. „Alek”
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawidowski, Maciej Aleksy 1920 births 1943 deaths Polish Scouts and Guides Polish Army officers Recipients of the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari Commanders with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta Home Army members Resistance members killed by Nazi Germany Operation Arsenal