Związek Walki Zbrojnej (

abbreviation An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word ''abbrevia ...

: ''ZWZ''; Union of Armed Struggle;Thus rendered in

Norman Davies Ivor Norman Richard Davies (born 8 June 1939) is a Welsh-Polish historian, known for his publications on the history of Europe, Poland and the United Kingdom. He has a special interest in Central and Eastern Europe and is UNESCO Professor a ...

, ''God's Playground: A History of Poland'', vol. II, p. 464. also translated as ''Union for Armed Struggle'', ''Association of Armed Struggle'' or ''Association for Armed Struggle'') was an underground

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

formed in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

following its

invasion An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing ...

in September 1939 by

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

and the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

that opened

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. It existed from 13 November 1939 until 14 February 1942, when it was renamed into

Home Army The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, 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) es ...

(''Armia Krajowa, AK''). ZWZ was created from an earlier organization,

Service for Poland's Victory Służba Zwycięstwu Polski (''Service for Poland's Victory'', or ''Polish Victory Service'', abbreviated SZP) was the first Polish resistance movement in World War II. It was created by the order of general Juliusz Rómmel on 27 September 1939, w ...

(''SZP''). In January 1940, it was divided into two parts: *areas under German occupation — commanded by Colonel

Stefan Rowecki Stefan Paweł Rowecki (pseudonym: ''Grot'', "Spearhead", hence the alternate name, Stefan Grot-Rowecki; 25 December 1895 – 2 August 1944) was a Polish general, journalist and the leader of the Armia Krajowa. He was murdered by the Gestapo in ...

, headquartered in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

; *areas under Soviet occupation — commanded by General Michał Karaszewicz-Tokarzewski, headquartered in

Lwów Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...

. Formally, the ZWZ was directed from

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, by General Kazimierz Sosnkowski (nom de guerre Jozef Godziemba), who after Poland's defeat escaped to France via

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

. Due to practical problems, however, Sosnkowski's control of the organization was very limited. The instruction of General Sosnkowski, in which he ordered his subordinates to create regional branches of the ZWZ, was brought to Warsaw on 4 December 1939. According to Sosnkowski, the ZWZ was supposed to be a national military organization, without regard to political differences and social ranks. Furthermore, the idea of a national uprising at the moment of entry of regular Polish units was put forward by Sosnkowski and his staff. After the

fall of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second World ...

, on 18 June 1940, General Wladyslaw Sikorski named Colonel

his deputy, with the right to take urgent decisions without consent of the

Polish government-in-exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...

. Sikorski urged Rowecki to closely cooperate with leaders of political parties, gathered in the

Political Consultative Committee Political Consultative Committee ( pl, Polityczny Komitet Porozumiewawczy, ''PKP'') was the beginning of the political arm of the Polish Secret State in occupied Poland during World War II. It was formed on 26 February 1940 by several Polish polit ...

. The headquarters of the ZWZ formally was under the authority of the Polish government in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, but in reality, military powers were in hands of officers who remained in the occupied country, and had good knowledge of the reality of Nazi- and Soviet-controlled Poland. After the arrest of General Michal Tokarzewski-Karaszewicz, who was captured by the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

on the way from Warsaw to Lwow, the ZWZ in

Eastern Poland Eastern Poland is a macroregion in Poland comprising the Lublin, Podkarpackie, Podlaskie, Świętokrzyskie, and Warmian-Masurian voivodeships. The make-up of the distinct macroregion is based not only of geographical criteria, but also econo ...

was left without a leader. Following the

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named afte ...

, the whole territory of the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of the First World ...

found itself under German occupation.

Notes

References

, ''God's Playground: A History of Poland, in Two Volumes; Volume II: 1795 to the Present'', New York, Columbia University Press, 1982, .

External links

ZWIĄZEK WALKI ZBROJNEJ
Encyklopedia Interia
ZWIĄZEK WALKI ZBROJNEJ
Encyklopedia PWN

Encyklopedia WIEM

{{DEFAULTSORT:Union Of Armed Struggle Military units and formations of Poland in World War II Polish revolutionary organisations 1939 establishments in Poland 1942 disestablishments Home Army

See also

Notes

References

External links