''Akcja pod Arsenałem'' (English: ''Operation Arsenal'') is a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

historical film A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swa ...

, based on the novel ''

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 aliases such as ''Dąbrowski'', ''J. Dąbrowski, Fabrykant, Faktor, Juliusz Górecki, Hubert, Kamyk, Kaźmierczak, Bambaju'' (born 28 January 1903 in Warsaw, died 15 ...

,''Akcja pod Arsenałem''
at the Filmweb.pl released in 1978 and directed by

Jan Łomnicki Jan Łomnicki (30 June 1929 – 18 December 2002) was a Polish film director and screenwriter. A graduate of the National Film School in Łódź. He directed more than thirty films between 1954 and 2000. His 1976 film ''To Save the City'' ( ...

. Set during

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 tells the story of the

Operation Arsenal The Operation Arsenal, code name: "Meksyk II" ( pl, Akcja pod Arsenałem) 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. ...

, in which boy scouts of the Grey Ranks freed a truck carrying prisoners, among whom was

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 duri ...

Plot

A historical film based on real events, it tells the story of three scouts,

Tadeusz Zawadzki Tadeusz Leon Józef Zawadzki, assumed surname: ''Tadeusz Zieliński'', alias ''"Kajman"'', ''"Kotwicki"'', ''"Lech Pomarańczowy"'', ''"Tadeusz"'', ''"Zośka"'' (born on January 24, 1921, in Warsaw, died on August 20, 1943, in Sieczychy) was a Poli ...

„Zośka”,

„Rudy” and Maciej Dawidowski „Alek”, fighting in the

Gray Ranks "Gray Ranks" ( pl, Szare Szeregi) 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 ...

against the German occupiers. On March 23, 1943, "Zośka" and "Alek" learn that "Rudy" has been arrested by the Warsaw

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one or ...

. They decide to rescue their friend from the hands of the torturers tormenting him in the Pawiak prison and at the Gestapo headquarters in al. J. Ch. Szucha 25. On March 26, 1943, in the area of the

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, at the intersection of Bielańska, Długa and Nalewki Streets, scouts from the Gray Ranks Assault Groups in a daring attack recapture "Rudy" from the Gestapo headquarters, along with twenty other prisoners with him. However, “Rudy” had been tortured during the investigation by the Germans and dies a few days later in the hands of his friends.

Cast

* Ryszard Gajewski as Aleksy Dawidowski "Alek" * Mirosław Konarowski as Tadeusz Zawadzki "Zośka" *

Cezary Morawski Cezary Morawski (born 5 June 1954 in Szczecin) is a Polish film, theatre and television actor, as well as a voiceover provider for film dubbing and video games. Biography He is the son of the Polish actor Tomasz Morawski. In 1977 he graduated ...

as Jan Bytnar "Rudy" *

Magdalena Wołłejko Magdalena may refer to: * Magdalena (given name), a given name derived from Mary Magdalene (including a list of people with the name) Entertainment * Magdalena (comics), an American comic book superheroine * ''Magdalena'' (film), a 1920 Czecho ...

as Baśka * Danuta Kowalska as Maryla Dawidowska *

Zbigniew Zapasiewicz Zbigniew Jan Zapasiewicz (13 September 1934 – 14 July 2009) was one of the most prominent post-war Polish actors, as well as a theatre director and pedagogue. Biography Zbigniew Zapasiewicz was born on 13 September 1934 in Warsaw, Poland. Du ...

as Stanisław Bytnar *

Lidia Korsakówna Lidia Korsakówna (born 17 January 1934, Baranowicze, Poland – died 6 August 2013, Konstancin-Jeziorna) was a Polish theater and film actress. Born in Baranowicze, Poland (present-day Belarus), Korsakówna died in Konstancin-Jeziorna at the ag ...

as Zdzisława Bytnarowa *

Joanna Pacuła Joanna Pacuła (; born 30 December 1957) is a Polish-American actress and model. Born in Tomaszów Lubelski and emigrating to the United States in the early 1980s, she first gained prominence through her modeling work for Vogue. Her breakthrough ...

as Duśka Bytnarówna * Wojciech Alaborski as Florian Marciniak "Florian" *

Damian Damięcki Damian ( la, links=no, Damianus) may refer to: *Damian (given name) *Damian (surname) *Damian Subdistrict, in Longquanyi District, Chengdu, Sichuan, China See also *Damiani, an Italian surname *Damiano (disambiguation) *Damien (disambiguation) *Dam ...

as Mieczysław Kurkowski "Mietek" *

Zbigniew Sawan Zbigniew Sawan (14 April 1904 – 4 June 1984) was a Polish stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 25 films between 1928 and 1984. Studied directing in Państwowy Instytut Sztuki Teatralnej. Selected filmography * ''Huragan'' (1928 ...

* Maria Mamona as Hanka *

Jan Piechociński Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Num ...

as doctor *

Jan Englert Jan Aleksander Englert (born 11 May 1943) is a Polish film actor. He has appeared in more than 60 films since 1957. Since 2003 he has served as Artistic Director of the National Theatre in Warsaw. Biography In 1957 at the age of 14 he made ...

as Stanisław Broniewski "Stefan Orsza" * Piotr Grabowski * Ryszard Bacciarelli * Karl Sturm as Schulz * Werner Toelcke as Lange * Jan Czechowicz as Tadeusz Chojko "Bolec" * Piotr Dejmek as Zygmunt Kaczyński "Wesoły" *

Adam Ferency Adam Ferency (born 5 October 1951) is a Polish actor. He has appeared in more than 70 films and television shows since 1976. He starred in the 1990 film '' Burial of a Potato'', which was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1991 Can ...

as Heniek Ostrowski *

Karol Gruza Karol may refer to: Places * Karol, Gujarat, a village on Saurashtra peninsula in Gujarat, west India * Karol State, a former Rajput petty princely state with seat in the above town Film/TV *'' Karol: A Man Who Became Pope'', a 2005 miniseries ...

as Jerzy Gawin "Słoń" *

Ryszard Jabłoński Ryszard () is the Polish equivalent of " Richard", and may refer to: * Ryszard Andrzejewski (born 1976), Polish rap musician, songwriter and producer * Ryszard Bakst (1926–1999), Polish and British pianist and piano teacher of Jewish/Polish/Russi ...

as Józef Saski "Katoda" * Ryszard Dreger as Jan Rodowicz "Anoda" * Emilian Kamiński as Andrzej Wolski "Jur" * Piotr Krasicki as Witold Bartnicki "Kadłubek" * Zbigniew Kuś as Tadeusz Krzyżewicz "Buzdygan" *

Leszek Mikołajczyk Leszek () is a Slavic Polish male given name, originally ''Lestko'', ''Leszko'' or ''Lestek'', related to ''Lech'', ''Lechosław'' and Czech ''Lstimir''. Individuals named Leszek celebrate their name day on June 3. Notable people * Lestko * L ...

as Tadeusz Szajnoch "Cielak" * Janusz Mond as Eugeniusz Koecher "Kołczan" * Andrzej Precigs as Konrad Okolski "Kuba" *

Rafał Spałek Rafał is the Polish form of the male given name Raphael. Rafał (Polish pronunciation: ) may refer to: *Rafał Śliż (born 1983), Polish ski jumper *Rafał A. Ziemkiewicz (born 1964), Polish fiction author and journalist *Rafał Andraszak (bor ...

as Sławomir Bittner "Maciek" *

Paweł Wawrzecki Paweł Wawrzecki (born February 12, 1950 in Warsaw) is a Polish actor and the son of Stanisław Wawrzecki. He left The Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw in 1975. He appeared in the television series '' Aby do świtu ...

as Jerzy Zborowski "Jeremi" * Adam Gessler as Jerzy Trzciński "Tytus" *

Jan Owczynnikow Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Num ...

as Wiesław Krajewski "Sem" * Jan Kulczycki as Władysław Cieplak "Giewont"

References

External links

''Akcja pod Arsenałem''
at the

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, p ...

''Akcja pod Arsenałem''
- ''Kino Iluzjon Filmoteki Narodowej'' 1978 films Polish historical drama films 1970s Polish-language films 1970s historical drama films {{Poland-film-stub