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.
History
The battalion was formed in late August 1943 as part of the
Radosław Group, fighting in
Wola and the
Starówka, from where they allowed the "Rudy"
company to do a breakthrough to the centre of the city through the
Saxon Garden which eventually failed. After capturing two
Panther tanks in 2 August, an armoured platoon was formed under the command of
Wacław Micuta. The battalion gained the
War Order of Virtuti Militari.
Liberation of the concentration camp "Gęsiówka"
Zośka fighters liberated prisoners of the concentration camp
Gęsiówka in August 1944. The 383 able-bodied prisoners (including 348 Jews),[3] 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.[2]
Prisoners of
Gęsiówka and the Zośka fighters after the liberation of the camp in August 1944
Warsaw Uprising 5 August 1944 in Gęsiówka. The men are dressed in captured German uniforms and armed with confiscated German weapons. From left: Wojciech Omyła "Wojtek",
Juliusz Bogdan Deczkowski "Laudański" and Tadeusz Milewski "Ćwik". Milewski was killed on the same day. Omyla was killed several days later on 8 August 1944.
Other famous Home Army battalions were:
Miotła,
Czata,
Pięść, and
Batalion Parasol. Between 1944 and 1956, all surviving former members of Batalion Zośka were incarcerated in the Soviet
NKVD prisons.[4]
por. "Szczerba" Jerzy Berowski † por. "Jurek TK" Jerzy Pepłowski † por. "Xen" Bolesław Stańczyk por. "Brzechwa" Roman Grzybowski ks. "Ojciec Paweł" Józef Warszawski
^Aleksander Kamiński: Zośka i Parasol : opowieść o niektórych ludziach i niektórych akcjach dwóch batalionów harcerskich. Warsaw: Iskry, 2009. ISBN978-83-244-0091-1.
"Pamiętniki żołnierzy baonu Zośka", Nasza Księgarnia, Warsaw 1986
ISBN83-10-08703-9. (in Polish)
Agnieszka Pietrzak: Żołnierze Batalionu Armii Krajowej "Zośka" represjonowani w latach 1944–1956. Warsaw: Instytut Pamięci Narodowej, 2008.
ISBN978-83-60464-92-2. (in Polish)
Aleksander Kamiński: Zośka i Parasol : opowieść o niektórych ludziach i niektórych akcjach dwóch batalionów harcerskich. Warsaw: Iskry, 2009.
ISBN978-83-244-0091-1. (in Polish)