Armia Krajowa

  • Heimatarmee
  • AK
Identifier
312
Type of Entity
Corporate Body

Dates of Existence

1942-02-14/1945-01-20

History

Subordinated to the Polish Government-in-Exile in London, Służba Zwycięstwu Polski (Service for the Victory of Poland) and the Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Union for Armed Struggle) formed on 1942-02-14 the Armia Krajowa. During the war it became an umbrella organization of resistance groups. Attacks were limited to confiscating supplies, burning food-quota documents, and, perhaps, crippling machinery. This modus operandi denoted the desire of the independentists to avoid German reprisals against the people and the destruction of property which, after all, was Polish and would be used after the victory. One of its best known operations was the Warsaw Uprising, an attempt to liberate the capital of Poland which lasted form 1944-08-1 till 1944-10-02. General Okulicki ordered the disbanding of AK on 1945-01-19.

Places

  • Founded and active in Poland.

Sources

  • Between Nazis and Soviets : Occupation Politics in Poland, 1939-1947 / M.J. Chodakiewicz. - Lanham, 2003. - p. 190