# Zbigniew Rylski

Lt. Col. Zbigniew Wiesław Rylski, ps. "Andrzej", "Brzoza" and "Andrzej Kaczor" (born 23 January 1923) is a polish Lieutenant Colonel and a veteran of the Second World War.

## Personal life

He was born on January 23, 1923, in Lida, in the family of Zygmunt Rylski, colonel of the permanent infantry of the Polish Army, and Janina née Maliszewska.
He studied at the Primary School named after Konarski, and then after passing the entrance exam at the Secondary School of Science and Mathematics named after August Witkowski in Jarosław.
At the beginning of 1939, he and his family went to Dubno in Volhynia, where his father was transferred, and there he continued his education in the 3rd grade of junior high school. He and his family lived in the barracks of the 43rd Rifle Regiment of the Bajończyk Legion from Dubno. He belonged to the ZHP, initially to the garrison team of the 39th Lviv Rifle Regiment in Jarosław, and then to the garrison team of the 43rd Infantry Regiment in Dubno. He had the scout rank of ćwik. All scout camps that he spent during the holidays were organized at a military unit, during the so-called camps before the maneuvers.

## Second World War

In September 1939, the war found him in Dubno. There, before the entry of the Red Army troops (September 17–18, 1939), the remnants of the quartermaster service left the barracks of the 43rd Infantry Regiment, and only military families with children remained. Scout youth, on their own initiative, took over supervision of the barracks as part of the so-called "Scout Ambulance". All available keys to the gate and gate rooms were seized. During the inspection of the regimental office, together with another scout, Zbigniew Kubicki (son of the regiment commander), they took over two regimental banner panels and commemorative gorgets, displayed in the cabinets of the office, and moved them to their own apartment in the barracks.
At the turn of September and October, he initiated and organized help for prisoners staying in the transit camp organized by the NKVD in the cemetery area next to the garrison church, inside the barracks. The keys to the gates allowed them to provide prisoners with food and civilian clothes, and to organize an escape from the camp for many, thus saving their lives.
Faced with the prospect of displacement of military families from the barracks in the suburbs of Dubno - to Surmicze, on the eve of the displacement, he buried a larger panel of the banner with a staff, souvenir gorgets and valuable books from home in the family allotment garden.
At the end of October 1939, at risk of being deported deep into the USSR, he, together with his mother and siblings, left Dubno for Brest, from where, with the help of paid carriers, he crossed the Bug River to Terespol and then to Warsaw. Before that, secretly from his family, he wrapped the second flap of the banner around himself under his clothes, hung one gorget around his neck and traveled on this way. In the first days of November, together with his mother and siblings, he found himself in Warsaw in his grandmother's apartment at 1 Widok Street.
After a few days, the father arrived at this apartment, expecting news about the family, and who was in Warsaw, already serving as the commander of the 1st District of the ZWZ. The meeting was enthusiastic, and the middle son presented him with the banner and gorget of the 43rd Regiment. After a short time, my father, conspiratorially as the secretary of the RGO in Praga, arranged for an apartment at ul. Targowa 15 m. 47, where the whole family lived.
In 1940, through "Lwowicz 1" (Mieczysław Weitzkorn) - an associate of Aleksander Kamiński - from 1941 the commander of the Praga District, the "Small Sabotage" Organization - "Wawer", he joined the Grey Ranks in Praga and took part in sabotage actions there.
In February 1942, he was placed at the disposal of the deputy commander for tactical matters of the 6th District of the Home Army, Lieutenant Colonel Antoni Żurowski, pseudonym "Bober", "Andrzej", "Antoni" and the sworn one. From March 1942 to February 1944, he served as the District Command's liaison to the District Commanders and the District Commander. In 1943, he began and completed the second period of the Otwock District Infantry Reserve School, completing his final exams and attending a car course in Praga.
In the years 1942–1944, he was a player of RKS "Marymont" and took part in the Warsaw championship games as part of the underground District Football Association. The RKS "Marymont" Warszawa club played in the white and red colors. It was included in the so-called "The Unbreakable" "OZPN". In 2001, on the 90th anniversary, he was awarded the gold medal of Merit.
In the meantime, arrested in a street roundup, he spent several days in Pawiak and then in a transit camp at ul. Skaryszewska in Praga, from where he was sent to forced labor in Germany. Advertised by the organization, for several months he hid with his aunt Bronisława Maliszewska, and then with the family of Stanisław Gawryszewski in Radość.
In March 1944, after the arrest of his father, Zygmunt Rylski, commander of the 6th District of the Home Army in Praga, on the orders of the deputy commander of the 6th District, Lieutenant Colonel Żurowski "Bober", he moved to the area of the 3rd District of the Home Army "Wola" and was housed in the LHD, on the premises of the school at ul. Karolkowa, using false documents under the name Andrzej Kaczor. It should be emphasized here that the LHD protected against deportation to forced labor in Germany. LHD points were located at ul. Langiewicza and Karolkowa. Many soldiers from "Zośka" were stationed at Langiewicza.
In the counterintelligence group of the 3rd District of the Home Army, he became an intelligence officer, using the pseudonym "Andrzej". The main area of observation was Wola, especially the east–west artery - ul. Wolska.
As part of LDH, he attended a sanitary course organized at the Malta Hospital. There he also met doctors: Dr. Dreyza, Dr. Żebrowski, dr. Boguszewski and the hospital commander, Stanisław Milewski-Lipkowski.
In the Warsaw Uprising, August 1, 1944, at 16.30, in the assault group of the 3rd District, he took part in the capture of the hospital complex in Czyste, occupied by the Wehrmacht. The assault group was defeated and dispersed.
After returning to school at ul. Karolkowa, from where he set out with the assault group, he came across at ul. Leszno to a group of soldiers from the 2nd company under the command of Stanisław "Kopiec" Jastrzębski from the "Parasol" battalion. "Kopeć" directed him to build a barricade at the corner of ul. Żytnia and Młynarska. There he was conscripted into the 2nd assault platoon of the 1st company, "Parasol" battalion. From now on, under the command of Sergeant Cadet. Janusz "Gryf" Brochewicz-Lewiński, as an ordinary soldier, took part in the defense of the barricade and in reconnaissance raids on Długosz Tyszkiewicza Street and Opolski Square. He could not provide his rank (corporal cadet) because he did not have any documents with him. Later, he participated in the defense of the buildings at ul. Górczewska and then in defense of the east–west artery (ul. Wolska in the area of the palace and Michler's mills). After many German attacks and defensive battles, under the command of "Gryf" he took part in a daring raid into the area occupied by the Germans in order to neutralize the tanks trying to break through Wolska Street.
The course of the trip was as follows: a group of four people - "Gryf", "Brzoza", "Jasiek" (Jan Żuchniewski - Nadolski) and "Krzych" (Krzysztof Palaster) - after walking through the Wawelberg gardens to Działdowska Street, and then got to the staircase from the northern wing of the building. "Gryf" and "Brzoza", leaving "Jaś" and "Krzyś" on insurance, got to the third floor and went through the corridor to the south side. When the tanks appeared, they threw grenades and bottles from the windows, setting fire to two tanks, one of which started burning and the other withdrew. They withdrew from the action the same way, before throwing the remaining grenades into the staircase on the south side, where the Germans were at the bottom. The entire group returned to the palace without any losses.
After the defenders of Wolska Artery withdrew from the palace and the Michlera mills, he took part in further fighting at ul. Młynarska, Wolska and in the area adjacent to Wenecja, at Górczewska, and then in defense of the Calvinist and Evangelical cemeteries.
On August 6, in the "Gryf" group, he participated in a successful, pre-emptive raid from the cemetery to ul. Młynarska against two tanks. After returning to the Calvinist cemetery, he witnessed the death of several soldiers, including "Anna" (Krystyna Wańkowicz), liaison to the commander of the 1st company "Rafał".
On August 8, 1944, during the fighting for cemeteries, he was wounded in the right forearm. On the same day, during the continuation of very intense defensive fighting at the Evangelical cemetery near the Halpert chapel, he carried the seriously wounded commander of "Gryf" from the battlefield (shot wound to the face - jaw damage), delivered him to a paramedic, and then to the John of God hospital at ul. Bonifraterska, ensuring immediate treatment, and then returned to the battle line.
On Sunday, September 9, the team went from Wola to the Old Town. The first three days, from August 10 to August 13, consisted of fighting and defense from the foreground of the Krasiński Palace and positions on the ruins of the ghetto (at Gęsia and Nalewki). On August 13, he was seriously injured during one of the counterattacks (for the second time - the wrist of his left hand was destroyed). From the place where he was injured, the rubble of the ghetto, he dragged himself to the Krasiński Palace and lost consciousness before entering the gardens. After taking him to the sanitary facility located in the palace, he was helped by Zbigniew Dworak alias "Dr Maks" performed surgery and thus saved his left hand.
As a convalescent, from August 13 to 19 he was in the field hospital in the palace and there he met his cousin Jerzy Dargiel, codename "Henryk" and "Juda", commander of the 4th platoon of the 1st company, also wounded. After a few days of recovery, he returned to the battle line. He took part in further defensive battles and then in an attempt to break through to Śródmieście.
After an unsuccessful attempt to break through on the night of August 31 to September 1, together with a group of wounded people, he passed through the sewers to Śródmieście, leaving the sewer at ul. Warecka. After rest, first at the Conservatory at ul. Okólnik, together with others, went to the assembly point in the building of the Bulgarian Legation in Aleje Ujazdowskie, and then, in the first group, to Czerniaków, to the quarters at ul. Zagórna.
As part of the remnants of the battalion, 120-140 people, less than a company strong, took part in defensive battles at Ludna 7, 9, the PKO building (corner of Ludna and Okrąg), Okrąg 2 and adjacent houses, Wilanowska 14 in the area of Społem warehouses, Solec 53, Wilanowska 5, 3 and 1 (the last bastion). The defense of the Wilanowska section decimated the remains of the umbrellas.
On the night of September 23–24, he swam across the Vistula (despite the plaster on his arm) and reached the other bank. It was taken over by artillery soldiers of the Polish People's Army and hosted there in Saska Kępa.
After a few days, he was arrested by the Polish Army Information and taken to the hospital in Otwock. He escaped from the hospital to avoid repression and deportation. He then had two options: continue his underground work or join the Polish Army. He chose the second option and on October 14, 1944, he joined the 2nd Polish Army. He was assigned to the 5th independent motor transport battalion with a staging area in the village of Niemce near Lublin. As a trained cadet and driver, he served as team and platoon commander. Then he was transferred to the 6th independent motor transport battalion, where he was the company chief until the end of the war. He covered the entire combat route of the battalion. He took a direct part in crossing the Nysa River, organizing the delivery of pontoons to the crossing under enemy fire, where he was wounded for the third time.

## After the War

After the end of the war at the end of May 1945, the unit was sent to Kicin near Poznań. Here, in July, he was arrested by the Military Information Service and held under investigation. The help of his friends enabled him to escape and travel to Warsaw. He was hiding in Warsaw's Wola district with Mr. Leokadia and Julian Śmielak, residing at ul. Zawisza 4, whom he met during the occupation. To distract the neighbors, he served as a horse-drawn platform cart.
In September 1945, he reported to the Home Army Liquidation Committee at BGK and after a conversation with Colonel Jan Mazurkiewicz "Radosław", having a document of disclosure with the rank of cadet, he returned to the unit in Kicin, which was transformed into the 38th car training and transport company of the Command of Military District No. I in Warsaw. The unit was located at ul. Litewska in Warsaw on the premises of the former Salesian plant. At the turn of September and October, after talks at the district command, he received a promotion offer to the head of the 94th District Automobile Depot of DOW-I in Warsaw at ul. Gocławska 10, on the premises of the former school.
A few days later, before he formally took over his position, he was arrested for the third time by the Military Information Service and taken to a camouflaged prison located in a private villa at 11 Płocka Street in Wola. For three months from October 14, 1945, an investigation was carried out day and night, subjecting him to mental and physical abuse, the aim of which was to prove his membership in an underground organization whose task was to overthrow the regime.
On January 17, 1946, in a show trial against the staff and soldiers, the Garrison Military Court announced the death penalty (of course with the right to appeal to the president). On the same day, under convoy, he was taken to the prison in Praga at ul. November 11 and placed in a singles match. Two days later, it was transported in stages to Wronki, Rawicz and Sieradz in freight wagons. He stayed in the prison in Sieradz until March 20, 1947, and was released under the next amnesty. The Military Prosecutor's Office of the Warsaw District, in a decision of March 12, 1947, ordered his release from prison with a recommendation to send him to the appropriate RKU for demobilization from the army. From the content of the decision and the sentence clause contained therein, it can be concluded that there was no death penalty at all and it was announced during the trial only to deter the staff and soldiers. In fact, the sentence was a total penalty of 2 years. He was formally demobilized from the army on July 11, 1947, without any notes about his conviction or imprisonment.
Before that, he started working at the Polish YMCA. However, due to the liquidation of this organization by the authorities, he was forced to look for another job. From June 17, 1947, he was employed as a driver at the Central Board of Graphic Works in Warsaw. In December this year, he was transferred to the Printing Industry Supply Headquarters as a chief warehouseman. From March 1950, he was appointed head of the import department, and from February 1951, he took up the position of deputy head of the commercial department at this headquarters. In June 1952, he was appointed head of the commercial department. After two years of work in this position and after the reorganization of the Headquarters, he was transferred to the Central Printing Board as a senior economist, with an expected transfer to the newly organized Printing House in Praga, to the position of head of the supply and investment department. After nine years of work in this printing house, in March 1963, on the recommendation of the Union, he was transferred to Dom Słowa Polskiego to the same position and worked there until 1973. In the meantime, he studied and completed a two-year post-secondary course in economics and obtained a diploma in economics. For the next five years, he worked at Zakłady Graficzne "RSW Prasa" as manager of the investment, supply and administration department.
War disability and the age of 55 allowed him to retire in 1978. After a ten-year break from 1988 to 1990, he again worked at Zakłady Graficzne Dom Słowa Polskiego on a part-time basis, as a specialist in supply and materials management. While working at DSP from 1970, he developed a material index for the printing industry, containing 360,000 items. slogans, issued in 5 thousand copies.
In 1993, he submitted a request to the Provincial Court to classify the period of his stay under investigation and prison from 1945 to 1947 as political repression. By the decision of the Military Garrison Court in Warsaw of June 4, 1997 and then of the Military District Court of August 28, 1997, the judgment of January 17 was annulled.
After a long period of efforts and exchange of correspondence with the Office for Veterans and Victims of Oppression, and only after appealing to the Supreme Administrative Court, he was granted extended veteran's rights and recognized as imprisonment for fighting for Poland's independence and sovereignty. Formally, the Office granted him these rights on August 2, 1999. Following these decisions, after a second appeal to the District Military Court in Warsaw, in the judgment of January 22, 2003, he was awarded compensation and material compensation on behalf of the Republic of Poland.
Married to Helena, née Małekowska (1921–1970), with whom he had two sons: Jacek (born 1949), master of librarianship and scientific information technology, graduate of the University of Łódź, and Marek (1950–1981), lieutenant engineer, graduate of the Higher Officers' School of Mechanized Forces in Wrocław, who suffered an accident in 1973 and after eight years of serious illness disability died. Married for the second time to Wiesława Teresa née Kotarski, editorial manager. From this relationship he had two daughters: Ewa (born 1953), a master of pedagogy, a graduate of the University of Warsaw, and Elżbieta (born 1959), a graduate of a two-year post-secondary language course.

## Promotions

* Cadet Corporal
* second Lieutenant – 6 June 1990, verified with seniority from 1944
* Lieutenant - 6 May 1993
* Captain - 27 July 1998
* Major - 11 November 2006
* Lieutenant Colonel - 24 October 2018

## Decorations

* Wound Decoration x3
* Silver Cross of the Order of Virtuti Militari
* Officer's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta
* Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta
* Cross of Valor x2
* Golden Cross of Merit with Swords
* Army Medal for War x4
* Partisan Cross
* Warsaw Uprising Cross
* Medal "For participation in the defensive war of 1939"
* Silver Cross of Merit
* Cross of the Home Army
* Medal for Warsaw 1939-1945
* Medal for Oder, Neisse and Baltic
* Pro Memoria Medal
* Silver Cross of Merit with Rosette with Swords
* Meritious for Warsaw badge