back...Second lieutenant Zdzisław Dąbski “Roman” - forgotten educator of insurgent youth

“Calm, objective and full of humor, with his knowledge and perseverance he won the respect of both superiors and subordinates. Warsztaty (the Workshop) unit under his lead became compact, focused mainly on combat training, meticulously supervised by Dąbski” – this is how Lesław Bartelski described Zdzisław Dąbski, co-founder of the Home Army Regiment “Baszta” (the Turret) and a second lieutenant in the reserve, in a book titled Pułk AK Baszta (Home Army Regiment Baszta).

Zdzisław Dąbski lived between 1911 and 1943. Before the war, he was a journalist. He married Maria Magdalena Siedlecka, daughter of Senator Stanisław Siedlecki. During the occupation, he used documents in the name of Roman Downar. He was fully committed to fight for Poland's independence. 2 months after the outbreak of World War II, second lieutenant Dąbski, alias “David,” together with scoutmaster Ludwik Berger “Goliath,” formed a unit of the underground Grey Ranks scouts, which was transformed into a battalion and then into the Home Army regiment “Baszta.”

“S. lt. Dąbski inspected the newly formed sections. (...) He began inquiring the boys about their military training. Some of them have undergone civil defense training, participated in training camps. But generally silence prevailed, as none of them had anything to do with the regular army yet. And when the commander asked about their dates of birth, by the expression on his face the subordinates understood how disappointed he was,” reads Lesław Bartelski's book titled Pułk AK Baszta (Home Army Regiment Baszta).

On December 8, 1939, the unit, made up of scouts from Żoliborz, was placed under command of general Michał Karaszewicz-Tokarzewski, commander-in-chief of the secret military organization, Służba Zwycięstwu Polski (the Polish Victory Service). In February 1940, second lieutenant Zdzisław Dąbski.

“Roman” became commander of a unit code-named “Warsztaty” (the Workshop) (K-1). The unit was part of a grouping code-named “Fabryka” (the Factory), which was subordinate to the armed underground organization Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Union of Armed Struggle). A year later, the unit was transformed into “Baszta” - the Security Battalion of the Headquarters of the Union of Armed Struggle, and second lieutenant Dąbski became commander of the “Jastrząb” (the Hawk) company, training candidates for squad leaders.

In training, “Baszta” soldiers were prepared for insurgent and sabotage actions. In early 1943, in order to avoid deconspiration, the “Jastrząb” company changed its name to “Giewont” (C5), and its commander, second lieutenant Dąbski, adopted the alias “Góral” (the Highlander).

“He was a man in his thirties, stocky, with a flat boxer's nose, thinning blond hair and a pleasant smile. He emanated great inner strength; I tried to imitate him inefficiently and was happy to have him as my commander,” wrote Jerzy Stefan Stawiński in his book Młodego Warszawawiaka zapiski z urodzin (Young Varsovian's Birthday Notes).

The “Baszta” battalion grew rapidly, and its soldiers took part in many combat operations. In late 1942 and early 1943, the grouping consisted of five companies of about 1,500 soldiers in total. In the summer of 1943, by decision of the Home Army Headquarters, the “Baszta” battalion was transformed into a regiment of about 2,300 men.

S. lt. Zdzisław Dąbski was involved in the military formation of Polish insurgents. It was before him that the young soldiers took the Oath of a Soldier of the Home Army. One of his subordinates was platoon-leader Rajmund Kaczyński “Irka,” father of Lech and Jarosław Kaczyński.

“Roman” did not live to see the Warsaw uprising. On October 23, 1943, he was arrested during a roundup in Żoliborz. Imprisoned and interrogated at the Pawiak prison, he committed suicide by biting through an ampoule of potassium cyanide.

After his death, the second lieutenant received the War Order of Virtuti Militari, Poland's highest military decoration. He is burried in the Powązki Military Cemetery.

His wife, who along with her mother Felicia and younger sister Irena survived the gehenna of Siberia, and after the war settled in Australia. She did not learn of her husband's death until 1947, and never remarried.

Bibliography:

Ajewski E.,  Mokotów walczy 1944, Warsaw 1990.

Bartelski L. M., Pułk AK Baszta, Warsaw 1990.

Kubalski T., W szeregach „Baszty”, Warsaw 1969.

Stawiński J. S., Młodego Warszawiaka zapiski z urodzin, Warsaw 2006.