On 3 December 1944, eighty years ago, in Budach-Bor close Brzeszcz, 4 guerrillas from the branch of the AK “Sosienka” were in the home of the Healthians.
They were refugees from Auschwitz. Betrayed by 1 of the SS men with whom they conducted negotiations on arms delivery, they were surrounded by an SS unit. 1 of the participants in this skirmish was Antoni Wytwik (No. 613), who miraculously survived. Recalling the tragic December day of 1944 in Budach-Bor, it is worth recalling events that took place 3 months earlier.
On 9 September 1944 5 Poles escaped from Auschwitz. Among them were 3 prisoners from the first transport of Polish political prisoners who arrived at the Oświęcim camp from Tarnów prison on 14 June 1940. They were: Stanisław Maliński (69) from Tarnowa, Stanisław Furdyna (No. 193) and Antoni Wytwik (No. 613). The fugitives joined the ranks of the AK “Sosienka” branch under the command of Lt. Jan Wawrzyczek and together with another guerrillas of this branch took over further refugees from Auschwitz. They were celebrated for their action under Auschwitz, which amazed not only with bravado but besides with ingenuity.
More than a period later, on October 18, 1944, 2 of the aforementioned escapees: Stanisław Furdyna and Antoni Wywięt, dressed in SS uniforms, stopped the cart. 2 prisoners were held on it, with whom the action was secretly agreed. He did not know only about her, convoying them from the Oświęcim parent camp to the subcamp in Budach the coachman of the SS. After stopping the car, the “dressers” as alleged camp officials of the Gestapo ordered prisoners to get out of the car. They started beating them and kicking them, reasoning they were supposedly wanted for hours to analyse further. The convoy issued the prisoners, asking only to sign for them. His request was granted. The prisoners thus released were: Stanisław Zyguła (No 682) – prisoner of the first Tarnów transport, from the village of Skopana in Podkarpacie and Marian Szayer (No 17036).
Anna Zdrowak recalled the tragic events in Budach-Bor, which took place at her home on 3 December 1944: (...) a bicycle-ridden SSman Alex joined us. He barely came in, immediately asked, “The fish is with you” and without stopping he entered the area where the guerrillas were sleeping. They woke up and started talking to Alex, who offered to join the group. Aleks, erstwhile he left, swore he'd come back soon, only go to camp for his gun. The Partisans have not yet been able to cool off after this conversation, erstwhile respective cars with SSmen came to our house. They surrounded the home with a thick ringing and began to shoot at it from all sides. 1 of the SS approached the house, the firearm broke the door and entered. Meanwhile, the guerrillas took their guns and jumped into the attic and started shooting SS men. I don't know which of the guerrillas killed the SS in the yard. The bullet pierced his head, eye and neck. Dying, he managed to ask, “Where are they?”
Her daughter. Sophie Healthy-Dekty She added: Awakening guerrillas began a conversation with an SSman called Alexi... The Partisans wanted to kill him, but my parent opposed it; Furdin let the SS man leave our house. In respective minutes after his departure, our home was surrounded by SS men who opened fire. It took a fewer minutes to fire each other.
He died in combat. Stanisław Furdyna (No. 193) – born 1916 in Tuszów National close Mielec, official, officer of the Polish Army Reserve.
Anna Zdrowak accurately stated in her account the circumstances of his death and the another 2 refugees from Auschwitz: erstwhile the guerrillas utilized up all the ammunition, they jumped from the attic and began to flee the fields, hiding between the seedlings of young trees. 2 guerrillas were hit by SS bullets, Shayer was killed in seedlings, and Furdin in a close pit. Antoni Wywyt and Staszek called “Jekała” (Stanisław Kwiatkowski – AP) hid in the basement of my home and inactive defended themselves. erstwhile they lacked bullets, Staszek took the poison he always carried with him, and the Vigilante took the SS.
Shrewdly surrounded with Stanisław Fuldina, they suffered death: Stanisław Kwiatkowski (No 12374) – born 1916 in Brok, Ostrowski County, Mazowieckie Province, in the camp registry recorded as a locksmith and Marian Szayer (No 17036) – born 1918 in Stary Sącz, law student at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. A full household of Healthy Men – Anna Zdrodak, her husband Jan and 2 daughters Sophia and Emilia, tenant of Edmund Klunny – were arrested – born in Sosnowiec, survived his stay in KL Mauthausen, as well as all the men in the neighbourhood as hostages.
From the inside of the Healthy House, throwing respective grenades into it earlier and causing a fire, the SS pulled out Anthony the Extortion (No 613) – born 1919 in Nawojowa close Nowy Sącz, who was an officer of the Polish Army reserve. The escapeee from Auschwitz was thrown onto a truck, which was intended to drive him back to the camp for public execution. However, the captured guerrillas did not lose their courage. He freed his hands from ties and erstwhile the truck reduced the velocity at the turn, he jumped out of it into a roadside ditch. The SS opened fire behind the escapee, but the truck driver, Richard Böck, who was working with the prisoners in the camp, added gas pretending to escape a shooting caused by a guerrilla ambush, which saved the life of Antoni Wytrzyk.
With a broken nose and a clavicle, Antoni Wywięt was hiding in the Nikl household home in Skidziń close Brest. The youngest ten-year-old boy of Zdrowaków – Stanisław, who managed to hide in the neighbourhood during the struggle. Antoni Wybet after the war changed his name to Andrzejwski and left for Canada. He left for the eternal watch in 1995. After 2 weeks, the hostages were released from Auschwitz, while members of the Healthy and Edmund Klunny household were placed – each individual separately – in camp detention, or bunkers of block 11. After 1 of Sophie's brutal interrogations imprisoned in cell 1 in the basement of Block 11 reasoning she would be executed, with a hairpin she scratched in the plaster of 1 of the walls of that cell the inscription: Zofia Zdrodak 16 years old.
But Providence kept watch over her, and this inscription did not stay her last trace. On the night of 16 to 17 January 1945, among the first prisoner columns evacuated from the camp, driven on ft towards Wodzisław Śląski, there were besides prisoners moved out of Block 11. Anna Healthykova escaped with her daughters from the prisoner column on the Death March way close Rybnik, while her husband Jan was later killed in KL Mauthausen. The elder of Anna Healthyka's daughters – Zofia continued schooling after the war. However, she did not have an easy life, especially as she was bullied during the Stalinist period for her membership of the AK and could not find work for a long time. Zofia Zdrodak-Dętkoś already married and the parent of 2 sons sold her household home in Budach and moved to Brest, where she died thirteen years ago.
Adam Cyra
Przemyśl Poland nr 51-52 (15-29.12.2024)
