Operation Góral
Operation Góral (Polish: Akcja Góral) was an action carried out by the Polish anti-Nazi resistance organization Home Army (Armia Krajowa, or "AK"), which involved a heist of over a million US dollars' worth of currency being transported by Nazi German authorities on 12 August 1943. It was carried out in the center of Warsaw by a unit of Kedyw, "Motor", which seized a transport car carrying the money. It was one of the best organized actions of the Polish underground during the German occupation, and it took only two minutes.
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The name of the action comes from the "Góral", the popular name for the 500 złoty currency note (which were also known as "Młynarki").[1] Polish historian Tomasz Strzembosz called this operation one of the most successful resistance operations in occupied Europe.[2]
History
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Following the German invasion and occupation of Poland in 1939, a large resistance network was formed. That resistance required funds to operate, and the resources of the Polish government in exile, delivered through the cichociemni commando-couriers, were limited.[2] In 1942 the resistance began planning to acquire money from the occupiers by carrying out large-scale robberies.[1] Having learned that a large quantity of money would be moved by the occupiers to the German-established Bank of Issue in Poland, the resistance recruited a number of sympathizers within the bank.[1] Preparations lasted about 14 months.[2]
A cell, codenamed "Motor 30" from the Kedyw formation, led by operative "Pol", was assigned to the operation.[3] The plan was to block the road at a specified location, shoot the German personnel attempting to clear it, and carry away the money.[1] The action was initially planned for August 5, but a miscommunication resulted in the operation not being carried out.[1] Fortunately for the insurgents, a new delivery was planned for the following week. The plan was carried out successfully, with the truck redirected into a small alley, all German personnel, including an escorting vehicle, quickly eliminated (according to one report, the Germans suffered nine fatalities and seven wounded;[1] according to another, six killed and six wounded;[3] only one of the Polish insurgents was wounded;[3]), and the truck captured.[1] Approximately 50 Polish insurgents took part in the operation, which lasted only about two minutes.[2]
The Polish insurgents obtained about 105[4]–106[1] million złotys and a smaller amount of German currency, estimated to be worth about one million 1943 US dollars (approximately twenty million of 2010's USD).[2][4] German investigation efforts, despite a large bounty for informants, failed to produce results, and the Germans were even not sure who had carried out the operations – the insurgents or regular criminals, which led to no reprisals against the civilian population (an otherwise-common tactic used by the Germans to discourage resistance operations).[1][3]
AK carried out similar operations on other occasions, for example on 1 June 1943 in Siedlce, though they obtained less money.[4]
See also
References
- "Akcja "Góral": napad na bank w imieniu Polski Podziemnej". Histmag.org. 2012-08-12. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
- "Skok na furgonetkę z "góralami", Weekend rp.pl, Kartka z kalendarza". rp.pl. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
- "Akcja "Góral"". Dws-xip.pl. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
- Marek Ney-Krwawicz (2001). Polish Home Army, 1939–1945. PUMST. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-9501348-9-5.
External links
- (in Polish) Marta Tychmanowicz Akcja żołnierzy AK na 100 milionów, wp.pl, 2010
- (in Polish) Akcja "Góral"
Further reading
- Stefan Smarzyński (1973). Akcja "Góral". Wydawn. Lubelskie.
- Andrzej Żupański (January 2009). Kryptonim "Góral": brawurowa akcja AK – zdobycie 100 milionów złotych. Światowy Związek Żołnierzy Armii Krajowej. ISBN 978-83-7399-381-5.