The insurgent armbands and archival documents belonging to Juliusz Lech Zbyszyński, pseudonym “Zbyszek” and Jadwiga Irena Zbyszyńska-Grzybowska, pseudonym “Mariola”, have just been transferred to the Warsaw Uprising Museum. The valuable mementos were donated by the children of the insurgents – former deputy of the Human Rights Ombudsman Hanna Machińska and her brother Zbigniew Zbyszyński.
Among the items that were donated to MPW by Hanna Machińska, Deputy Commissioner for Human Rights in the years 2017-2022, and her brother Zbigniew Zbyszyński were personal mementos of their parents: a kennkarte issued in the name of Jadwiga Irena Kuk (Kuk is Jadwiga's maiden name, which she wore during the uprising – ed.), her white and red armband and a pennant made of red cloth with an embroidered eagle in a crown, before which Irena Kuk took the AK oath. Also donated was the armband of Juliusz Lech Zbyszyński, two of his accounts and one white and red armband, the owner of which is unknown.
Today, the director of the Warsaw Uprising Museum, Jan Ołdakowski, and his team organized a moving ceremony during which my brother and I handed over memorabilia of our parents who were insurgents. These were insurgent armbands, a pennant, written personal accounts, and our mother's Kennkarte.
— Hanna Machińska (@Hanna_Machinska) August 5, 2024
The armband united all the insurgents
During the ceremony of handing over the memorabilia, Jan Ołdakowski, director of the Warsaw Uprising Museum, emphasized that the insurgents, when leaving the uprising, took few things with them. – Sometimes they had a suitcase, and sometimes the things they had with them, with them, in their pockets. That is why many of them did not have uniforms and that is why the armbands are so important. It was their only sign that they were insurgents. The armband united all the insurgents – he said.
The MPW director added that from the beginning of the museum’s construction, a decision was made that each insurgent armband that arrived here would be placed on display after undergoing conservation.
– My mother was a nurse, she swore on this pennant. She got together with my father right after the war, we are also giving my mother's Kennkarte. It caught my attention that it is valid until June 1948. It is incredible how far-reaching the Germans' plans were – said Hanna Machińska.
They are waiting for more memorabilia from the uprising
During the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising, two other insurgent armbands were also donated to the museum by Marek Szwarc “Biały” (who donated his armband) and the niece of the commander of the “Krybar” group, Captain Cyprian Odorkiewicz – Hanna Odorkiewicz-Sikocińska “Pszczoła” (also a participant in the uprising).
MPW reminds us that each document relating to the events of August and September 1944 is another element of the great puzzle that is the history of the Warsaw Uprising.
“All persons who are in possession of materials from the period of the conspiracy or the Warsaw Uprising are requested to contact the Warsaw Uprising Museum: Department of the Main Inventoryer of the Warsaw Uprising Museum, tel. (22) 539 79 85 / (22) 539 79 87, e-mail: jbialobrzeska@1944.pl, hzaremba@1944.pl” – MPW appeals.
Main image source: MPW