The house of General Michał Tokarzewski-Karaszewicz, who headed the first underground military organization during World War II, has been added to the list of monuments. Interestingly, the building had a secret passage behind the stove. It led to the underground radio station in the basement.
– I entered the house at ul. into the register of immovable monuments of the Masovian Voivodeship. Telefoniczna 18 in the Boernerowo Housing Estate (1st Communication Housing Estate) in Warsaw – informed the Masovian Voivodeship Conservator of Monuments, Prof. Jakub Lewicki.
The residential house at 18 Telefoniczna Street was built between the spring of 1932 and the winter of 1933. Its owner was Irena Tokarzewska-Karaszewiczówna, a minor at that time, daughter of General Michał Tokarzewski-Karaszewicz, who acted on her behalf. After the war, the house was occupied by the army. On February 7, 1953, it was sold. Currently, it is owned by the State Treasury and its administrator is the City of Warsaw.
The conservator explained that the historical values of the building are related to the investor – General Michał Tokarzewski-Karaszewicz. During World War II, he headed the first underground military organization – Service for Poland’s Victory, then became the commander of the Lviv district of the Union of Armed Struggle. In the post-war period, he served as the Inspector General of the Armed Forces and the Minister of National Defense in the Government of the Republic of Poland in Exile.
Basement with a conspiratorial radio station
It was also a place related to the occupation history of Boernerow. – In the basement of the building there was a conspiratorial radio station hidden in a hiding place, the entrance to which was under a movable, sliding furnace located in a room on the ground floor. It was accidentally discovered during house renovation in 1978. The excavated equipment was presented at an exhibition at the Museum of Technology. In addition, there was probably (or still is) a weapons hiding place under the veranda, related to the conspiratorial activities of the residents – said Prof. Levitical.
– The building at 18 Telefoniczna Street is a valuable example of old architecture near Warsaw of the interwar period and a document of the spatial development of this region with its typical wooden buildings. The building is distinguished by the high grade and good condition of the original substance, including the structure and architectural form, along with the mostly original layout of the rooms, part of the door joinery, wooden floors and stairs. The building in question is a testimony to the development of the Boernerowo estate, which, after administrative changes, also became part of the spatial layout and identity of the current Warsaw district of Bemowa – said Prof. Jakub Lewicki.
Main photo source: Masovian Voivodeship Conservator of Monuments/Facebook