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Edwin Pawlowicz, alias "Andrzej" (born February 21,1900 in Pinsk; died September 25,1943 in Lodz), was a road and bridge construction engineer who, during World War II, was the commander of the Home Army's special sabotage unit "Andrzej" and a lieutenant in the sappers' reserve. The Gestapo executed him in Lodz because of his sabotage activities.[1][2]
Biography
editHe took part in the Polish-Soviet War and between 1922 and 1926 studied at the Warsaw Polytechnic in the Faculty of Civil Engineering, receiving his diploma in roads and bridges engineering in 1926.[3][4]
Pawlowicz specialized in modern road technologies using bituminous and concrete surfaces. On March 29, 1933, he became the deputy manager and later the technical director of "Kom-Dro-Bit", a Swiss-German-Polish company based in Katowice that built compressed bituminous roads—from 1936, had a branch in Warsaw. Using compressed bituminous materials made in Katowice and cement mass, he introduced new road technologies in Upper Silesia, Lwow and the Warsaw voivodeship, He also collaborated with "Stuag", an Austrian company.[3][5][6][7]
Sabotage Activities
editAfter the invasion of Poland and the Polish Campaign (September 1, 1939 – October 6, 1939), Pawlowicz was imprisoned by the Germans in an "oflag" (German POW camp for officers). He was released through the intercession of Stuag which at the time controlled Kom-Dro-Bit (Pawlowicz's employer), which in turn was carrying out road and quarry works in German concentration camps located in Poland.[3]
Following his release and return to Warsaw, Pawlowicz organized a secret weapons arsenal and a sabotage unit. This unit operated on construction sites run by Stuag, in the areas surrounding Radom, Konskie, Lublin, Siedlce, Terespol and Warsaw. On these sites, primarily in the Warsaw voivodeship, the unit examined the effectiveness of explosive materials and sabotage equipment that came from airdrops and materials smuggled by Stuag's Austrian employees. These construction sites gave protection to many Jews and members of the Polish resistance. Working with Stuag, Kom-Dro-Bit was used in large sabotage activities.[8]
As the head of the sabotage unit, Pawlowicz operated under the pseudonym "Andrzej", a name most likely taken in honour of his son, Andrzej. This name was also used for the sabotage unit, Andrzej's Group (Polish: Grupa Andrzeja), which Pawlowicz formed by recruiting employees from Kom-Dro-Bit. Andrzej's Group was used for heavy-duty railway attacks (including "Odwet" on November 17, 1942), technical sabotage (e.g. burning of automobiles) and combat intelligence. Between 1941 and 1943, Andrzej's Group blew up railway tracks, bridges and viaducts mainly along the Podlaski-Terespol route.[9]
On December 31, 1942, Pawlowicz took part in an action named "Wieniec II", a series of sabotage acts involving the blowing up railway tracks in the Lublin and Warsaw districts as revenge against the Germans for the displacement of the Polish population from the Zamosc region.[3]
In his memoirs, published in the magazine "Drogowcy", engineer Edward Wrzeszcz wrote the following about Pawlowicz's arrest:[3]
"In March 1943, Pawlowicz organized a battle group to rescue the prisoners in Lodz, but unfortunately, a message containing information to postpone this action was received too late. The group's meeting on Lwowska Street in Warsaw from where the joint trip to Lodz was planned, could not be canceled. The area adjacent to the Warsaw University of Technology and Lwowska Street was surrounded by the Gestapo. As a result of the shooting, the son of the caretaker Mozdzynski was killed, and Edwin Pawlowicz was arrested. Initially, he was probably kept in Pawiak and later transported to the harsh Gestapo prison in Lodz."[3]
Date and Place of Death
editPawlowicz was killed by the Gestapo most likely at 6:30 a.m. on September 25, 1943. This information was obtained from the wall of the mass grave at the Saint Roch cemetery in Lodz. For many years, the date and circumstances of his death were unknown; his family searched for him unsuccessfully. At the request of his wife, Karolina Pawlowicz-Tarczynska, he was declared dead in 1948 by the Municipal Court in Lodz.
To date, the information on the above-mentioned plaque next to the mass grave is the only source of information about the execution and the only indication that he is buried in this place.[10][11]
Family
editPawlowicz was the son of Jan Pawlowicz and Ksaweryna Pawlowicz, from the Hryszkiewicz family. Both parents were descendants of noble families (szlachta) from the Minsk Governorate. He had an older brother, Otton and an older sister, Alina.[12][13]
Pawlowicz was first married in 1927 in Warsaw to Maria (nee Staeven or Staaren) Pawlowicz, born in Winnica. Karolina (nee Bednarz) Pawlowicz-Tarczynska, born in Zakopane, was his second wife and together they had a son, Andrzej Pawlowicz.[14][15]
References
edit- ^ https://czaz.akademiazamojska.edu.pl/index.php/az/article/view/840 ZAMOJSKA ACADEMY - Organizational structures of the Polish Underground State in the General Government - page 84 - AKADEMIA ZAMOJSKA - Struktury organizacyjne Polskiego Państwa Podziemnego w Generalnym Gubernatorstwie - str. 84
- ^ "Kedyw of the Warsaw District of the Home Army in the years 1943-1944" Henryk Witkowski - "Kedyw Okręgu Warszawskiego Armii Krajowej w latach 1943-1944" Henryk Witkowski
- ^ a b c d e f Drogownictwo 1/90
- ^ https://bcpw.bg.pw.edu.pl/dlibra/publication/325/edition/561/content Warsaw University of Technology - Program for the academic year 1927/28 - Politechnika Warszawska - Program na rok akademicki 1927/28
- ^ https://www.sbc.org.pl/dlibra/publication/27954/edition/25012 Official Gazette of the Silesian Voivodeship, 1933, Vol. 12, No. 36 - Gazeta Urzędowa Województwa Śląskiego, 1933, R. 12, nr 36
- ^ https://mhk.katowice.pl/index.php/muzeum-on-line/encyklopedia/leksykon-bogucki/306-k-bogucki#komdrobit Museum of the History of Katowice - Muzeum Historii Katowic
- ^ https://polona.pl/item-view/14cf6a62-a6d3-48df-af99-fa0cc3c129ae?page=725&searchQuery=paw%C5%82owicz Yearbook of Polish Industry and Trade 1934 (page 478, scan 726) - Rocznik Przemysłu i Handlu Polskiego 1934 (str. 478, skan 726)
- ^ Service Poland Underground DWS-XIP - Serwis Polska Podziemna DWS-XIP
- ^ "Storm units of underground Warsaw 1939-1943" Tomasz Strzembosz - "Oddziały szturmowe konspiracyjnej Warszawy 1939-1943" Tomasz Strzembosz
- ^ billiongraves.com - Edwin Pawłowicz
- ^ https://jbc.bj.uj.edu.pl/dlibra/doccontent?id=432000 Public Notices: supplement to the Official Journal of the Ministry of Justice. 1948 No. 30 (p. 16) (Poland) - Obwieszczenia Publiczne : dodatek do Dziennika Urzędowego Ministerstwa Sprawiedliwości. 1948 Nr 30 (str.16)
- ^ Geneteka - Belarus - Geneteka - Białoruś
- ^ Military Historical Office in Poland - CAW Resource Search Engine (PAWEŁ-PCHŁY) - Wojskowe Biuro Historyczne - Wyszukiwarka zasobu CAW (PAWŁ-PCHŁ)
- ^ Geneteka - Warsaw - Geneteka - Warszawa
- ^ https://straty.pl/szukaj-osoby.php Institute of National Remembrance in Poland - Losses - Declaration of death certificates - Marriage certificate - Instytut Pamięci Narodowej - Straty - Akta uznania za zmarłego - Akt ślubu
Category:1943 deaths
Category:1900 births
Category:Warsaw University of Technology alumni