Maciej Aleksy Dawidowski
Maciej Aleksy Dawidowski "Alek", "Glizda", "Kopernicki", "Koziorożec" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Allegiance |  Poland |
| Service/ |  Armia Krajowa (Home Army) |
| Rank | Sergeant (posthumous) |
| Battles/wars | Polish resistance movement in World War II |
| Awards |  Virtuti Militari, Class V |
Maciej Aleksy Dawidowski codename: Alek, Glizda, Kopernicki, Koziorożec (b. November 3, 1920 in Drohobycz - March 30, 1943 in Warsaw, Poland) was a Polish Scoutmaster (podharcmistrz), Polish Scouting resistance activist and Second Lieutenant of the Armia Krajowa during the Second World War.[1] He is one of the main characters in the book Kamienie na Szaniec by Aleksander Kamiński.
Early life
Dawidowski was the son of Aleksy Dawidowski, an engineering technologist and Janina Dawidowska (nee Sagatowska), who worked in chemical engineering.[1] The junior Dawidowski graduated from the Stefan Batory Warsaw Gymnasium. He was active in the Polish Boy Scout movement.[1] In the fall of 1939 Dawidowski's father was the administrative director of a rifle factory in Warsaw. Following the German occupation of Warsaw in late September 1939, the senior Dawidowski was arrested in November 1939, and on December 1939 the father was shot in the Sejm Gardens.[1]
Resistance work
In 1939 the younger Davidowski was a member of PLAN, in 1940 he became member of Szare Szeregi (the underground organization of Polish Boy Scouts) and Wawer. He took part in several sabotage actions against the Nazi forces, among others. In the Copernicus action he removed the German language plaques beneath the Warsaw statue of Copernicus on February 11, 1942.[1]
Participation in Operation Arsenal
Jan Bytnar, another resistance leader, was arrested by the Germans on 23 March 1943. The Polish underground army designed a plan to rescue him called "Operation Arsenal". Dawidowski participated in the planning and the carrying out of the operation. During the attack, he was seriously wounded in the stomach by bullets fired by Germans concealed in the gate house where Bytnar was being held. Despite this he was able to throw two grenades which allowed the others with him to withdraw from the action. He later died in a hospital from his wounds.[1]
During the Warsaw uprising, Dawidowski's code name "Alek" was later used as the code name for the 2nd Platoon of the 2nd company ("Rudy") of Battalion Zoška. He was awarded posthumous Virtuti Militari V class and promoted to sergeant.[1]
Modern commemoration
A modern academic high school in Warsaw (Gimnazjum nr 56 im. Aleksego Dawidowskiego ps. „Alek”) is named after him.[2]
Notes
References
