They fought for the Poland they believed in - the soldiers of “Tarzan”

Why did the history of this branch become the canvass of the exhibition? There were several reasons, the most important of which was the ties to our Nadsany region.

Tadeusz Gajda was born in Charzewice, as was his father Jozef, who later became a member of his son’s unit. Individual members of the Gajda family were distinguished by their extremely patriotic approach to the affairs of their homeland. Suffice it to mention Jozef’s brother Piotr Gajda “Pancerny” and their nephew Kazimierz Gajda “Orla” belonged to the Home Army.

The unit commanded by “Tarzan” operated mainly on the territory of the former Tarnobrzeg and Nisko districts. Many of its members were residents of nearby villages. The unit’s actions were carried out in Rozwadów, Charzewice, Zbydni, Zaleszany, among others.

Individual sections of the exhibition lead us through the activities of the unit and its most important actions, up to the dramatic moments of the arrest of the commander and the execution of the death sentence.

There are also stories and threads from the conspirators’ family life, which they tried to build in spite of everything, disregarding the uncertain fate. 

The relatively rich photographic material, which survived, among other things, in the Gajd family archives, made it possible to create the exhibition.  This is a unique situation because many other underground activists were sometimes left with only a pseudonym or a nameless grave. Families very often destroyed photographs and documents that, in the eyes of the communist authorities, could incriminate them.

The narrative of the exhibition is based on the accounts of both warring sides, and we quote both the memoirs of Jadwiga – the wife of “Tarzan” and the militia’s operational files. Thanks to them we learn about the extremes that prevailed in the evaluation of the unit’s actions. Supporters regarded its members as patriots saving society from robbery, rape, deportation to Siberia and certain death. For the communist authorities, the same unit was a “gang” engaged in robbery and pillage, trying to shatter the post-war system from within.

Nevertheless, the activities of “Tarzan” and his soldiers, which lasted more than a year, were undoubtedly due not only to Gajda’s command and organizational skills, but also to the supportive attitude of the majority of the local population.

Tadeusz Gajda “Tarzan”

He was born on February 15, 1924 in Charzewice (now a neighborhood of Stalowa Wola). During the German occupation, he lived with his family in Nisk, where his father worked at the post office. By the outbreak of war, Tadeusz had completed four grades of middle school in Nisk. In 1941, as a 17-year-old, encouraged by his father Jozef, a.k.a. “Zawisza,” he joined the National Military Organization and adopted the pseudonym “Tarzan.” After being deconspirated in October 1943, he moved to the unit of Franciszek Przysiężniak, a.k.a. “Father Jan,” operating in the Janowski Forests in the Lublin region. The same unit included Tadeusz’s relatives, his father, uncle – Piotr Gajda a.k.a. Armored, and cousin – Kazimierz Gajda a.k.a. Orla. In the period June 10-15, 1944, he took part with them in one of the largest battles against the Germans on Porytowy Wzgórz, which ended in victory for the partisans.

From September 1944, wanted by the NKVD and the UB, he sought refuge in Berling’s army. He joined the 25th Infantry Regiment of the People’s Army of the Polish People’s Republic (LWP) in Rzeszow, but at risk of arrest – for belonging to the Home Army – he deserted.

He returned to his hometown, where he again found himself in the underground, this time anti-communist. In March 1945, Tadeusz Gajda “Tarzan” was appointed one of the commanders of the forest units by order of the Commander of the Forestry Branches of the Rzeszow District of the NZW. 

The unit’s activities mainly covered the northern part of the Tarnobrzeg district, as well as in the Nisko district (the towns of Pysznica and Jastkowice-Lipowiec) in the former Rzeszow province.

The tasks of members of the anti-communist underground included recapturing from arrests and prisons those incarcerated there by the UBP and MO. Propaganda, intelligence and liquidation activities were carried out, targeting persecutors and dangerous confidants. For supply purposes and to raise funds for further independence activities, expropriation actions were carried out in banks, cooperatives and state farms, taking care not to affect civilians not involved in the struggle. The punishment of floggings inflicted on allies of the People’s Power and PPR supporters, as well as sentences carried out on confidants and traitors in some circles of the local population, gave the units the name of thieving and bandit groups.

A dramatic in effect clash with the Soviets occurred in Lipovec. After this action, three soldiers were executed in the market square in Janow Lubelski on the orders of a Soviet general, while others captured received long sentences. The others were constantly oppressed by the UB and the army.

In February 1946. “Tarzan” became commander of the Tarnów branch of the Special Action Ambulance at the National Military Unification. In May, he received a nomination for captain.

After the security forces cracked down on the independence underground in Tarnow, he was arrested in early August 1946. He was held and interrogated in the prisons of the PUBP in Tarnow and later in Cracow.

On September 27, the local Military District Court sentenced Capt. Tadeusz Gajda to death. The sentence by shooting was carried out on October 14, 1946, in Montelupich Prison. Tadeusz Gajda left behind a wife and two small children.

Exhibition preparation: Aneta Garanty, Aneta Jonaszek, Katarzyna Sabat