Anti-Communist Resistance in Poland from 1944 – 1947: Bandits or Heroes?

The purpose of the article is to present the fate of the so-called "indomitable" soldiers [żołnierze wyklęci] and their myth, cultivated from 1989 onwards. In 1945, these soldiers, refusing to accept new orders in a country led by communists supported by the USSR, decided to continue the fight. At the end of the war there were 120,000-180,000 of them out of which 13,000-17,000 fought in partisan units. Two years later, there were only about 2,000 of them left. They represented different social groups and attitudes. Among them there were former soldiers of the Home Army [Armia Krajowa], but also people who were associated with the extremely nationalistic organization, the National Armed Forces [Narodowe Siły Zbrojne]. In the time of the Polish People's Republic, they were all considered as bandits and fascists. After 1989, when interest in the anti-communist armed underground was revived, the myth of unrelenting soldiers, soldiers who had been cursed, doomed, was born. The "Indomitable" Soldiers National Remembrance Day [Narodowy Dzień Pamięci Żołnierzy Wyklętych] was established in 2011. However, the assessment of "indomitable" is far from unambiguous. There were patriots, righteous people among them whose fate was often tragic. But there were also those who were ready to cooperate with the Germans or who were responsible for the deaths of innocent people.