Anniversary of the Establishment of the Home Army

On February 14, 1942, by order of General Władysław Sikorski, the Home Army (Armia Krajowa, AK) was formally established as the armed force of the Polish Underground State.¹ This was not merely an administrative reorganization of the Union for Armed Struggle. It was a declaration that the Polish state continued to exist, even under occupation.

Few phenomena in twentieth-century Europe compare to the scale and organization of the Polish Underground State.² Unlike many resistance movements, the AK operated under the authority of a recognized government-in-exile in London. It maintained courts, education, press, and civil administration. The underground was not an improvised rebellion; it was a continuation of sovereignty by clandestine means.

The dual occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union created unprecedented conditions. German policy aimed at the destruction of Polish elites and eventual colonization. Soviet repression included mass deportations and the Katyn massacre of 1940.³ In such circumstances, armed resistance became both a strategic necessity and a moral imperative.

At its peak, the Home Army counted hundreds of thousands of sworn members.⁴ It conducted sabotage, intelligence, and targeted operations. Polish intelligence provided crucial information to the Allies about German V-weapons development.⁵ The AK’s actions demonstrated that occupation did not equate to submission.

The Warsaw Uprising of 1944 remains the most controversial chapter in the AK’s history.⁶ Launched as Soviet forces approached the city, it sought to assert Polish sovereignty before communist authorities could be imposed. The uprising ended in catastrophe, with massive civilian casualties and the destruction of Warsaw. Yet it also stands as testimony to the determination not to exchange one form of totalitarian domination for another.

After 1945, many AK veterans faced persecution under the communist regime.⁷ Official narratives marginalized or vilified them. Only after 1989 could their role be openly recognized and commemorated.

The anniversary of the Home Army’s establishment is therefore not merely historical. It raises enduring questions about sovereignty, legitimacy, and moral responsibility. The AK embodied the conviction that the state is more than territory—it is a community bound by law and loyalty.

Its legacy is complex, shaped by heroism and tragedy alike. But it remains a central chapter in the story of modern Poland: a story of a nation determined to preserve its independence even in the darkest of times.

Notes

1. Władysław Bartoszewski, 1859 dni Warszawy (Kraków: Znak, 1974).

2. Jan Karski, Story of a Secret State (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1944).

3. Anna M. Cienciala et al., Katyn: A Crime Without Punishment (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007).

4. Piotr M. Majewski, Armia Krajowa 1939–1945 (Warszawa: IPN, 2014).

5. Michael J. Neufeld, The Rocket and the Reich (New York: Free Press, 1995).

6. Norman Davies, Rising ’44 (London: Macmillan, 2003).

7. Antoni Dudek, Historia polityczna Polski 1944–1989 (Kraków: Znak, 2007).