Florian Marciniak

Florian Marciniak ( born May 4, 1915 in Gorzyce at Czempiń, † February 20, 1944 in the concentration camp Gross-Rosen ) was a Polish resistance fighter and first commander of the Szare Szeregi during the German occupation of Poland from 1939 to 1945.

Curriculum vitae

He grew up in Great Poland. After graduation he studied law at the University of Poznan. Shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War he worked as a bank clerk. Even in school he was a member of the Scout Movement. Since May 10, 1938, he was the youngest scout leaders (Polish harcmistrz - top trainers degree in Organization) in Poland. On September 27, 1939 - shortly before the surrender of Warsaw - Florian Marciniak was appointed commander of the Szare Szeregi. In the organization he put the principle of " Education through the battle" for. Under his leadership, the horror series started with the resistance against the German occupation in Poland. On May 6, 1943 Florian Marciniak was arrested by the Gestapo. Both a desperate attempt to escape during transport to Poznan as well as the attempts at liberation by members of the Grey Ranks were unsuccessful. Florian Marciniak was later transferred first to Poznan and the Gross-Rosen concentration camp, where he was executed on 20 February 1944. In 2006, he was posthumously awarded the Order of Polonia Restituta.