Stanisław Gustaw Jaster | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nickname(s) | Hel |
| Born | January 1, 1921 Lwów, Republic of Poland |
| Died | c. July 12, 1943 (aged 22) Warschau, General Government, Nazi Germany |
| Allegiance |  Polish Underground State |
| Branch |  Home Army |
| Years of service | 1938 - 1943 |
| Unit | Organization of Special Combat Actions |
| Known for | Auschwitz Escapee Controversy surrounding fate |
| Battles / wars | World War 2 Operation in Celestynów |
| Awards | Order of Polonia Restituta |
Stanisław Gustaw Jaster, (pronounced [staˈɲiswaf ˈɡustaf ˈjastɛr] ; January 1 1921 – July 12 1943) also known by his pseudonym "Hel" was a Polish scout, member of the Home Army and an escapee from the concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau.
He mysteriously disappeared July 12 1943, and was presumably murdered by his colleagues. In 1968, he was accused of collaborating with the Gestapo by Aleksander Kunicki, and leading the dismantle of the "Osa" - "Kosa 30" unit, causing long and emotional debates. According to some historians and veterans, Jaster was innocent, and his death was the result of a mistake. The debates surrounding this were one of the most controversial, and mysterious part of the history of the Polish Underground State.
On September 25, 2019, Jaster was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.
Biography
editPre-WW2 Period
editStanisław Gustaw Jaster was born in Lwów, eldest of two sons of Stanisław Jaster, and his wife, Eugenia née Sosnowska.[1] In the 1930s, the Stanisław family situation was difficult. After leaving the tax service, Stanisław Gustaw Jaster's unemployed father Stanisław Sr. was forced to run a fruit and vegetable kiosk in Hala Mirowska, with help from his two sons.[1] However, thanks to the effort of Stanisław Gustaw Jaster's mother, who was employed at Komunalna Kasa Oszczędności, the family had avoided a drastic reduction in the standard of living.[1][2]
During adolescence, Stanisław Gustaw became rebellious, and restless. Due to his educational problems, he often changed schools. Initially, he attended the State's Men Gymnasium of Warsaw, or, Prince Józef Poniatowski, and later, he attended the Cadet Corps No. 1. In the second school, he passed the fourth grade and his secondary school exam, but he left a year after at his own request. Eventually, he was accepted to the XXVII Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Tadeusz Czacki in Warsaw, where in May 1939 he passed his exam. According to some sources, he planned to study at the Faculty of Architecture of the Warsaw University of Technology, which was prevented by the outbreak of World War 2.[3]
Like his parents, he was a scout. He practiced numerous sports, however, his greatest passion was for sailing, and he had a patent of the helmsman of Inland Yacht Shipping. Among peers, he was known for camaraderie, bravado, and physical prowess.[2] At the same time, he also was interested in art, in particular, painting.[2]
September Campaign to arrest
editIn September 1939, together with his father and younger brother, he took part in the Defense of Warsaw against Nazi Germany. Before occupation, the Jasters allegedly hid a large amount of weapons in their apartment.[2] After the beginning of the German occupation, the Jaster family joined underground activities. Weapons, and forbidden books, were kept in their apartment.[2] Secret meetings were also organized in their apartment, to read underground press. Despite the ongoing occupation, Stanisław did not lose his interest in art and painting, he attended secret painting and drawing lessons, organized by painter Antoni Suchanek.[2]
Imprisonment, and escape from Auschwitz
editOn September 19, 1940, he was arrested in a large round-up, organized by the Germans in Żoliborz. Fleeing the Germans, he hid with a group of younger boys in the ruins of a burnt villa. At some point, one of the escapees kicked a brick with his foot, which fell next to an officer standing in front of the building. The alarmed Germans detained the Poles hiding in the ruins; the younger boys were released after some time, but Jaster, as the oldest of the detainees, was accused of attempting to assassinate an officer and imprisoned in Pawiak.[4] On November 21, 1940, he was transported to KL Auschwitz.[1] In a transport of 300 prisoners, he reached the camp the next day.[1]
In Auschwitz, he was marked with the camp number 6438. As a prisoner, he first worked in the so-called Strassenbaukommando,[Note 1] and later in the SS warehouses, located in the buildings of the former Tobacco Monopoly (Hauptwirtschaftslager - hereinafter HWL).[2][4] In 1941, he fell ill with typhus, but recovered.[1] In the meantime, his family made unsuccessful efforts to get him out of the camp with the German authorities.[2] During his stay in Auschwitz, he joined the underground movement Union of Military Organizations, created by Capt. Witold Pilecki.[1] He also did not abandon his passion for painting, according to the account of his fiancée, Anna Danuta Leśniewska, he even painted portraits of SS men and prisoner functionaries in exchange for food and favors.[2]
One of the prisoners working in HWL garages was Eugeniusz Bendera. In the spring of 1942, the Gestapo placed him on the list of persons destined for execution, but the execution was temporarily postponed, due to the need for Bendera to complete the renovation of several cars. With nothing to lose, he decided to risk escaping from the camp[1][4]. He formed a group with two other prisoners employed at HWL: Kazimierz Piechowski, and Józefa Lemparta[1]. The escape plan provided that in order to prevent retaliatory repression against fellow prisoners, the fugitives would pretend to be members of a fake work commando that operates a cart-platform (Rollwagenkommando). Usually this type of commando consisted of four prisoners, hence the conspirators, in order not to arouse suspicion, had to co-opt one more person[2]. The escape was offered to Alfons Kiprowski, who, however, resigned when the authors of the plan did not agree to join the group of his close friend[3]. Another friend of Piechowski, Tadeusz Banasiewicz, also refused[1]. Eventually, Stanisław Jaster joined the group. The choice of his person was decided by Jaster's acquaintance with Piechowski and a good opinion, which he enjoyed among his fellow prisoners[1].
On Saturday, June 20, 1942 in the afternoon, four conspirators posed as members of Rollwagenkommando got in the vicinity of HWL warehouses. Bender opened the garage with a fake key, while his companions made their lengths into the HWL underground through a previously loose manhole into a coke bunker. Then, using counterfeit keys, they opened the boiler room and the chancellery, and broke the door to the warehouse with weapons and uniforms with a crowbar found in the basement. In the warehouse, they dressed in SS uniforms and took rifles, pistols, grenades, ammunition and food. From the garage, they took an outdoor Steyr 220 car, which was often used by the head of HWL, SS-Hauptsturmführer Kreutzmann (some sources say, probably mistakenly, that the vehicle belonged to the camp commander). Then, without hindrance from the Germans, they left the camp and left in a south-eastern direction. In the area of Maków Podhalański, the car crashed, hence the refugees were forced to abandon the vehicle and continue to escape on foot. Soon the group separated[1]. Leaving Auschwitz, Jaster took with him the report of Capt. Pileckiego. This was probably one of the reasons why, despite the high risk, he decided to return to his native Warsaw[1].
Notes
edit- ^ Road construction commando. See: Czarnecka 2016 ↓
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Czarnecka, Daria (2014). Sprawa Stanisława Gustawa Jastera ps. "Hel" w historiografii. Kreacja obrazu zdrajcy i obrona (in Polish). Warsaw: Institute of National Remembrance. ISBN 9788376297217.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Czarnecka, Daria (2016). Największa zagadka Polskiego Państwa Podziemnego. Stanisław Gustaw Jaster – człowiek, który zniknął (in Polish). Warsaw: Institute of National Remembrance. ISBN 9788301188092.
- ^ a b Cyra, Adam (12 October 1986). "Tragiczna pomyłka". Directions, Social and cultural weekly of Catholics. p. 41.
- ^ a b c Cyra, Adam (25 January 1987). "Uciekinier". Panorama, Silesian Illustrated Weekly. p. 4.