Polish Home Army commemorative armband issued to a veteran of the Warsaw Insurrection

Red and white armband commemorating the Warsaw Insurrection issued to Ryszard Przemyski, a member of the underground resistance group, Armia Krajowa [Home Army], known as A.K. The band has his group number VII, his pseudonym Ruczaj, A.K., and the date. The Warsaw Rising or Insurrection, August 1-October 5, 1944, was the attempt by the Polish Home Army to retake Warsaw from the German occupying forces. They retook much of the city, but without the promised aid from Western Allies or Russia, whose forces were within sight of the city, the resistance was crushed. The Germans massacred or deported the populace and Hitler ordered the city burnt to the ground. Rudy was a 15 year old high school student when Nazi Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. He joined the A.K. and fought with them during the attempt to liberate Warsaw in fall 1944. Rudy was captured and sent to Stalag III-A prisoner of war camp in Luckenwalde, Germany. On April 22, 1945, Russian troops liberated the camp and Ryszard joined the 2nd Polish Corps, a division of the British Army, in Italy. He met fellow A.K. member Ewa Lada in Rome. The war ended in May, and the couple moved to Camp Foxley, a displaced persons camp in England.