On the evening of 7 March 1949, in a prison in Warsaw, the communists executed a group of 7 soldiers of the anti-communist underground, led by the legendary Major Hieronim Dekutowski, a.k.a. “Zapora” – commander of units fighting the Germans in the Lublin region, and later arousing the fear of the communists.
Hieronim Dekutowski was born on 24 September 1918 in Dzików, now part of the city of Tarnobrzeg. He was the youngest of nine children of Jan and Maria née Sudacka. He belonged to the generation that grew up and was brought up in independent Poland. Hieronim was influenced by his older siblings, including his eldest brother Józef – a participant in the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1921.
The future “Zapora” finished primary and secondary school in nearby Tarnobrzeg. He combined his education with active scouting, serving as team leader in the 2nd Water Scout Troop named after General Mariusz Zaruski. After passing his matriculation exams in 1939, he planned to study in Lwów (today’s Lviv). The outbreak of World War II, initiated first by the aggression of Germany and then by the Soviet Union on Poland, made it impossible for him to realise his life plans.
Dekutowski left Tarnobrzeg and went to Lwów, where he joined the Polish Army. From there, like thousands of others, he evacuated to Hungary, where he was interned. After escaping from the camp, he made his way through Yugoslavia and Italy to France. There, as early as November, he joined the 4th Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Infantry Rifle Division of the reconstituted Polish Army. After the capitulation of France in June 1940, Dekutowski was evacuated to the United Kingdom, where he was assigned to the 1st Rifle Brigade. In early 1941, he graduated with honours from the Infantry Officer Cadet School in Dundee. It was here that he made the decision that would decide his fate – on 24 April 1942 he volunteered for service in the German-occupied country in the ranks of the elite Silent Unseen (Cichociemni).
He intensively participated in specialist courses, including: shooting, diversionary-mining, parachuting, diversionary tactics and parachuting. At the beginning of March 1943, he was sworn in as a “cichociemny” and appointed as a cadet corporal. At the same time, he took on the conspiratorial aliases “Odra” and “Zapora”. On the night of 16-17 September 1943, as part of Operation “Neon I”, he was dropped into occupied Polish territory near Wyszków. In accordance with the rules in force, after this jump he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant. On the same day he reached Warsaw, from where, after less than a month, he was directed to the diversionary activities of the Home Army (AK) in Lublin District. There, he joined a partisan unit commanded by Second Lieutenant Tadeusz Kuncewicz, a.k.a. “Podkowa”, operating in the Zamojszczyzna region, where he perfected the skills, he had acquired during the “cichociemni” courses.
At the beginning of 1944. “Zapora” took command of the Kedyw Dispatches Unit of the Lublin-Pulawy District Inspectorate of the Home Army. In the period from February to July 1944, in the Lublin and Puławy districts, the unit commanded by “Zapora” carried out many combat actions against the Germans. The largest of them was the victorious battle of several hours at Krężnica Okrągła, fought on 24 May 1944, which ended with the smashing of a German column.
During the “Storm” Operation, his unit protected the Home Army Lublin District Headquarters. After the entry of the Soviets at the end of July 1944. “Zapora” disbanded his unit. In January 1945, he gathered his subordinates back together in an attempt to protect them from repression by the Soviet and native Polish security system.
In the spring and summer of 1945, Dekutowski’s unit wreaked havoc on communist forces in the Lublin region. Due to the influx of new soldiers under his command, “Zapora” reorganised the Partisan Troops Grouping under his command, which resulted in a further increase in their activity. In May 1945, within a few days, the Communist Militia stations in: Bełżyce, Urzędów, Józefów and Kazimierz Dolny were captured. In June 1945. “Zapora” was promoted to the rank of captain and all partisan units in the Lublin region were subordinated to him.
In the summer of 1946, Dekutowski carried out one of the most spectacular actions of the underground. In August of that year, at the head of the entire grouping, he led a raid from the Lublin region to the Podkarpacie region, reaching the Dukla area in the Bieszczady Mountains, and then returned to the Lublin region at the end of September, all the while fighting battles with the security forces.
After the amnesty announced by the communists in February 1947, the Security Office authorities’ fight the Polish underground began. The aim of the communists was to cause the disclosure of underground soldiers and their commanders. This meant the termination of active partisan combat. In return, it was hoped that arrested colleagues would be released from prison, but the whole action was only to gather information about the conspirators’ activities. After a longer reflection, on 21 June 1947, in the presence of the commander of the Lublin District of the Freedom and Independence Association (WiN) – Lieutenant Colonel Wilhelm Szczepankiewicz “Drugak” and the head of the provincial structures of the Office of Security (UB) in Lublin, Major Jan Tataj, “Zapora” revealed himself.
However, at the beginning of September 1947, Dekutowski decided, together with a few of his subordinates and the head of the Lublin WiN Inspectorate, Władysław Siła-Nowicki “Stefan”, to attempt an escape abroad. The escape route led through Warsaw, Katowice to Nysa, where they were all unfortunately detained. By then, they were already under the constant control of the communist security system. The action of the Security Office was a provocation.
“Zapora” underwent a brutal investigation, which was conducted first in Będzin and then in Warsaw at Rakowiecka Street. Between 3 and 15 November 1948, the trial began before the Military District Court in Warsaw. All the accused were sentenced to death penalties – Dekutowski himself to a seven-fold sentence. He and six of his subordinates were executed on 7 March 1949 in the Rakowiecka prison in Warsaw. Their bodies were buried by the communists in an unnamed grave in the “Ł” quarters of the Powązki Cemetery. They were found during search work by the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) in 2012.