Stefan Rowecki’s “GROT” Monument (Chopin’s Street, the corner of Aleje Ujazdowskie)
General Stefan Rowecki “Grot” (1895-1944) was the creator and commander of the Home Army (Armia Krajowa),
an underground Polish army in the occupied country. It is the most important person in the hierarchy of the Polish conspiracy. He fought in the Polish Legions, he was one of the youngest officers of the 1st Brigade under Józef Piłsudski’s command. He went through the entire route of legionary battles – from the lands of Polish Kingdom to Wołyń. In November 1918, he joined the reborn Polish Army and participated in the fights against the Bolsheviks. After regaining independence, inter alia, he was the commander of the infantry regiment in Leszno and later the “Podole” Brigade, the elite Border Protection Corps. In September 1939, he commanded the Warsaw Armoured Motorized Brigade. He did not surrender after the lost campaign, he continued the fight in the military conspiracy.
At the beginning of October 1939, he became the chief of staff and deputy commander of the Polish Victory Service (Służba Zwycięstwu Polsce). Since June 1940, he was the Chief Commander of the Armed Struggle Union (Związek Walki Zbrojnej). It was on his initiative to merge the most important underground organizations in the country into one underground army – the Home Army (Armia Krajowa). On February 14th, 1942, he became its Chief Commander and was until he was arrested by the Gestapo in 1943. He was killed by Germans after the outbreak
of the Warsaw Uprising but the circumstances of his death are unknown to this day. No General’s burial place nor direct killers were established. During the investigation, Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) historians and prosecutors have determined that General Stefan Rowecki was assassinated by the order of SS commander Heinrich Himmler just after the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising between 2nd and 7th August, 1944. The execution probably happened in the German concentration camp Sachsenhausen. The murder done to the general’s officer was one of exceptional circumstances. According to historians, the reason for this vengeance is that General Rowecki refused to cooperate with the Germans and did not appeal the Home Army to stop fighting with them.
For his participation in the struggle for independence of Poland and the command of the Home Army, General Stefan Rowecki was decorated with many of the highest Polish military decorations. Such as: Virtuti Militari Cross of the fourth and fifth grade, Cross of Independence, Cross of Valour (nine times), Polonia Restituta – Officer’s Cross, Gold Cross of Merit.
The statue designed by Zbigniew Mikielewicz and Przemysław Dudziak was unveiled on June 11th, 2006. It was created on the initiative of the World Union of Home Army Soldiers.