KStudio Photography
Krzysztof Palester (Batalion ”Parasol”)
Taken sometime in September 1944 on Wareckiej Street in the Śródmieście-Północ neighborhood of Warsaw, Krzysztof Palester (codename “Krzych”), eye covered by a bandage, enjoys a smoke with 18 year old nurse Maria Stypułkowska-Chojecka (codename ”Kama”; center in the photograph) and another nurse of the Batalion ”Parasol”, the Parasol Battalion.
In the spring of 1943, Kapitan Adam Borys (codename ”Pług”) was ordered to create a detachment whose primary missions would be subversion and assassination. Borys utilized men from the Szare Szeregi (Gray Ranks), an organization made up of scouts from the various scouting associations that had existed prior to the German invasion and by August 1943, the new unit, codenamed ”Agat” (for Anti-Gestapo), was ready. The first assassination was carried out on September 7, 1943 with the target being Zugführer (commander) SS-Scharführer Franz Bürkl, a member of the Sicherheitspolizei (SiPo; Security Police) who was one of the most brutal and barbaric commanders of Pawiaku Prison in Warsaw. He was shot dead at the corner of Litewskiej and Marszałkowskiej Street. The next hit occurred on September 24, 1943 when a five man team shot SS-Hauptscharführer August Kretschmann at the intersection of Dmochowskiego and Rozbrat Street. Kretschmann was employed by Amt IV A3 of the Gestapo which dealt with reactionaries, liberals, and opposition and he was also a savage deputy commander at the Gęsiej penal camp. ”Agat” changed its codename to ”Pegaz” after Tadeusz Kostrzewski (codename "Niemira") was captured on January 2, 1944. One of the unit's biggest successes was ”Akcja Kutschera” (Operation Kutschera) which commenced on February 1, 1944. After careful planning, a 12 man team codenamed ”Pegaza” (”Pegasus”) ambushed SS- und Polizeiführer (SS and Police Leader) Franz Kutschera while in his Opel Admiral limousine near the intersection of Aleje Ujazdowskie and Chopin Street. When the Warsaw Uprising began on August 1, 1944, Batalion ”Parasol” had 280 personnel and it was put under the Zgrupowanie Radosław (Radosław Group) along with other Kedyw (Kierownictwo Dywersji; Directorate of Diversion) combat units. The primary task of these units, including Batalion ”Parasol”, was to provide security for the Głównej Armii Krajowej (Home Army Headquarters) which was located in the Wola neighborhood of Warsaw. By August 8, the unit's numbers swelled to 574. The unit saw action throughout the Warsaw Uprising which lasted until the defeat of the Polish Home Army on October 2, 1944. By then, Batalion ”Parasol” had lost 282 personnel, all of whom were killed in action.
Returning to the photograph, Palester is wearing a captured German waterproof coat which was usually worn by German motorcyclists to protect them from the elements. For a cap, he is wearing a Waffen-SS camouflage cap which was reversible to a ”fall” side which was predominately brown in color and a ”spring” side which was predominately green. Sewn to the side of the cap is a locally made insignia for the Batalion ”Parasol” which consisted of a white umbrella on a red shield. Both nurses are wearing captured Waffen-SS camouflage smocks which, like Palester's cap, are reversible. The loops for adding foliage to the smock for improved camouflage can be seen to good effect on the nurse to the left of the picture. This nurse is also wearing a captured German Schiffschen (side cap) to which she has affixed a locally produced white and red insignia to represent the Home Army.
Maria Stypułkowska-Chojecka survived the war (passing away on February 5, 2016) but the fate of the other nurse and Krzysztof Palester are not known. The legacy and the traditions of Batalion ”Parasol” remain alive today, carried on by Zespół Bojowy C, Jednostka Wojskowa Komandosów (Combat Team C, Military Commando Unit) which is part of Poland's Special Forces organization. The JWK is currently based in Lubliniec, Poland and was first organized in 1961.
Krzysztof Palester (Batalion ”Parasol”)
Taken sometime in September 1944 on Wareckiej Street in the Śródmieście-Północ neighborhood of Warsaw, Krzysztof Palester (codename “Krzych”), eye covered by a bandage, enjoys a smoke with 18 year old nurse Maria Stypułkowska-Chojecka (codename ”Kama”; center in the photograph) and another nurse of the Batalion ”Parasol”, the Parasol Battalion.
In the spring of 1943, Kapitan Adam Borys (codename ”Pług”) was ordered to create a detachment whose primary missions would be subversion and assassination. Borys utilized men from the Szare Szeregi (Gray Ranks), an organization made up of scouts from the various scouting associations that had existed prior to the German invasion and by August 1943, the new unit, codenamed ”Agat” (for Anti-Gestapo), was ready. The first assassination was carried out on September 7, 1943 with the target being Zugführer (commander) SS-Scharführer Franz Bürkl, a member of the Sicherheitspolizei (SiPo; Security Police) who was one of the most brutal and barbaric commanders of Pawiaku Prison in Warsaw. He was shot dead at the corner of Litewskiej and Marszałkowskiej Street. The next hit occurred on September 24, 1943 when a five man team shot SS-Hauptscharführer August Kretschmann at the intersection of Dmochowskiego and Rozbrat Street. Kretschmann was employed by Amt IV A3 of the Gestapo which dealt with reactionaries, liberals, and opposition and he was also a savage deputy commander at the Gęsiej penal camp. ”Agat” changed its codename to ”Pegaz” after Tadeusz Kostrzewski (codename "Niemira") was captured on January 2, 1944. One of the unit's biggest successes was ”Akcja Kutschera” (Operation Kutschera) which commenced on February 1, 1944. After careful planning, a 12 man team codenamed ”Pegaza” (”Pegasus”) ambushed SS- und Polizeiführer (SS and Police Leader) Franz Kutschera while in his Opel Admiral limousine near the intersection of Aleje Ujazdowskie and Chopin Street. When the Warsaw Uprising began on August 1, 1944, Batalion ”Parasol” had 280 personnel and it was put under the Zgrupowanie Radosław (Radosław Group) along with other Kedyw (Kierownictwo Dywersji; Directorate of Diversion) combat units. The primary task of these units, including Batalion ”Parasol”, was to provide security for the Głównej Armii Krajowej (Home Army Headquarters) which was located in the Wola neighborhood of Warsaw. By August 8, the unit's numbers swelled to 574. The unit saw action throughout the Warsaw Uprising which lasted until the defeat of the Polish Home Army on October 2, 1944. By then, Batalion ”Parasol” had lost 282 personnel, all of whom were killed in action.
Returning to the photograph, Palester is wearing a captured German waterproof coat which was usually worn by German motorcyclists to protect them from the elements. For a cap, he is wearing a Waffen-SS camouflage cap which was reversible to a ”fall” side which was predominately brown in color and a ”spring” side which was predominately green. Sewn to the side of the cap is a locally made insignia for the Batalion ”Parasol” which consisted of a white umbrella on a red shield. Both nurses are wearing captured Waffen-SS camouflage smocks which, like Palester's cap, are reversible. The loops for adding foliage to the smock for improved camouflage can be seen to good effect on the nurse to the left of the picture. This nurse is also wearing a captured German Schiffschen (side cap) to which she has affixed a locally produced white and red insignia to represent the Home Army.
Maria Stypułkowska-Chojecka survived the war (passing away on February 5, 2016) but the fate of the other nurse and Krzysztof Palester are not known. The legacy and the traditions of Batalion ”Parasol” remain alive today, carried on by Zespół Bojowy C, Jednostka Wojskowa Komandosów (Combat Team C, Military Commando Unit) which is part of Poland's Special Forces organization. The JWK is currently based in Lubliniec, Poland and was first organized in 1961.