Wawelberg Group - Origins

Origins

The Wawelberg Group was organized by the Polish General Staff's Section II (Intelligence) as the "Destruction Office" in the waning days of 1920 (see History of Polish intelligence services) as rumors flew that the Inter-Allied Plebiscite Commission would grant almost all of Upper Silesia to Germany. Prompted by the rumors, the Polish Military Organization of Upper Silesia, which actively cooperated with the Polish Army, had begun forming a small, highly-specialized unit which would come to be called the Wawelberg Group.

The Destruction Office took the "Wawelberg" name from the nom de guerre of its commander, Captain Tadeusz Puszczyński — "Konrad Wawelberg." Puszczyński was a graduate of the Warsaw Polytechnic and had served in the World War I Polish Legions and in the Polish Military Organization. He had also participated in the 1920 Second Silesian Uprising. His crucial task was to find the right people and carry out acts of sabotage in the rear of the German positions. All the men in the Wawelberg Group had to be skilled combat engineers with extensive knowledge of explosives.

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