Stanisław Sojczyński “Warszyc” commemorated on an NBP silver coin

A new collector coin of the series “The Enduring Soldiers Accursed by the Communists” ─ Stanisław Sojczyński “Warszyc”  will be available on sale as of 18 July 2023. The silver coin with a face value of 10 złoty will be minted in up to 10,000 pieces and will be sold at all the Regional Branches of NBP and in the NBP online shop Kolekcjoner at the price of PLN 200. The coin commemorates Stanisław Sojczyński ─ an officer with the Polish Victory Service (Służba Zwycięstwu Polski), the Union for Armed Struggle (Związek Walki Zbrojnej) and the Home Army (Armia Krajowa); is made of 925 purity silver and finished with pad printing (additional technique), its diameter is 32 millimetres and it weighs 14.14 grams.

Stanisław Sojczyński “Warszyc” was born on 30 March 1910 in Rzejowice. Before the Second World War, he worked as a Polish teacher. During the war, he was an officer with the Polish Victory Service (Służba Zwycięstwu Polski), the Union for Armed Struggle (Związek Walki Zbrojnej) and the Home Army (Armia Krajowa). He came to fame owing to a daring raid on the German prison in Radomsko on the night of 7 August 1943. The soldiers under his command freed about 50 captives: more than 40 Poles and 11 Jews and retreated without any casualties. In recognition of his bravery, Lieutenant Sojczyński, then using the alias “Wojnar”, was awarded the Silver Cross of the War Order of Virtuti Militari. He proved himself as a competent commander of the partisan unit he organized in the Częstochowa Inspectorate of the Home Army. He fought in Operation Tempest, leading the 1st Battalion of the 27th Infantry Regiment of the Home Army (…).

Stanisław Sojczyński, who assumed the alias “Warszyc”, did not surrender arms to the Soviet occupiers. On 3 May 1945, he restored his organisation. Its primary objective was to defend the Poles against terror and to liquidate collaborators. Sojczyński’s units operated under the name of the Underground Polish Army (Konspiracyjne Wojsko Polskie, KWP) with the codenames of “Lasy” and “Bory”. It numbered approx. 4,000 troops in the Łódzkie and Kieleckie regions, but it also operated in Silesia and the Poznań region. The KWP units conducted numerous spectacular operations against the outposts of the police – the so-called “Citizens’ Militia” (MO) – and the secret police (UB) as well as their local informers.

In his open letter of 12 August 1945 to Col. Jan Mazurkiewicz alias “Radosław”, Captain Sojczyński called Mazurkiewicz’s appeal to surrender treason and urged him to continue fighting against the communists (…).

On the night of 19 April 1946, Sojczyński reprised his WWII operation. Approximately 170 partisans led by Jan Rogulka alias “Grot” attacked Radomsko. They freed 57 detainees from the prison of the secret police district headquarters (…). During the retreat, the partisans defeated a unit of the Internal Security Corps, which was three times more numerous. It was then that the communists vowed to retaliate.

The ordeal started on 27 June 1946, after “Warszyc” was arrested as a result of denunciation by a former member of the organization who had agreed to collaborate with the secret police (…). Stanisław Sojczyński was murdered on 19 February 1947 in Łódź, three days prior to the announcement of an amnesty. His final resting place is unknown.

The reverse of the coin carries the images of Stanisław Sojczyński “Warszyc”, the War Order of Virtuti Militari, a white-and-red flag with the symbol of Fighting Poland, and the inscriptions: “Zachowali się jak trzeba” (“They acted as they should”) and “1910-1947” (Warszyc’s dates of birth and death).

The obverse of the coin, apart from the obligatory elements such as the face value, the inscription “Rzeczpospolita Polska”, the year of issue and the image of the Eagle established as the state emblem of the Republic of Poland, features a graphic image of prison bars torn apart. More information can be found in the brochure.

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About NBP

Narodowy Bank Polski holds the exclusive right to issue banknotes and coins in Poland. All currency issued by NBP – including collector banknotes and coins – is legal tender in Poland. Issuing collector items is an occasion to commemorate important historic figures and anniversaries, as well as to develop the interest of the public in Polish culture, science and tradition.

High-resolution images of the coin: https://nbp.pl/en/collector-coins/