On the final pages of the fourth volume of the “Jedynka Chronicle,” I should devote more space to the 97th Scout Troop named after Prince Józef Poniatowski, which operated immediately after the war, in 1946–48, in Bolesławiec. Although Volume I of the “Jedynka Chronicle” contains, right at the beginning, a modest, one-page chronicle note about the activities of the Scout Troop at that time, I believe, after all these years, that the note does not fully cover the subject.
In those extremely difficult years, when the Polish state authorities were only beginning to take shape, in lands regained after centuries, every activity of Poles had enormous propaganda significance. Scouts were also involved in this activity. Wherever possible, the activities of young boys in scout uniforms could be seen in the city among the ruins, ashes and wartime destruction.
Our scouts also made a very positive impression on those German residents who had not fled together with the soldiers constantly retreating deep into Germany, but had remained in Bolesławiec for some time. I remember well my scouts repeatedly gathering spontaneously at the scout headquarters, then marching eagerly and briskly in formation, with songs on their lips, or playing vigorously on drums in the main streets of our city. The appearance of a marching scout troop, naturally in uniform, always drew every resident who was still alive to the windows and into the street. Polish hearts rejoiced, and satisfaction grew among the small Polish community at the time. After all, young people were then our national pride. It was a visible sign of living Polishness in those difficult postwar times.
Some surviving photographs from that period show the splendid attitude of our scouts. Using these surviving photographs and the help of some former scouts currently living in Bolesławiec, I tried to identify the scouts who belonged to our troop in 1946–1948. As I have already mentioned, they formed a close-knit, active group of young scouts which also helped give our city a Polish character at that time. During occasional meetings with former members, they themselves are always eager to recall those beautiful days.
Here are the names of the scouts of the 97th Scout Troop, reconstructed from memory and old photographs. Beside many names there is brief information about their scout function, profession, nicknames, and so on.
1. Janusz Kozłowski, Patrol Leader, assistant troop leader, currently lives in Lublin. 2. Zbigniew Zachar, Senior Scout, engineer, currently director of ZNTK in Lubań. 3. Tadeusz Szewczuk, patrol leader, engineer. 4. Dominik Krukiewicz, Senior Scout, works at “Ampułki.” 5. Rudolf Mikucki, Patrol Leader, works at “Ampułki.” 6. Marian Rajmund, lives in Bolesławiec. 7. Kazimierz Lipnicki, caretaker of the scout headquarters and equipment, deceased. 8. Józef Zając, worked for PKP, lives in Bolesławiec. 9. Nowakowski, in the troop for a short time. 10. Hewak, in the troop for a short time. 11. Mieczysław Kowalski, in the troop for a short time. 12. Aleksander Zieliński, Polish Army sergeant, deceased. 13. Janusz Sizieniewski, lives in Wrocław. 14. Józef Śnieżek, doctor in Bolesławiec. 15. Zbigniew Cierpka, son of the deputy inspector of the Education Department in Bolesławiec. 16. Ryszard Dąbrowski. 17. Landsberg. 18. Tadeusz Medyński, currently chief mechanic at “Fajanse.” 19. Zbigniew Truszczyński, known as “badejka,” drummer, returned to Pomerania. 20. Jerzy Grzywalski, military pilot, deceased. 21. Mirosław Zamaro, engineer. 22. Franciszek Komosiński, lived in Bolesławiec, deceased. 23. Jerzy Oficjalski, worked at BZMO, lived outside Bolesławiec, in the county. 24. Józef Kuszycki, worked at “Ampułki.” 25. Teodor Czeczenikow, engineer, took over the troop from Brother II. Bonin. 26. Jerzy Silbert, works for GS. 27. Henryk Andrzejewski. 28. Janusz Taniawski, doctor in Wrocław. 29. Kozłowski, Januarius’s brother. 30. Zbigniew Dziubiński, son of the Inspector of the Education Department in Bolesławiec at that time. 31. Józef Styczyński, was a cook at the Lwówek Scout District camp in Świeradów. 32. Józef Maryniak.
The list of names is not complete. There were more scouts. There may have been around 40 of them. Some of those listed still maintain loose contacts with scouting and with me personally.
At that time, the Scout Troop kept full scouting documentation, which, after being handed over together with the troop to Brother Czeczenik at the end of 1948, was later lost or destroyed. The accidentally pieced-together remnants of documents from the former scouting activities pasted into Volume I of the “Jedynka Chronicle” include:
1. the troop handover report to Brother Czeczenik.
2. the title page of the “Cub Scout Chronicle,” because we also conducted a small amount of Cub Scout activity. It was led by Brother Józef Zając.
3. several old photographs from those times.
4. in addition, several models related to pioneering campcraft, made from alderwood sticks by Brothers Śnieżek, Cierpka and others, happened to survive. These models still decorate our scout headquarters and serve as training aids for our current scouts.
The troop had four deputy pennants and one large troop pennant, but not a banner, made by the scouts themselves. The troop also had scouting and camping equipment collected by the scouts, which was used to organize several interesting and successful trips and camps. The boys transported the camping equipment on trips using a four-wheeled cart. Our camping equipment consisted of two four-person tents of our own production, made from old former-German shelter halves, as well as one enamel pot with a lid and ladle, and several old hatchets and entrenching tools. For those times, this was no insignificant set of equipment.
Almost all the scouts held the lowest scout ranks and made the solemn Scout Promise into my hands. There were also several scouts who held higher ranks, up to and including Senior Scout.
As for social activities, it is worth noting that the scouts of that time participated above all in clearing rubble and cleaning up Bolesławiec, which had been seriously damaged by the war. We also devoted considerable time to removing rubble and rubbish from the rooms intended for our scout headquarters, first on Grunwaldzka Street, later converted into a preschool, and then at 3 Aleja Partyzantów, now a residential building.
In the summer of 1947, about one patrol of boys took part in the Lwówek Scout District camp organized in Świeradów. One of our scouts served there as a kitchen helper, which was an honor for us. Although organizationally we belonged to the ZHP Scout District Headquarters in Lwówek, we quickly gained a strong position and the recognition of the local scouting authorities. Our contacts with Lwówek were frequent at that time, as we often cycled there on trips. The then district commander, Brother Zygmunt Stanoch, Scoutmaster, was a frequent guest of our troop. Those were beautiful and unforgettable days!
I withdrew from scouting at the end of 1948 as a result of the general campaign by the state authorities of that time against the Polish Scouting and Guiding Association. After formally handing the scout troop over to Brother Czeczenik, I took no interest in the subsequent fate of the scouts. I only knew that in 1949 the troop came under the leadership of the Scout Organization of People’s Poland, and that no documents or notes from that period have survived.
(Recorded from the “Jedynka Chronicle” from 1947)