On 26 March 1943, beneath the Warsaw Arsenal building, at the junction of what were then Bielańska, Długa and Nalewki streets, scouts from the Grey Ranks freed scoutmaster Jan Bytnar, code-named “Rudy”, from the Gestapo—one of the most important activists of the underground scouting movement.
Twenty-eight members of the Grey Ranks took part in the Arsenal Action. After the German guard was eliminated, two of its members and 19 other prisoners were freed. Jan Bytnar died on 30 March 1943 as a result of wounds sustained during the investigation.
On 27 March this year, at the symbol of Fighting Poland in Bolesławiec, scouts, primary school pupils and their teachers, together with scoutmaster and Bolesławiec City Councilor Zdzisław Abramowicz, commemorated the 80th anniversary of the Arsenal Action.
The deputy mayor, Renata Szewczyk, and school delegations laid flowers at the monument. The ceremony was prepared by eighth-grade pupils: Eryk Sługocki, Pascal Walski, Hubert Ciszewski and Julian Greszczyszyn from Primary School No. 4 in Bolesławiec.