Kazimierz Brenner

Kazimierz Brenner
Kazimierz Brenner
Nickname(s)	Oświęcim
Born	June 1, 1917; Nowy Sącz
Died	June 26, 1944; Szymbark
Service/branch	Polish Army; Home Army
Years of service	1939–1944
Unit	1 Pułk Strzelców Podhalańskich AK
Battles/wars	World War II Polish Defensive War;

Kazimierz Brenner alias "Oświęcim" (born June 1, 1917 in Nowy Sącz, died June 26, 1944 in Szymbark) - prisoner of the KL Auschwitz concentration camp (camp no. 3551^[1]), soldier of the "Żbik^{[note 1]}" partisan unit of the Home Army.

Background

During the September Campaign in 1939, Kazimierz served as a non-commissioned officer of Polish Signal Corps. In 1940, at the time of the Nazi Germany occupation of Poland, in order to continue the fight, he illegally crossed border with Slovakia with intention of reaching Hungary. He was arrested in Slovakia and handed over to German border guard in Muszyna.^[2] After interrogation by Gestapo, he was sent to prison in Tarnów and further transported to the KL Auschwitz, where he was registered as prisoner no. 3551 on August 30, 1940.^[3] On April 5, 1943, he managed to escape the camp.^{[note 2]}, returned to the surrounding of Nowy Sącz and joined the "Żbik" Home Army partisan unit operating in the Gorlice District.^[3] In retaliation for his escape, Gestapo arrested his parents and sent them to KL Auschwitz, where they both died^{[note 3]}

Death

On June 26, 1944 around 3:00 in the morning, German field gendarmerie conducted a raid in the village of Ropa near Gorlice, searching houses of the village inhabitants for partisans and their supporters. Notified about German activities in Ropa, Stanisław Siemek alias "Świerk" decided to carry out an action to rescue partisans transported from Ropa to the Gestapo headquarters in Gorlice. Kazimierz Brenner volunteered for this action. Partisans of OP "Żbik" attacked the convoy on the road in the village of Szymbark. Kazimierz was tasked with securing site of the action. Two Germans were killed by accurate partisans' shots, the rest hid behind an embankment and fired at partisans' positions. During the shelling, frightened horses drove away from the place of attack with the prisoners in a cart. In the meantime, a car with Germans arrived from Gorlice to help the attacked convoy. Kazimierz took action to attack the car, throwing hand grenades at it. It is not known whether a faulty grenade exploded too soon or he was shot before throwing the grenade towards the Germans. As a result, he died. The action was successful, 4 partisans were released, Kazimierz Brenner was killed, and Władysław Kędra alias "Shadow" was seriously injured. Kędra managed to crawl away and hid in a field, but a farmer found him and notified Germans, who shot the wounded man on the spot.^[4]

Posthumous honors

In 1989, on the roadside of Grybów-Gorlice DK28 road in Szymbark a monument was erected to commemorate the place of action of the "Żbik" partisan unit and two fallen partisans: Kazimierz Brenner alias "Oświęcim" and Władysław Kędra alias "Shadow".^[5] Kazimierz Brenner, a soldier of the Home Army, was buried at the parish cemetery in Szymbark.

Notes

^ Żbik means wildcat in Polish.
^ 928 people escaped from the KL Auschwitz camp complex, 433 people were captured, 196 of the escapees survived the end of the war, the fate of the remaining 254 escapees is currently unknown. Data: „UCIECZKI Z KL AUSCHWITZ”, auchwitz.org, access date: March 2022.
^ His parents were Józef Brenner (camp no. unknown) - arrested on October 2, 1943, Anna Brenner (camp no. 63725) - arrested on October 2, 1943, died on January 2, 1944, data: Information about prisoners, KL Auschwitz Museum official website.

References

^ "Database of inmates" (in Polish). KL Auschwitz Memorial Museum. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
^ Bieniek, Józef (2000). "Józef Bieniek SĄDECZANIE w PARTYZANTCE ANTYNIEMIECKIEJ". Rocznik Sądecki (in Polish) (TOM XXVIII). Zarząd Miasta .Nowego Sącza I Oddział Polskiego Towarzystwa Historycznego w Nowym Sączu: 230. ISSN 0080-3561.
^ ^a ^b Gucwa, Józef (1992). Z leśnych koszar do kapłaństwa (in Polish). Tarnów: Oficyna Wydawnicza „Witek-Druk”.
^ Drzymała, Kamil (2011). Oddział partyzancki „Żbik” z Obwodu Gorlice AK (in Polish). Warszawa: „IPN”. ISBN 978-83-7629-200-7.
^ Bieniek, Józef (2002). Nad brzegami Ropy (in Polish). Gorlice: Światowy Związek Żołnierzy Armii Krajowej koło w Gorlicach. ISBN 83-86744-26-X.

[2] Żbik means wildcat in Polish.

[5] 928 people escaped from the KL Auschwitz camp complex, 433 people were captured, 196 of the escapees survived the end of the war, the fate of the remaining 254 escapees is currently unknown. Data: „UCIECZKI Z KL AUSCHWITZ”, auchwitz.org, access date: March 2022.

[6] His parents were Józef Brenner (camp no. unknown) - arrested on October 2, 1943, Anna Brenner (camp no. 63725) - arrested on October 2, 1943, died on January 2, 1944, data: Information about prisoners, KL Auschwitz Museum official website.

[Auschwitz-1] "Database of inmates" (in Polish). KL Auschwitz Memorial Museum. Retrieved July 21, 2024.

[Rocznik_Sądecki-3] Bieniek, Józef (2000). "Józef Bieniek SĄDECZANIE w PARTYZANTCE ANTYNIEMIECKIEJ". Rocznik Sądecki (in Polish) (TOM XXVIII). Zarząd Miasta .Nowego Sącza I Oddział Polskiego Towarzystwa Historycznego w Nowym Sączu: 230. ISSN 0080-3561.

[Gucwa-4] Gucwa, Józef (1992). Z leśnych koszar do kapłaństwa (in Polish). Tarnów: Oficyna Wydawnicza „Witek-Druk”.

[Drzymała-7] Drzymała, Kamil (2011). Oddział partyzancki „Żbik” z Obwodu Gorlice AK (in Polish). Warszawa: „IPN”. ISBN 978-83-7629-200-7.

[Bieniek-8] Bieniek, Józef (2002). Nad brzegami Ropy (in Polish). Gorlice: Światowy Związek Żołnierzy Armii Krajowej koło w Gorlicach. ISBN 83-86744-26-X.

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