As members of the recreated 1st Independent Polish Parachute Brigade, we strive to keep the memory alive as well as teach the public about this remarkable piece of WW2 history.
 

 

 

Why?
The original Brigade was a unique formation in many ways. Firstly it was "independent" which means that it was fully intended to answer directly to, and only to the Polish Government in Exile based in London, unlike other Polish formations which were under overall Allied command. This in some ways made them the "muscle" of the exiled Polish leadership. While this was a bit out of the ordinary, it was not without a purpose. The formation's sole reason for being was to help in the liberation of Warsaw, Poland's capital city and the intended future location of the returning legitimate Polish Government. While the Polish 1st Armored Division and 2nd Corps were busy fighting the nazis on the Mediterrannean and Western fronts there was an unspoken knowledge of whom the Polish parachute Brigade was intended to counter. One look at the map and the path of Stalin's Communist Red Army is indicator enough of why this unit was intended to drop into and assist in the liberation and maitenance of freedom in Warsaw. A unit purposed to fight an enemy and even a questionable "ally" if necessary to maintain a nation's freedom is truly a sticky predicament for the Allies. As the Warsaw Uprising finally erupted, ruthless politics as well as military needs dictated that the Brigade be used elsewhere. They were passed onto Allied Command and parachuted into Arnhem, Netherlands during Operation Market Garden while thousands of men, women and children were being massacred in Warsaw. Under Stalin's orders, the Soviet "allies" stopped and waited just short of Warsaw and allowed the carnage to take place. With a bittersweet glory, the 1st Independent Polish parachute Brigade entered the annals of military history. Disbanded after the war, most of the soldiers were never allowed to return to Poland. Some of the ones that did were executed, others imprisoned for being "enemies of the state".