"Błyskawica", Home Army Transmitting Station "Błyskawica" - Polish radio station, broadcasting during the Warsaw Uprising, from 8th of August 1944 to 4th of October 1944. Its name was an expression of tribute to the Polish destroyer of the same name, the only Allied combat ship that participated in operations throughout the entire period of World War II.
studio of the insurgent radio station "Błyskawica", photo: Wikipedia
The 200-watt radio transmitter (powered by power generators during the Uprising) was built in 1943 in Częstochowa by shortwave operator Antoni Zębik (pseudonym "Biegły") and Bolesław Drożdż. Its signal was the melody of "Warszawianka". The station had a wide range - it covered Europe and a large part of the globe, because its signal even reached the United States.
During the Uprising, "Błyskawica" broadcast its programs directly from the front line. It was fiercely fought by the enemy, as a result of which it had to change its broadcasting location several times. Initially, the headquarters of the insurgent radio station was located in the PKO (Pocztowa Kasa Oszczędności) building at ul. Jasna 9. On 25th of August, it was moved to the "Adria" café (ul. Moniuszki 10). On September 4, it was sent to the former USSR embassy (ul. Poznańska 15) and then to the Public Library (ul. Koszykowa 26).
The commander of "Błyskawica" and its technical chief was Jan Gieorgica (pseudonym "Grzegorzewicz"). The station operated two independent programs: 1/ the program of the Office of Information and Propaganda of the Home Army HQ, whose program manager was Stanisław Zadrożny (pseudonym "Pawlicz"), and his deputy - Zofia Rutkowska (pseudonym "Ewa"), and 2/ the program of the Polish Radio, supervised by Edmund Rudnicki (pseudonym "Konopka"). The PR broadcasts were also broadcast in English, a total of 77 of them were broadcast in that language, and they were written by Jan Nowak-Jeziorański (pseudonym "Jan Nowak") and read by RAF pilot John Ward and Adam Truszkowski (pseudonym "Tomicki"). The broadcasts were broadcast on short and medium waves, some were a continuation of, among others, the sabotage Action N, the BIP KG AK program, addressed to Wehrmacht soldiers. The role of announcers was played by, among others: Zbigniew Świętochowski (pseudonym "Krzysztof"), Edmund Osmańczyk (pseudonym "Jan Gor"), Stefan Sojecki, Zbigniew Jasiński, Jeremi Przybora and Mieczysław Ubysz. The diaries and reports were hosted by Jacek Wołowski. The technical team of the radio station consisted of: engineer Roman Kitzner (pseudonym "Zbigniew"), engineer Zdzisław Wróblewski, engineer Czesław Brodziak and Henryk Paśnicki, (pseudonym "Bocian"), the chief technician of the radio station.
The first words broadcast on the waves of this radio station, spoken by Zbigniew Świętochowski, were as follows:
Hello, this is "Błyskawica" speaking! The Home Army broadcasting station in Warsaw, on a wave of 32.8 and 52.1 m. The spirit of Warsaw is magnificent. The women of Warsaw are magnificent. They are everywhere; on the line with the soldiers or as nurses or liaison officers. Even children are animated by the wonderful spirit of courage. We greet all the freedom-loving people of the world! The Polish soldiers fighting in Italy and France, the Polish pilots and sailors.
source – Wikipedia
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