Edward Gött-Getyński


Edward Karol Gött-Getyński, or Get-Getyński nom-de-guerre Sosnowiecki was a Major of Artillery in the Polish Army during the interwar period, and the underground resistance fighter during the Nazi German occupation of Poland. He was shot dead at the Auschwitz concentration camp following the discovery of his clandestine work.

Military service

Gött-Getyński came from Brody in the partitioned Poland. As an army officer, he took part in the defense of Lwów 1918-1919 and the Polish–Soviet War. In 1928, he served with the 6th Heavy Artillery Regiment in Lwów, and four years later, with the Headquarters of the 23 Infantry Division from Upper Silesia in Katowice. His last military post before World War II was Squadron Commander at the Volyn Cadet School for Artillery Reserve Officers in Włodzimierz Wołyński. Immediately before the German attack on Poland, he was drafted into the Pomerania Army Staff of Gen. Władysław Bortnowski.

Work in the resistance

Getyński was one of the leaders of the Polish resistance movement in World War II. In 1940-1941 he took part in the sabotage of railway networks utilised by the advancing German forces. In mid 1941 Getyński organized the first combat unit of the Tatra Confederation called Mountain Division in Podhale, under the leadership of Augustyn Suski from the Confederation. His underground work ended at the beginning of 1942 with the arrest of Tatra leaders resulting from infiltration by the Gestapo agent Wegner-Romanowski. Major Get-Getynski was arrested on 2 February 1942 and taken to Auschwitz where despite torture and suffering he committed himself to leading underground activities against the Germans. As a result of this he faced a firing squad and was executed on the 25th of January 1943.