Rising '44: The Battle for Warsaw (118 page)

‘Legiony to –
ołnierska buta;
Legiony to – ofiarny stos;
Legiony to –
ebracka nuta;
Legiony to – strace
ców los,
My Pierwsza Brygada,
Strzelecka Gromada,
Na Stos, rzucili
my,
Swój
ycia los,
Na stos, na stos.’
‘The Legions stand for a soldier’s pride.
The Legions stand for a martyr’s fate.
The Legions stand for a beggar’s song.
The Legions stand for a desperado’s death.
We are the First Brigade.
A regiment of rapid fire.
We’ve put our lives at stake.
We’ve willed our fate.
We’ve cast ourselves on the pyre.’
The hymn of Pilsudski’s Legions, 1914–17
Quoted in Norman Davies,
Heart of Europe
(Oxford, 2001), p. 211.

This list summarizes the modified forms of names that are used in the text, together with the Polish originals. It is in no sense comprehensive either as a guide to the pseudonyms circulating during the Warsaw Rising – of which there were c. 50,000 – or as a gazeteer to wartime Warsaw. Those seeking more comprehensive information are directed to the indices of Andrzej Kunert’s three-volume
Słownik biograficzny konspiracji Warszawskiej 1939–44
(Warsaw, 1991) and Władysław Bartoszewski’s
Dni walcz
cy stolicy
(Warsaw, 1984). This list consists of five parts: I Pseudonyms, II Military Formations and Networks, III Personal Names, IV Geographical Names, and V Comparative Tables of Ranks.

(Compiled by Wanda Wyporska)

I Pseudonyms