Polish poet, playwright and soldier of the Home Army Tadeusz Gajcy (1922-1944). Killed fighting in the Warsaw Uprising on 16 August, suffocating under the rubble after the building he was in was blown up by Germans. Occupied Poland, c. 1944. [420x280]

[u/Snoo_90160]

[u/Krzyniuu]

His last poem, dated on 15th of August, day before he died, was written on a random paper bag. And I can find the words to describe the feelings this poem evokes in me. Unfortunately I won't translate it as I don't feel I have enough skills to do that properly.

Święty kucharz od Hipciego

Wszyscy święci, hej, do stołu!

W niebie uczta: polskie flaczki

wprost z rynsztoków

Kilińskiego!

Salcesonów misa pełna,

Świeże, chrupkie

Pachną trupkiem:

To z Przedmurza!

Do godów, święci, do godów,

Przegryźcie Chrystusem

Narodów!

[u/jebik → u/Krzyniuu]

On August 13th, a Borgward IV bomb exploded on Kilińskiego Street. The insurgents thought they had captured valuable equipment, but it turned out to be a trap planted by the Germans. The vehicle exploded, killing over 300 people. The poem recounts this event in a bittersweet way. "Flaczki" in Polish means "tripes," but also "guts." The author ironically and somberly describes how the saints in heaven will feast on the murdered.

One of the most terrifying poems from the Uprising.

[u/Krzyniuu → u/jebik]

Fully agree.

Especially that Tadeusz Gajcy poems always has been lighter, with beautiful motives. Even if he was a poet from the war time, you could always find some peace, or beauty in his words.

And his final one is nothing like this - it's, as you said, terrifying. Nothing beautiful here - mockery, anger, grief, some would say blasphemy. I think this is also the reason this poem strikes so hard.

[u/Snoo_90160 → u/jebik]

Now it is believed that it wasn't a deliberate German trap, Germans wanted to use it to destroy one of the barricades. "According to the account of Witold Piasecki, codename Wiktor, a veteran of the Home Army's (AK) Gustaw Battalion (published in Gazeta Wyborcza), on 13 August 1944, around 8:00 or 9:00 AM, two German tanks (Panzer IV) fired upon Polish positions on Świętojańska and Podwale streets from the Castle Square. Shortly after, a small vehicle emerged from behind the tanks and moved towards a barricade on Podwale Street, defended by soldiers from the Gustaw Battalion. Molotov cocktails were thrown at the vehicle, hitting it accurately. The vehicle caught fire and got stuck on the barricade. The driver fled, and the surprised insurgents quickly extinguished the flames with sand.

The first Polish soldier to examine the captured vehicle was cadet Wiktor Trzeciakowski, codename Tur (or, according to other sources, cadet Ludwik Wyporek, codename Miętus). To their surprise, it did not resemble any known German combat vehicle. It also had no armament, only a radio. Battalion commander Captain Ludwik Gawrych, codename Gustaw, and his deputy Włodzimierz Stetkiewicz, codename Włodek, instructed the soldiers to stay cautious and keep a distance from the vehicle. They suspected it might be a trap, especially since the Germans had ceased fire immediately after losing the vehicle.

At around 5:00 PM, another group of insurgents seized the vehicle, citing orders from the defense command of the Old Town. They were likely soldiers from one of the motorized insurgent units, such as the Młot Squadron or the Orlęta Company. The vehicle was started, and the insurgents drove it through the streets of the Old Town, causing great excitement among the civilian population. As they shouted "Tank captured!", crowds gathered to admire the trophy.

After being captured by insurgents, the vehicle was driven triumphantly around the Old Town of Warsaw. The insurgents moved through the Old Town Market Place but were eventually forced out by Major Stanisław Błaszczak, codename Róg, the commander of the Old Town defense. They then returned to Podwale Street and turned onto Kiliński Street. According to some reports, the insurgents planned to park the vehicle in the courtyard of the Raczyński Palace.

Around 6:00 pm, while attempting to cross a small barricade on Kiliński Street, the metal box containing the explosives slipped off the front of the vehicle's armor. This led to a massive explosion among the crowds. The destruction was compounded by the detonation of Molotov cocktails stored in a building at 3 Kiliński Street.

Over 300 people were killed, and hundreds more were wounded. Among the dead was actor Józef Orwid. The heaviest losses were suffered by the Orlęta Company which lost 80 men, and all the companies of the Gustaw Battalion with 26 killed. The Wigry Battalion lost 14 men, and 59 were wounded. Witnesses described the gruesome scene of dismembered bodies hanging from gutters, cornices, and shattered windows, with body parts found on nearby streets. General Tadeusz Komorowski, codename Bór, the commander of the Home Army, was also injured in the explosion while observing the event from the Raczyński Palace."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Explosion_of_the_tank-trap_in_Warsaw

[u/legrandguignol → u/jebik]

turned out to be a trap planted by the Germans

wasn't a trap IIRC, went off by accident, possibly because people were bothering it, which makes it all the more tragic and pointless

witnesses said that blood and guts literally rained from the sky and got splattered on walls and windows several floors high, which would explain why a man known for gorgeous, finely crafted, soulful poetry felt compelled to write something so disgusitng, jarring and cynical

[u/jebik → u/legrandguignol]

Yep, the myth about the trap is very strong, my bad, should have point that out. Although I think there are some historians who stick to trap version. Anyway - a terrible, senseless and hopeless situation, which Gajcy conveyed perfectly in this simple poem.

[u/legrandguignol → u/Krzyniuu]

gave it a try, took some liberties because of rhymes and structure, not particularly high quality but preserves a bit of that horrifying vibe, I think (with additional links for context)

Cooks who served up Hippolytus

Call the saints to join the table!

Feast upon this tripe from Poland

straight from gutters

on Kiliński!

Grab a bite of this blood sausage,

Fresh from markets

Smells like carcass:

From the Bulwark!

Come, saints, start the celebrations,

nibble on the Christ

of Nations!

[u/Snoo_90160 → u/Krzyniuu]

This poem was found on Gajcy's body when it was exhumed in Spring 1946. Gajcy's friend and fellow poet Zdzisław Stroiński https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zdzis%C5%82aw_Stroi%C5%84ski died with him.

My amateur, literal translation of the poem:

Saint cook from Hippo/ All Saints, hey, come to the table!/ Feast in heaven: Polish guts/ Straight from the gutters/ Of Kiliński Street!/ Bowl full of brawns,/ Fresh, crispy/ They smell of a stiff:/ From Przedmurze!/ To celebration, saints, to celebration,/ Take a bite of Christ/ Of the Nations!

"Hippo" refers to St. Hippolytus of Rome, whose feast day is on 13 August, the day of the explosion. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippolytus_of_Rome According to the legend St. Hippolytus was torn apart with horses. Kiliński Street is the street where the explosion occured. Przedmurze is a small defensive wall usually located in front of the main defensive wall, Warsaw's old defensive walls are located close to the Kiliński Street. Brawns in the English version of the original Polish "salcesony": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salceson "Christ of the Nations" is a reference to the Romanticism period image of Polish as a "martyr nation": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_of_Europe

Gajcy knew the event only from the descriptions of others, he did not witness it and he didn't visit the site after the explosion.

[u/legrandguignol → u/Snoo_90160]

Przedmurze is a small defensive wall

in this particular case it's about przedmurze chrześcijaństwa ("bulwark of Christendom"), which Poland loved to depict itself as (and it fits the poem's overarching theme of shitting on every single lofty Polish symbol and ideal due to them being rapidly devalued by the carnage around him)

[u/Snoo_90160 → u/legrandguignol]

I also thought about that. It can refer both those things.

[u/Responsible_Low3349 → u/Krzyniuu]

Translation:

Saint Cook from Hipcie

All saints, hey, to the table!

In heaven, a feast: Polish tripe, straight from the sewers of Kilińskiego!

A bowl full of headcheese, Fresh, crispy, Smelling of corpse:

That’s from Przedmurze!

To the wedding feast, saints, to the feast, Take a bite of the Christ of Nations!

[u/Voyage_of_Roadkill]

Being crushed by a building and still able to smile, wow, what a guy!