Clandestine Polish radio station 'Lighting' (Blyskawica) broadcasting from Warsaw.

Recording courtesy of the Warsaw Uprising Museum, Warsaw, Poland.
 
 

polskie radio broadcastTwo clandestine radio stations, military 'Lightning' and the civilian Polish Radio, were the only free stations broadcasting from the German-occupied territories during World War II.

The 'Lightning', broadcast in Polish, English, and German, was on the air four times a day between August 8 and October 4, 1944. Typical programs included reports from embattled Warsaw, appeals for assistance, the Home Army's combat communiques, and patriotic songs and poems. 'Lightning' broadcasts could be caught as far away as New York City. 		 

Listen to the fragments of the 'Lighting' original August 24, 1944 broadcast:

Station signal, news of capturing the Police Headquarters in English  
Polish version of the broadcast  
[ witnesses ]
Address from fighting Warsaw to (just) liberated Paris in French  
© Copyright 2004 Polish Underground Movement Study Trust (PUMST), London, Great Britain. No part of the recordings may be reproduced in any form without a written permission from PUMST. All rights reserved.  

blyskwica 'lighting'German planes continuously tried to locate the "Lightning's" transmitter. A 1,500 kilogram shell hit the radio station's building, crashed through its six floors, and landed in the basement without exploding. The Germans operated their 'Polish' radio station on the same frequency as the 'Lightning', thus attempting to supply the insurgents with false information and false orders.

A group of Polish short-wave enthusiasts, directed by one of the original builders of the station Mr. Antoni Zębik (93 years old in 2004), has constructed a replica of the 'Lightning' transmitter. It went on the air on the 60th anniversary of the original August 8, 1944 broadcast.

[ Witnesses ]

[ Article ]