Shortly before the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising in 1944 , Mazurkiewicz was made commander of the Radosław Group . This force was one of the largest , best trained and equipped Polish units in the uprising . After the initiation of the uprising , the unit seized major portions of the Wola suburbs , and subsequently defended it against German attacks carried out by troops under the command of SS Gruppenführer Heinz Reinefarth and Standartenführer Oskar Dirlewanger . One of the battalions of the group , Battalion '' Zośka '' , liberated the Gęsiówka concentration camp located within Warsaw , and freed 384 prisoners ( mainly Jews ) , most of whom then joined the unit . The '' Radosław Group '' fought its way to '' Stare Miasto '' ( Warsaw Old Town ) borough , when further defense in Wola became impossible . In the areas of Wola that Reinefarth 's and Dirlewanger 's troops recaptured from the insurgents , at least 40,000 civilians and prisoners of war ( POWs ) were murdered in the Wola massacre
Wola massacre
Wola massacre
Jan Mazurkiewicz