Minor sabotage

A minor sabotage (aka little sabotage or small sabotage; mały sabotaż) during World War II in Nazi-occupied Poland (1939–45) was any underground resistance operation that involved a disruptive but relatively minor and non-violent form of defiance, such as the painting of graffiti, the manufacture of fake documents, the disrupting of German propaganda campaigns, and the like. Minor-sabotage operations often involved elements of humor. The purpose of minor-sabotage operations was primarily psychological — to show Polish civilians that the resistance remained active, and thus bolster civilian morale, and to wear down the German occupier. In September 1939, during the German invasion of Poland, after the fall of Warsaw, a young Polish student, Elżbieta Zahorska, tore down a German poster. Soon after, she was executed for her act; her death, however, instead of cowing others, inspired an entire new branch of Polish resistance, called minor sabotage. Several organizations dedicated to minor sabotage were created in 1939 and 1940, notably PLAN, Wawer and Palmiry. Minor sabotage was often carried out by scouting organizations such as Szare Szeregi. On a larger scale, it was coordinated by the Directorate of Civil Resistance of the Polish Underground State and, in some cases, by its military arm, the Home Army (see Operation N). Thousands were involved in minor sabotage. During two weeks in March and April 1942 when the kotwica symbol was introduced, it was painted all around Warsaw by a 400-strong dedicated team. Aleksander Kamiński, a teacher and scouting activist, soon became a major figure in organizing such operations. In November 1940 he published an article in the main Polish underground newspaper, Biuletyn Informacyjny, explaining how to carry out such acts. Notable or common minor-sabotage operations included: painting pro-Polish and anti-Nazi graffiti. Common symbols included the kotwica ("anchor"—the symbol of the Polish underground) and the turtle (a symbol of work sabotage and inefficiency, to be implemented by those who worked—often forcibly—for the German occupier).