Database of
soldiers
of the Peasants' Battalions
over 16,000 soldiers in the database
of the Peasants' Battalions
over 16,000 soldiers in the database
zolnierzebch.pl · English
A free, searchable database of soldiers of the Peasants' Battalions (Bataliony Chłopskie, BCh), the Polish underground resistance army of the Second World War. If your family came from a village in central or southeastern Poland, your grandfather or great-grandfather may be here.
You can type names without Polish letters: Wojcik also finds Wójcik.
History
The Peasants' Battalions were a Polish underground military organisation active from 1940 to 1945, linked to the agrarian People's Party (Stronnictwo Ludowe „Roch”). At their peak they had about 170,000 sworn soldiers, making them the second largest armed force of the Polish Underground State after the Home Army (Armia Krajowa).
Their soldiers were almost all farmers and villagers. They sabotaged railways and roads, gathered intelligence for the Home Army and the Polish government in exile, fought German units, and protected villages from forced requisitions, round-ups for forced labour and reprisals. Many of them risked their own lives and their families' to hide Jews.
In 1943 the Battalions were formally placed under Home Army command. After the war many of their soldiers were persecuted by the communist regime, and for decades their story was silenced or distorted. Many families never learned what their relatives did during the war.
Source
The database is a digital index to the Słownik biograficzny żołnierzy Batalionów Chłopskich (Biographical Dictionary of Peasants' Battalions Soldiers), seven volumes published between 1998 and 2020 and edited by Marian Wojtas (1925–2023), himself a BCh veteran. Volumes I (Lublin District), IV, VI and VII are in the database now; the remaining volumes are being added one by one.
Each record gives the name, pseudonyms (wartime code names), rank, district, dates and place of birth and death, decorations, and the volume and page of the dictionary. The full biographies are not online. They remain in the printed volumes, which can be found in major Polish libraries.
The project is an independent, non-profit initiative by Wojciech Góreczny. It carries no ads and is free to use.
News
Volume I complete. 4,520 new soldiers from the rest of the volume on the Lublin District (Okręg IV), surnames L to Ż, mainly from the Puławy, Lubartów, Krasnystaw, Tomaszów Lubelski and Zamość districts. Volume I is now fully in the database, which holds over 16,000 records.
Volume I, first part. 3,587 new soldiers from the volume on the Lublin District (Okręg IV), surnames A to K, mainly from the Puławy, Lubartów, Krasnystaw, Tomaszów Lubelski and Zamość districts. The rest of the volume is in progress. The database now holds over 11,000 records.
Volume IV. 2,282 new soldiers, the first beyond the Lublin region: the Kielce, Kraków and Warsaw districts, among others. Where two volumes give different details about the same person, the source line says so (tomy podają różne dane).
How to read a record
| Pseudonim | code name used in the underground (also written ps.) |
| Stopień | military rank |
| Data urodzenia / Data śmierci | year of birth / year of death |
| Miejsce urodzenia | place (village) of birth |
| Powiat urodzenia | county of birth |
| Obwód | BCh district, roughly a county (named after its main town) |
| Odznaczenia | decorations (abbreviations, see below) |
| Źródło | source, e.g. t. 6, s. 76 = volume 6, page 76 of the dictionary; archiwum rodzinne = documents provided by the family |
Common ranks
| strzelec / starszy strzelec | rifleman (private) / senior rifleman |
| kapral / starszy kapral | corporal / senior corporal |
| plutonowy / sierżant / starszy sierżant | platoon sergeant / sergeant / staff sergeant |
| chorąży | warrant officer |
| podporucznik / porucznik / kapitan | second lieutenant / lieutenant / captain |
| major / podpułkownik / pułkownik | major / lieutenant colonel / colonel |
Common decorations
| VM | Virtuti Militari, Poland's highest military order |
| KW | Cross of Valour |
| KBCh | Peasants' Battalions Cross |
| KAK | Home Army Cross |
| KP | Partisan Cross |
| KG | Cross of Grunwald |
| ZKZ / SKZ / BKZ | Gold / Silver / Bronze Cross of Merit (zM = with Swords) |
Search tips
Found a relative, or know of a BCh soldier who is missing? Write to us in English at (address shown with JavaScript enabled). Family documents and photos help us correct and complete records.
Support
The database is built and run by one volunteer. Donations pay for hosting and for acquiring and digitising the remaining rare volumes, monographs and archival materials, so that more soldiers can be found by their families.
You can give in US dollars, pounds or euros.
Companies and institutions interested in sponsoring the project are welcome to get in touch: (address shown with JavaScript enabled).