Paweł and Franciszek Buchalik were just simple boys from the small village of Gotartowice in Silesia. They were primary school students and boy scouts. Funnily enough, they had the same last name even though there were not related. When the war broke out and repressions against Silesians intensified, the scouts from Gotartowice founded the Polish Secret Insurgent Organization. They helped families of those arrested, and also published an illegal magazine called “Call of Freedom.” In May 1942, the Nazis surrounded Gotartowice and arrested several dozen people, among them Franek and Paweł. A short, but very brutal trial began, ending with death sentences. Many scouts were executed in Auschwitz. However, the torturers had other plans for Franek and Paweł.
On 27 July 1942, the Germans set up a gallows on the main square in Gotartowice. They gathered about 5000 people to witness what was about to happen. They brought Paweł and Franek and hanged them in front of everyone, including their families.
Eighty years later, scout boys are still active in Gortatowice. One of them is Piotr. Paweł Buchalik was his grandmother's brother. The execution irreversibly changed not only the lives of the families of the scouts but of all villagers as well.
Who was the man who issued the death sentence in 1942? Did he pay for it? Is it still possible to find out the truth?