German intelligence operating in England never knew about them. There were 316 of them (including one woman) and they never stood togetherside by side at a military assembly in one row.
Also they never formed a typical armed or military unit. During the Second World War Cichociemni - commandos prepared and best trained by the SOE (Special Operations Executive)
in Great Britain - were individually or in small groups transferred to occupied Poland.
At the turn of 1941/1942 in the training camps scattered over misty and hilly Scotland the great nickname was coined,perfectly reflecting the character of the military elite's activities,
who were prepared for silent operations in the darkness of the night.

It is the words that characterize the conditions in which they fought - silence and darkness - gave rise to the charismatic name – Cichociemni
(literally: the Silent and Dark).
At the beginning, they were called this name because they disappeared from their units suddenly and quietly, for unknown reasons.
Candidates for Cichociemni recruited by Section VI (from 1942, Special Section) of the General Staff of the Supreme Commander, passed a series of Polish and British courses.

The training program was improved over time. It comprised four groups of courses: basic, specialist, supplementary and apprenticeships.
The trainings lasted several months and were different for jumpers intended to be saboteurs or commanders of insurgent units, and different for radio operators, intelligence officers,
staff officers or instructors of armored weapons, aviators, propaganda specialists or counterfeiters.
One of the rules was that everyone had to finish the parachute course and the final course.
During the war they were individually or in small groups parachuted into occupied Poland.

Out of the 316 Cichociemni:
- 6 died during their flight to Poland,
- 3 died during their jumps over Poland,
- 35 were killed in Gestapo (German secret police) torture chambers,
- 12 died in concentration camps,
- 25 died during partisan battles,
- 18 died in the Warsaw Uprising,
- 3 took poison while they were being arrested,
- 6 were executed after the war.

In the GROM Unit there is a Hall of Tradition dedicated to Cichociemni, which has personal souvenirs donated by the Home Army Paratroopers.
Arriving in Warsaw from the depths of the country or from abroad, they are always welcome and offered hospitality in the Unit.

Every year on the third Sunday of May, Cichociemni Paratroopers of the Home Army and their relatives arrive from all over the world to lay a wreathat the monument commemorating the heroic deeds, glory and courage of Cichociemni in the Powązki Cemetery.
After arriving at the Unit, the participants of the meeting lay flowers at the Monument to the Brotherhood of Arms of GROM and Cichociemni soldiers, and then they meet in the Hall of Tradition
dedicated to their memory. It is the time of reflection and memories.
On one of the walls in the Hall there are photos of all 316 Cichociemni. On this special day, they all are standing in one neat row - the living with those who have gone in glory to the eternal watch.

 
The term "CICHOCIEMNI" was coined during the training of "special purpose" soldiers in Great Britain and used even in the training manualof the Section VI from 1941.
This nickname was to reflect the nature of tasks to which the parachuters were prepared: silently and in the dark.
The will of our Patrons was to preserve this term, which could soon come out of use with the last Silent Unseen passing away.
At the request of the GROM Commander the Minister of National Defence introduced the "CICHOCIEMNY" patch,which soldiers are entitled to wear after completing the specialtraining.