The organization's charter stressed its
Catholic nature Either way, as a result, many of the conspirators of the Griffin were compromised, arrested by the Nazis, and sent to
Nazi concentration camps. The remnants of the group survived until 1945, when the final order of its last commander instructed the soldiers to participate in the disarming of local German police forces and to provide logistic aid to the approaching
Red Army. By the order of liquidation of TOW "Gryf Pomorski" (January 21, 1945), the last leader
Augustyn Westphal ordered the members of the organization to lay down their weapons, reveal themselves and join the
Polish People's Army and the
Citizens' Militia. This was probably caused by fears of repressions by the communist authorities against the decimated ranks of the organization or an attempt to infiltrate the communist apparatus of repression. However, once Pomerania came under Soviet control, members of the group were persecuted and arrested by the Soviet authorities because of the organization's pro-Catholic and nationalistic character. Many of the group's members who were arrested during this time ended up being sent to the
gulag by the Soviets, alongside the same German soldiers and
Gestapo agents against whom they fought during the war; others were executed. Some historians argue that Griffin soldiers were treated much more harshly than even the
Armia Krajowa and the
cursed soldiers members. In arresting the group's members the Soviet authorities often relied on information provided by former Gestapo agents who had infiltrated the group during the war and who had switched sides once Soviet victory was imminent. ==Members==