Poland history
Poles launch campaign for Enigma code-breaking recognition
It is hailed as an masterstroke of British code breaking that helped defeat Adolf Hitler and save the lives of thousands of Allied soldiers.
However, decades after Nazi Germany’s Enigma code was first cracked, Poland has gone on the offensive to reclaim the glory of a cryptological success it feels has been unjustly claimed by Britain. Continue reading
Children in Exile: Recollections of Children Deported to the Soviet Gulag
On today’s anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939, we bring you this piece from our archives about how that invasion and subsequent deportations affected the lives of Polish children.
The winner of the 2011 Amsterdam Film Festival Van Gogh Award for Best Human Rights Film was Chicagoan Chris Swider for his documentary, Children in Exile. The film fascinated me when I first saw it, and I decided I very much wanted to interview Chris for CR to learn more. Continue reading
Why Did The U.S. Cover Up A Soviet Massacre?
Documents released Monday and seen in advance by The Associated Press lend weight to the belief that suppression within the highest levels of the U.S. government helped cover up Soviet guilt in the killing of some 22,000 Polish officers and other prisoners in the Katyn forest and other locations in 1940. Continue reading
Man who volunteered for Auschwitz among war heroes Poland hopes to find in mass grave
It could hardly have been a riskier mission: infiltrate Auschwitz to chronicle Nazi atrocities. Witold Pilecki survived nearly three years as an inmate in the death camp, managing to smuggle out word of executions before making a daring escape. But the Polish resistance hero was crushed by the post-war communist regime — tried on trumped-up charges and executed. Continue reading
Spies like her
A biography of a uniquely brave and complicated patriot
IN 1939, according to British Secret Service records, “a flaming Polish patriot…expert skier and great adventuress…absolutely fearless” submitted a courageous plan to the British. She was to ski into Nazi-occupied Poland from Hungary, over the Tatra mountain range dividing the two countries. Poland had fallen to the Germans, and the woman proposed to take British propaganda into Warsaw to bolster the Polish spirit of resistance. She would then ski back out with secret information about the disposition of German SS and Wermacht units around the capital. Continue reading
The Search to Preserve A Polish World War II Hero
Unless you are from Poland or a World War II history coinsures, you may have never heard of Witold Pilecki. Oftentimes we revel in the escapades of military heroes for a while, only to allow their memory and legacy to slowly fade from our minds. Continue reading Poland probes Stalinist WWII burials in Warsaw cemetery
Poland has started digging up part of a military cemetery in Warsaw to find the remains of communist-era terror victims who were buried secretly. Continue reading
Wojtek the Bear: The Nazis’ Furriest Enemy
The tale is bizarre, but true. During World War II, an orphaned brown bear went from being a cuddly pet to an officially enlisted soldier in the Polish army, and reportedly saw fierce combat in Italy. Decades after the war and his death, “Wojtek” continues to be honored.
Archibald Brown had already seen a lot during the war — but nothing like this. It was mid-February 1944, and the courier for British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery was in the port of Naples to help process a unit of Polish soldiers that had just arrived by ship from Alexandria, Egypt, to advance with British soldiers against German and Italian forces. Among his everyday duties was checking crew manifests and speaking with freshly arrived soldiers. But this would be no typical day. Continue reading
The donations that threw a lifeline to Poland’s new Jewish museum
Donations allow for the completion of a multimedia exhibition on 1,000 years of Jewish history in Poland, from the Middle Ages to the present day.
The Museum of the History of Polish Jews will open in autumn next year thanks to two donations announced this week by Poland’s Minster of Culture and National Heritage, Bogdan Zdrojewski. The museum’s completion had been postponed twice due to a shortage of finances. Continue reading
Big Donations for Museum of the History of Polish Jews
The Museum of the History of Polish Jews, now under construction in the Muranow district of Warsaw, moved closer towards its completion this week thanks to some high profile donations from Jan Kulczyk, one of Poland’s richest men, and from U.S.-based foundations. Continue reading
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How I Write My Historical Novels
Canadian-Polish author Eva Stachniak is revealing how she worked on her bestselling novel "The Winter Palace". Więcej
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Johanna Kern’s fantasy world (LISTEN to our interview with Johanna Kern)
Johanna Kern, a Canadian of Polish descent, first began her career as a professional actress in Europe, and moved to…
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Newsfeed from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland
We are pleased to offer an official newsfeed from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland: Ministry of…
