invasion of poland
The Brink of Oblivion: Inside Nazi-Occupied Poland, 1939-1940
In the late 1930s and early 1940s, a German photographer and ardent Nazi named Hugo Jaeger enjoyed unprecedented access to the Third Reich’s upper echelon, traveling with Adolf Hitler to massive rallies and photographing him at intimate parties and in quieter, private moments. The photos made such an impression on the Führer that Hitler famously declared, upon first seeing Jaeger’s work: “The future belongs to color photography.” Continue reading
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
Hitler’s military bunker in Poland to be turned into a museum
A military bunker in Northeastern Poland where some German army officers attempted to assassinate dictator Adolf Hitler in 1944 will be thrown open to the public as a museum.
The Wolf’s Lair, located in the Masurian woods in northeastern Poland, has been open to the public since the end of World War II, but mainly as a place to take pottery lessons and play paintball, the News Agencies reported. Continue reading
Ukrainian, Polish leaders unveil memorial to Katyn massacre, Stalin’s victims outside Kyiv
The Presidents of Ukraine and Poland on Friday unveiled a memorial to the thousands of Ukrainians, Poles and others killed by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin’s secret police before and during World War II.
The memorial is part of a remembrance complex in Bykivnia, outside the Ukrainian capital, where up to 120,000 people are buried. Continue reading
A Polish girl’s journey across three continents
When Soviet troops marched into Poland on 17 September 1939, it was the beginning of an extraordinary journey for schoolgirl Danuta Maczka.
For Poland, it was the start of a war that would leave millions dead and many more scattered across the world as refugees. 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
US NATIONAL ARCHIVES: Records Relating to the Katyn Forest Massacre
Summary of events
Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union each invaded Poland in September of 1939, having divided the country into separate spheres of influence under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. While the Germans began a massacre of Jews and Poles in western occupied Poland, the Red Army arrested and imprisoned thousands of Polish military officers, policemen, and intelligentsia during their occupation of eastern Poland. Prisoners of war and civilian internees captured by the Soviets were placed in several camps in the western USSR, run by the Soviet People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs, or NKVD, a predecessor organization to the modern FSB-camps including Kozielsk, Ostashkov, and Starobielsk. 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
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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…
