Books Survival Stories
Writing a piece on WWII…?
What stories, books, and references can I read to fully educate myself on concentration camps, survival stories, and Poland’s role in the war?
Do you have any personal anecdotes that you’ve heard and would care to share? I have a story in mind, but I have no body to ask.
This is very important to me, and I hope that someone can help me.
@patticharron – Poland was an important piece of meat for Hitler to eat during his lebensraum. In addition to Jewish people, he believed that the Poles were “sub-human.” Most Polish people who didn’t want to succumb to the German rule were forced into concentration camps as POWs whether they were Jewish or not. Perhaps my question is more aimed at Polish people in general, maybe not so much the country itself…
However, during the German occupation, Poland was home to one of the largest Jewish communities in Europe.
And yes, Auschwitz-Birkenau is definitely one of the key players that put Poland on the map during WWII, and now. Thanks!
Well, Poland HAD its role in WWII. It was not only “peace of meat for Hitler” as children are taught in American schools. Take a look at this link in Dragon S response. It is quite informative. You have to know that war in Poland was not only the Holocaust. The Holocaust was just one of MANY events that happened there during WWII. Unfortunately Polish people in many western history books are usually described only as “defenceless farmers”. It is not true. They had the one of the biggest, best organized and the most efficient underground partisans state in occupied Europe. There were not only millitary units there but also secret hospitals, food or armour factories and even power stations, churches, research institutes, schools and universities (it was not allowed to educate Polish children during the occupation). Polish partisans destroyed hundreds of German millitary trains and killed thousand of nazis and colaborators. They had also very good intelligence that gave allies priceless information (Enigma, V2 missile). Quite large Polish army fought with Germans in many other states like Norway, France, Northern Africa, Italy, Holland, Belgium and of cours in the Battle of Britain. Poles are very sensitive about ignoring efforts of their ancestors in WWII what is common in the West and talking only about the Holocaust.
Some interesting, not widely known Polish persons from WWII:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witold_Pilecki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krystyna_Skarbek
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henryk_S%C5%82awik
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Czerniawski
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Karski
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halina_Szyma%C5%84ska
As for books I can recommend you:
“A Question Of Honor” Olson Lynne, Cloud Stanley
“Warsaw uprising 1944″ Norman Davies
Story-Book Survival
Themocracy