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When the Nazis announced on April 12, 1943 that they had found the bodies of thousands of Polish officers who had been murdered by the Soviets in Katy
When the Nazis announced on April 12, 1943 that they had found the bodies of thousands of Polish officers who had been murdered by the Soviets in Katyn forest, most Americans did not believe them. The Nazis were known to commit mass murder and the extensive propaganda campaign in the United States in support of the Soviet Union had affected the thinking of most Americans.
But the Poles knew the truth. They had been asking the Soviets about the missing men for almost two years. And some Americans knew the truth because they understood the Soviet Union and its history. But, it took some time before these voices of truth could be heard.
New evidence on Katyn forest massacre cover-up
New evidence on Katyn forest massacre cover-up
Polska Gazeta ^ | March 2, 2008 | Herbert Romerstein
COVER UP FOR THOSE WHO CARRIED OUT MASS MURDER
By Herbert Romerstein
When the Nazis announced on April 12, 1943 that they had found the bodies of thousands of Polish officers who had been murdered by the Soviets in Katyn forest, most Americans did not believe them. The Nazis were known to commit mass murder and the extensive propaganda campaign in the United States in support of the Soviet Union had affected the thinking of most Americans.
But the Poles knew the truth. They had been asking the Soviets about the missing men for almost two years. And some Americans knew the truth because they understood the Soviet Union and its history. But, it took some time before these voices of truth could be heard.
The Soviets broke relations with the Polish Government in exile in London because the Poles had asked for an International Red Cross investigation. The Soviets claimed to have been insulted. And they used that as an excuse for recognizing a puppet Polish government that the Soviets set up in Lublin.
The American communists joined in the Soviet propaganda campaign. Corliss Lamont, a millionaire communist propagandist, wrote "Soviet Russia's severance of relations with the Polish Government-in-Exile, over the Nazi-inspired charge that the Russians murdered 10,000 Polish army officers, shows clearly the danger to the United Nations of the splitting tactics engineered by Hitler and definitely helped along by the general campaign of anti-Soviet propaganda carried on during recent months in Britain and America. According to the London Bureau of the New York Herald Tribune, 'It is a safe assumption that the Poles would not have taken so tough an attitude toward the Soviet Government if it had not been for the widespread support Americans have been giving them in the cases of Henry Ehrlich and Victor Alter.'"
The reference was to the widespread protests by Jewish and trade union organizations when the Soviets admitted that they had executed Ehrlich and Alter who were leaders of the "Bund", the Jewish trade union organization. According to the communist Lamont, "The shameful anti-Soviet agitation around the Alter-Ehrlich case was followed by the collaboration with Goebbels' propaganda around the German mass murders of Poles." The Polish government had protested to the Soviets about Ehrlich and Alter.
Lamont also quoted from "Professor Lange at the University of Chicago" in support of the communist line. We now know that Oscar Lange had been recruited as an agent of the NKVD by Boleslaw Gebert.
Gebert himself wrote communist propaganda in support of the Soviet Union's false story. In one of his pamphlets, he attacked the commander of the Polish forces fighting in Italy against the Nazis, General Marjan Kukiel. According to Gebert, who was sitting safely in the United States, General Kukiel, who was leading troops in combat against the Nazis, was "Siding with the Germans in their accusations that the Soviet Union was responsible for slaughtering Polish officers and soldiers in the forest of Katyn. The world knew that this unspeakable crime was the work of the Germans…." His pamphlet was published by the communist front "Polonia Society of the International Workers Order". He was the head of that organization, which, of course, did not speak for the majority of Polish-Americans.
Not only did communists and NKVD agents carry out the propaganda campaign but, unfortunately, the United States government helped them. The Office of War Information (OWI) tried to intimidate the Polish-American radio stations and newspapers when they told the truth about the Soviet atrocity against the Poles.
Alan Cranston was head of the Foreign Language Division of the OWI and later a U.S. Senator from California. He called a meeting of OWI officials because the Polish-American radio stations "had taken a rather antagonistic attitude toward Russia" on the Katyn forest issue. Cranston felt that this "was inimical to the war effort and should be straightened out". The radio stations and newspapers were contacted and threatened with being closed down if they continued to tell the truth about the Soviet Union.
In 1952 the U.S. Congress held hearings on Katyn. More Americans learned the truth. When the Soviets recaptured the Smolensk area, they organized their own tribunal to "investigate" the murder of the Polish officers. The American press in Moscow was invited to observe. The American ambassador, Averell Harriman, sent his young daughter to represent the American Embassy. Years later she was asked by the Congressional committee investigating Katyn why her father had sent her instead of someone who was older or was a medical authority. She answered that the Soviets might not have allowed someone more experienced but it would be difficult for them to refuse her. She had believed the Soviet propaganda line; but by 1952 when she testified before the committee, she knew that the Soviets had committed the crime. She testified that she had thought that the Germans did it because the bodies were laid out in methodical manner. Apparently, she thought that the Russians could not do anything in an orderly way.
At the time of the German announcement of Katyn the American ambassador was William Standley. He understood the Soviet Union and did not trust them. He made the mistake of speaking openly to the American correspondents in Moscow. One of them represented the "Daily Worker", the Communist Party USA newspaper. She was called Janet Weaver. She was actually Janet West Ross, the wife of the American Communist Party representative to the Comintern. She regularly reported Ambassador Standley's comments and other information gleaned from conversations with American officials to Dimitrov, head of the Comintern. He passed them on to Molotov. We found a collection of her reports in the Comintern Archives in Moscow. On March 8, 1943, she reported to Dimitrov that Ambassador Standley had revealed to the American journalists that the Soviets were concealing from the Russian people the truth about the massive amount of American war materials supplied. Two days after her report, Harry Hopkins pressed President Roosevelt to remove Ambassador Standley. Hopkins succeeded, and Standley was replaced by the naïve Averill Harriman, who was much more acceptable to the Soviets. It was only in the 1980s that we learned of the evidence that Hopkins was an NKVD agent.
President Roosevelt had heard from Winston Churchill the truth about Katyn. Churchill shared with Roosevelt the information he had received on the Soviet responsibility for the murders. However, when Roosevelt heard from his own representative, George Earle, former governor of Pennsylvania, that he had information that the Soviets had committed the crime, he refused to listen. Earle had been sent by the President to Turkey and Bulgaria under diplomatic cover to report directly to the President, about the Balkans. Before seeing the President, Earle spoke to his friend Joe Levy, of the "New York Times". Levy warned him that "Harry Hopkins has complete domination over the President and the whole atmosphere over there is 'pink'." He advised Earle to be careful when he told the President the truth about Russia. Later, Earle told the President that he wanted to go public about Katyn, Roosevelt wrote to him "I specifically forbid you to publish any information or opinion about an ally that you may have acquired while in office or in the service of the United States Navy."
Lt. Col. John Van Vliet, Jr. was an American prisoner of war in Germany. He was one of the Allied officers brought by the Germans to Katyn in 1943. When he returned to the United States in 1945, he wrote a report for the United States government revealing his knowledge of the Soviet responsibility for the murders. His report was marked "Top Secret".
The Polish-American community continued to speak out on the truth about Katyn. After the war, they got two valuable allies. One was Arthur Bliss Lane, the U.S. ambassador to Poland 1944-1947. His book "I Saw Poland Betrayed", published in 1948, was the first time many Americans heard the truth about Katyn. The other was Julius Epstein. He was an Austrian born Jew who had escaped from the Nazis. He was now an American citizen and a prominent journalist. Epstein opposed both the Nazis and the Communists. During the war, he had worked for the Office of War Information and was horrified by the pro-Soviet propaganda he saw that agency promoting.
In 1949, Epstein joined Ambassador Lane in forming the "American Committee for the Investigation of the Katyn Massacre". The Committee in coordination with the Polish-American community published pamphlets and articles telling the American people the truth about Katyn.
The Voice of America, the official voice of the American government, briefly mentioned the formation of the Committee, but refused to broadcast former Ambassador Lane's speech. When Epstein visited officials of Voice of America in New York and Washington, he demanded to know why they were not telling the truth about Katyn. They answered "We are playing down Katyn, because it would create too much hatred against Stalin among the Poles." When Epstein asked whether they wanted to create love for Stalin among the Poles at the American taxpayer expenses, he got no answer.
Count Joseph Czapski, a Polish officer had been imprisoned by the Soviets with the other Polish officers. He was released when the Soviets thought that he would be valuable for their propaganda to the West. Instead he represented General Anders in investigating the whereabouts of the missing Polish officers. He was the source of much of the information about the Soviet attempt to cover up before the bodies were found. When Count Czapski visited the United States, the Voice of America asked him to make a broadcast. He submitted the text in advance. Voice of America officials crossed out any reference to the Soviet crime. He could not even mention the word Katyn.
When Julius Epstein learned of the existence of the Van Vliet report, he and Ambassador Lane asked Congress to obtain the report. Representative George A. Dondero of Michigan began a campaign to get the Army to release the report. After many excuses, it became apparent that the report was missing. Finally the Army revealed that immediately after Col. Van Vliet submitted his report, it was sent to the State Department. There were no carbon copies kept by the Army. The State Department claimed to know nothing about it. It is interesting to note that the report went to that part of the State Department headed by Alger Hiss. We now know that Alger Hiss was a Soviet spy. So we can understand the disappearance of the document.
It was only in May 1951 that the Voice of America would allow some discussion of the subject. But even after that, the cover up of the Soviet crime continued, with only occasional mention of the Soviet crimes.
In 1978 at a writer's conference in Poland, the prominent writer and poet Andrzej Braun spoke out against the censorship of the truth about Katyn. The Voice of America Warsaw correspondent, Ron Pemstein, sent a report on Braun's speech to Washington. Pemstein reported that the poet cited as an example of censorship the refusal to tell the truth about "the murder of Polish officers by the Soviet Union at Katyn forest in 1940". A half an hour after the story reached Washington, the Voice of America had edited out the words "by the Soviet Union" and the date "1940". The story simply said "Braun cited the murder of Polish officers in World War II." Eleven Polish-Americans working at Voice of America sent a protest to the head of the Voice's European Division. He called a meeting and scolded them for complaining. Remember, this happened during the Jimmy Carter Administration in 1978. When this story appeared in the press, Voice of America director Peter Straus said that the censorship was a "error in judgment by the news editor." But more and more Americans were learning the truth. By the 1980s during the Reagan Administration most American knew the truth about Katyn.
In the years between 1945 and 1991, the KGB carried on numerous disinformation campaigns to conceal the guilt of the Soviet Union for the murders. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, more and more information became available about Katyn. We now even know that Stalin himself, together with Voroshilov, Molotov, and Mikoyan, signed the report from Beria ordering the murders of the Poles at Katyn.
Herbert Romerstein is director of the Center for Security Research at the Education and Research Institute and author of The Venona Secrets: Exposing Soviet Espionage and America's Traitors.
But the Poles knew the truth. They had been asking the Soviets about the missing men for almost two years. And some Americans knew the truth because they understood the Soviet Union and its history. But, it took some time before these voices of truth could be heard.
New evidence on Katyn forest massacre cover-up
New evidence on Katyn forest massacre cover-up
Polska Gazeta ^ | March 2, 2008 | Herbert Romerstein
COVER UP FOR THOSE WHO CARRIED OUT MASS MURDER
By Herbert Romerstein
When the Nazis announced on April 12, 1943 that they had found the bodies of thousands of Polish officers who had been murdered by the Soviets in Katyn forest, most Americans did not believe them. The Nazis were known to commit mass murder and the extensive propaganda campaign in the United States in support of the Soviet Union had affected the thinking of most Americans.
But the Poles knew the truth. They had been asking the Soviets about the missing men for almost two years. And some Americans knew the truth because they understood the Soviet Union and its history. But, it took some time before these voices of truth could be heard.
The Soviets broke relations with the Polish Government in exile in London because the Poles had asked for an International Red Cross investigation. The Soviets claimed to have been insulted. And they used that as an excuse for recognizing a puppet Polish government that the Soviets set up in Lublin.
The American communists joined in the Soviet propaganda campaign. Corliss Lamont, a millionaire communist propagandist, wrote "Soviet Russia's severance of relations with the Polish Government-in-Exile, over the Nazi-inspired charge that the Russians murdered 10,000 Polish army officers, shows clearly the danger to the United Nations of the splitting tactics engineered by Hitler and definitely helped along by the general campaign of anti-Soviet propaganda carried on during recent months in Britain and America. According to the London Bureau of the New York Herald Tribune, 'It is a safe assumption that the Poles would not have taken so tough an attitude toward the Soviet Government if it had not been for the widespread support Americans have been giving them in the cases of Henry Ehrlich and Victor Alter.'"
The reference was to the widespread protests by Jewish and trade union organizations when the Soviets admitted that they had executed Ehrlich and Alter who were leaders of the "Bund", the Jewish trade union organization. According to the communist Lamont, "The shameful anti-Soviet agitation around the Alter-Ehrlich case was followed by the collaboration with Goebbels' propaganda around the German mass murders of Poles." The Polish government had protested to the Soviets about Ehrlich and Alter.
Lamont also quoted from "Professor Lange at the University of Chicago" in support of the communist line. We now know that Oscar Lange had been recruited as an agent of the NKVD by Boleslaw Gebert.
Gebert himself wrote communist propaganda in support of the Soviet Union's false story. In one of his pamphlets, he attacked the commander of the Polish forces fighting in Italy against the Nazis, General Marjan Kukiel. According to Gebert, who was sitting safely in the United States, General Kukiel, who was leading troops in combat against the Nazis, was "Siding with the Germans in their accusations that the Soviet Union was responsible for slaughtering Polish officers and soldiers in the forest of Katyn. The world knew that this unspeakable crime was the work of the Germans…." His pamphlet was published by the communist front "Polonia Society of the International Workers Order". He was the head of that organization, which, of course, did not speak for the majority of Polish-Americans.
Not only did communists and NKVD agents carry out the propaganda campaign but, unfortunately, the United States government helped them. The Office of War Information (OWI) tried to intimidate the Polish-American radio stations and newspapers when they told the truth about the Soviet atrocity against the Poles.
Alan Cranston was head of the Foreign Language Division of the OWI and later a U.S. Senator from California. He called a meeting of OWI officials because the Polish-American radio stations "had taken a rather antagonistic attitude toward Russia" on the Katyn forest issue. Cranston felt that this "was inimical to the war effort and should be straightened out". The radio stations and newspapers were contacted and threatened with being closed down if they continued to tell the truth about the Soviet Union.
In 1952 the U.S. Congress held hearings on Katyn. More Americans learned the truth. When the Soviets recaptured the Smolensk area, they organized their own tribunal to "investigate" the murder of the Polish officers. The American press in Moscow was invited to observe. The American ambassador, Averell Harriman, sent his young daughter to represent the American Embassy. Years later she was asked by the Congressional committee investigating Katyn why her father had sent her instead of someone who was older or was a medical authority. She answered that the Soviets might not have allowed someone more experienced but it would be difficult for them to refuse her. She had believed the Soviet propaganda line; but by 1952 when she testified before the committee, she knew that the Soviets had committed the crime. She testified that she had thought that the Germans did it because the bodies were laid out in methodical manner. Apparently, she thought that the Russians could not do anything in an orderly way.
At the time of the German announcement of Katyn the American ambassador was William Standley. He understood the Soviet Union and did not trust them. He made the mistake of speaking openly to the American correspondents in Moscow. One of them represented the "Daily Worker", the Communist Party USA newspaper. She was called Janet Weaver. She was actually Janet West Ross, the wife of the American Communist Party representative to the Comintern. She regularly reported Ambassador Standley's comments and other information gleaned from conversations with American officials to Dimitrov, head of the Comintern. He passed them on to Molotov. We found a collection of her reports in the Comintern Archives in Moscow. On March 8, 1943, she reported to Dimitrov that Ambassador Standley had revealed to the American journalists that the Soviets were concealing from the Russian people the truth about the massive amount of American war materials supplied. Two days after her report, Harry Hopkins pressed President Roosevelt to remove Ambassador Standley. Hopkins succeeded, and Standley was replaced by the naïve Averill Harriman, who was much more acceptable to the Soviets. It was only in the 1980s that we learned of the evidence that Hopkins was an NKVD agent.
President Roosevelt had heard from Winston Churchill the truth about Katyn. Churchill shared with Roosevelt the information he had received on the Soviet responsibility for the murders. However, when Roosevelt heard from his own representative, George Earle, former governor of Pennsylvania, that he had information that the Soviets had committed the crime, he refused to listen. Earle had been sent by the President to Turkey and Bulgaria under diplomatic cover to report directly to the President, about the Balkans. Before seeing the President, Earle spoke to his friend Joe Levy, of the "New York Times". Levy warned him that "Harry Hopkins has complete domination over the President and the whole atmosphere over there is 'pink'." He advised Earle to be careful when he told the President the truth about Russia. Later, Earle told the President that he wanted to go public about Katyn, Roosevelt wrote to him "I specifically forbid you to publish any information or opinion about an ally that you may have acquired while in office or in the service of the United States Navy."
Lt. Col. John Van Vliet, Jr. was an American prisoner of war in Germany. He was one of the Allied officers brought by the Germans to Katyn in 1943. When he returned to the United States in 1945, he wrote a report for the United States government revealing his knowledge of the Soviet responsibility for the murders. His report was marked "Top Secret".
The Polish-American community continued to speak out on the truth about Katyn. After the war, they got two valuable allies. One was Arthur Bliss Lane, the U.S. ambassador to Poland 1944-1947. His book "I Saw Poland Betrayed", published in 1948, was the first time many Americans heard the truth about Katyn. The other was Julius Epstein. He was an Austrian born Jew who had escaped from the Nazis. He was now an American citizen and a prominent journalist. Epstein opposed both the Nazis and the Communists. During the war, he had worked for the Office of War Information and was horrified by the pro-Soviet propaganda he saw that agency promoting.
In 1949, Epstein joined Ambassador Lane in forming the "American Committee for the Investigation of the Katyn Massacre". The Committee in coordination with the Polish-American community published pamphlets and articles telling the American people the truth about Katyn.
The Voice of America, the official voice of the American government, briefly mentioned the formation of the Committee, but refused to broadcast former Ambassador Lane's speech. When Epstein visited officials of Voice of America in New York and Washington, he demanded to know why they were not telling the truth about Katyn. They answered "We are playing down Katyn, because it would create too much hatred against Stalin among the Poles." When Epstein asked whether they wanted to create love for Stalin among the Poles at the American taxpayer expenses, he got no answer.
Count Joseph Czapski, a Polish officer had been imprisoned by the Soviets with the other Polish officers. He was released when the Soviets thought that he would be valuable for their propaganda to the West. Instead he represented General Anders in investigating the whereabouts of the missing Polish officers. He was the source of much of the information about the Soviet attempt to cover up before the bodies were found. When Count Czapski visited the United States, the Voice of America asked him to make a broadcast. He submitted the text in advance. Voice of America officials crossed out any reference to the Soviet crime. He could not even mention the word Katyn.
When Julius Epstein learned of the existence of the Van Vliet report, he and Ambassador Lane asked Congress to obtain the report. Representative George A. Dondero of Michigan began a campaign to get the Army to release the report. After many excuses, it became apparent that the report was missing. Finally the Army revealed that immediately after Col. Van Vliet submitted his report, it was sent to the State Department. There were no carbon copies kept by the Army. The State Department claimed to know nothing about it. It is interesting to note that the report went to that part of the State Department headed by Alger Hiss. We now know that Alger Hiss was a Soviet spy. So we can understand the disappearance of the document.
It was only in May 1951 that the Voice of America would allow some discussion of the subject. But even after that, the cover up of the Soviet crime continued, with only occasional mention of the Soviet crimes.
In 1978 at a writer's conference in Poland, the prominent writer and poet Andrzej Braun spoke out against the censorship of the truth about Katyn. The Voice of America Warsaw correspondent, Ron Pemstein, sent a report on Braun's speech to Washington. Pemstein reported that the poet cited as an example of censorship the refusal to tell the truth about "the murder of Polish officers by the Soviet Union at Katyn forest in 1940". A half an hour after the story reached Washington, the Voice of America had edited out the words "by the Soviet Union" and the date "1940". The story simply said "Braun cited the murder of Polish officers in World War II." Eleven Polish-Americans working at Voice of America sent a protest to the head of the Voice's European Division. He called a meeting and scolded them for complaining. Remember, this happened during the Jimmy Carter Administration in 1978. When this story appeared in the press, Voice of America director Peter Straus said that the censorship was a "error in judgment by the news editor." But more and more Americans were learning the truth. By the 1980s during the Reagan Administration most American knew the truth about Katyn.
In the years between 1945 and 1991, the KGB carried on numerous disinformation campaigns to conceal the guilt of the Soviet Union for the murders. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, more and more information became available about Katyn. We now even know that Stalin himself, together with Voroshilov, Molotov, and Mikoyan, signed the report from Beria ordering the murders of the Poles at Katyn.
Herbert Romerstein is director of the Center for Security Research at the Education and Research Institute and author of The Venona Secrets: Exposing Soviet Espionage and America's Traitors.
Discovery of carcinogenic material in an Israeli F-16I. Poland Israel Greece.
Discovery of carcinogenic material in an Israeli F-16I. Poland Israel Greece.
As pilots began undergoing tests for cancer on Sunday, a team of technical personnel from the Israel Air Force flew to Fort Worth, Texas, for consultations with their American counterparts and Lockheed Martin concerning the recent discovery of carcinogenic material in an Israeli F-16I.
The discovery of the material prompted OC IAF Maj.-Gen. Elazar Shkedy to ground all F-16I training flights until the investigation is concluded. Shkedy decided to suspend training flights - the plane will continue to be used in necessary operations - after a number of pilots complained of a bad smell coming from the cockpit of one of the planes.
The IDF Medical Branch conducted tests and discovered that the smell was caused by a type of formaldehyde known to be carcinogenic in high concentration. As a result, the IAF on Sunday began taking blood samples from F-16I pilots to test them for cancer.
Although traces of the material were found in only one plane, Shkedy's decision to stop training flights was indicative of the severity of the problem, defense officials said. In addition, since deciding to suspend F-16I training flights, the IAF has been in touch with other militaries to discuss the discovery.
"If it was just one plane and was a maintenance issue, then there wouldn't have been a need to suspend all training flights," one official said. "The fear is that the problem is much more extensive."
Lockheed Martin said it was cooperating with the investigation completely and raised the possibility that it was an isolated incident - the carcinogenic material has thus far been found in one plane - and was connected to the maintenance of the aircraft.
The Israeli F-16I is part of a batch of planes manufactured at Fort Worth and supplied not just to the IAF but also to Poland, Greece and the US Air Force. None of these countries have reported discovering formaldehyde in their aircraft.
As pilots began undergoing tests for cancer on Sunday, a team of technical personnel from the Israel Air Force flew to Fort Worth, Texas, for consultations with their American counterparts and Lockheed Martin concerning the recent discovery of carcinogenic material in an Israeli F-16I.
The discovery of the material prompted OC IAF Maj.-Gen. Elazar Shkedy to ground all F-16I training flights until the investigation is concluded. Shkedy decided to suspend training flights - the plane will continue to be used in necessary operations - after a number of pilots complained of a bad smell coming from the cockpit of one of the planes.
The IDF Medical Branch conducted tests and discovered that the smell was caused by a type of formaldehyde known to be carcinogenic in high concentration. As a result, the IAF on Sunday began taking blood samples from F-16I pilots to test them for cancer.
Although traces of the material were found in only one plane, Shkedy's decision to stop training flights was indicative of the severity of the problem, defense officials said. In addition, since deciding to suspend F-16I training flights, the IAF has been in touch with other militaries to discuss the discovery.
"If it was just one plane and was a maintenance issue, then there wouldn't have been a need to suspend all training flights," one official said. "The fear is that the problem is much more extensive."
Lockheed Martin said it was cooperating with the investigation completely and raised the possibility that it was an isolated incident - the carcinogenic material has thus far been found in one plane - and was connected to the maintenance of the aircraft.
The Israeli F-16I is part of a batch of planes manufactured at Fort Worth and supplied not just to the IAF but also to Poland, Greece and the US Air Force. None of these countries have reported discovering formaldehyde in their aircraft.
A real hero - Witold Pilecki - A Volunteer for Auschwitz
A real hero - Witold Pilecki - A Volunteer for Auschwitz
A real hero - Witold Pilecki - A Volunteer for Auschwitz
Pilecki i Anders
("Let's Reminisce About Witold Pilecki")
Witold Pilecki was born in Poland in 1901. When the German Army invaded the country in September, 1939, Pilecki joined the Tajna Armia Polska, the Secret Polish Army.
When Pilecki discovered the existence of Auschwitz, he suggested a plan to his senior officers. Pilecki argued he should get himself arrested and sent to the concentration camp. He would then send out reports of what was happening in the camp. Pilecki would also explore the possibility of organizing a mass break-out.
Pilecki's colonel eventually agreed and after securing a false identity as Tomasz Serafinski, he arranged to be arrested in September, 1940. As expected he was sent to Auschwitz where he became prisoner 4,859. His work consisted of building more huts to hold the increased numbers of prisoners.
Pilecki soon discovered the brutality of the Schutz Staffeinel (SS) guards. When one man managed to escape on 28th October 1940, all the prisoners were forced to stand at attention on the parade-ground from noon till nine in the evening. Anyone who moved was shot and over 200 prisoners died of exposure. Pilecki was able to send reports back to the Tajna Armia Polska explaining how the Germans were treating their prisoners. This information was then sent to the foreign office in London.
In 1942 Pilecki discovered that new windowless concrete huts were being built with nozzles in their ceilings. Soon afterwards he heard that that prisoners were being herded into these huts and that the nozzles were being used to feed cyanide gas into the building. Afterwards the bodies were taken to the building next door where they were cremated.
Pilecki got this information to the Tajna Armia Polska who passed it onto the British foreign office. This information was then passed on to the governments of other Allied countries. However, most people who saw the reports refused to believe them and dismissed the stories as attempts by the Poles to manipulate the military strategy of the Allies.
In the autumn of 1942, Jozef Cyrankiewicz, a member of the Polish Communist Party, was sent to Auschwitz. Pilecki and Cyrankiewicz worked closely together in organizing a mass breakout. By the end of 1942 they had a group of 500 ready to try and overthrow their guards.
Four of the inmates escaped on their own on 29th December, 1942. One of these men, a dentist called Kuczbara, was caught and interrogated by the Gestapo. Kuczbara was one of the leaders of Pilecki's group and so when he heard the news he realized that it would be only a matter of time before the SS realized that he had been organizing these escape attempts.
Pilecki had already arranged his escape route and after feigning typhus, he escaped from the hospital on 24th April, 1943. After hiding in the local forest, Pilecki reached his unit of the Tajna Armia Polska on 2nd May. He returned to normal duties and fought during the Warsaw Uprising in the summer of 1944. Although captured by the German Army he was eventually released by Allied troops in April, 1945.
After the Second World War Pilecki went to live in Poland.The Polish Secret Police had him executed in 1948. It is believed that this was a result of his anti-communist activities.
Only Ghosts And Echoes -
Posted by Felis in Heroes, History (Sunday February 12, 2006 at 5:03 pm)
I learnt about Witold Pilecki only by accident, when my maternal grandfather dropped his name while talking about his former associate and the then Polish Prime Minister Jozef Cyrankiewicz.
- Cyrankiewicz, he said, could have saved Pilecki but of course his own heroic tale could have been ruined.
I started asking my grandfather additional questions and learnt a few things about this man, Witold Pilecki, who according to my grandfather’s patchy story, volunteered to go to Auschwitz to gather intelligence for the Home Army (Polish Military Underground Organization) operating during the German occupation.
It was, I think, 1967 and Witold Pilecki as far as the communist authorities were concerned, officially never existed.
My grandfather knew Jozef Cyrankiewicz because both of them were members of PPS -Polish Socialist Party before WWII (PPS was a social-democratic party). Cyrankiewicz was captured and sent by the Germans to Auschwitz in 1942 but my grandfather was saved from being captured by his new identity supported by false documents. After the war, most of the members of PPS accepted the communists’ offer to join the Soviet bandwagon in exchange for good positions within the new administration and sometimes because they weren’t sure what might happen to them if they refused.
This move gave the communists more legitimacy among Western countries as well as the desperate Polish nation.
Or so they thought.
The communist party members were mostly imported from the Soviet Union.
These people, officially Polish, very often could not speak the language and like the first President Boleslaw Bierut were full time NKVG (Soviet Security) employees (the real Polish communist who ended up in Russia after 1939 were mostly executed by Stalin in the 40’s).
And so PPS and PPR (Polish Worker’s Party) were amalgamated into PZPR (Polish United Worker’s Party).
My grandpa was one of those scoundrels, who joined the new organization and for the rest of his life tried to convince himself that his decision was morally justified. He never really made it to the “top†and that is probably why he felt resentment towards Cyrankiewicz for not assisting his old comrades a little bit harder.This is how I learnt about Witold Pilecki for the first time. My grandfather made bitter comments about Cyrankiewicz’s duplicity.
I digress.
I started searching for some more information about Pilecki and slowly a picture emerged, which as much as it was depressing, gave me the feeling of faith in certain moral values, which I thought were long time dead.
Witold Pilecki was rehabilitated only in 1991 and so as I was searching a few days ago for some extra materials about him, I discovered this Wikipedia entry.
There are more sources available on line but because most of them are in Polish, I decided to quote and to translate some additional and interesting aspects of Pilecki’s life story to pay a tribute to the man, who I think, deserves much more recognition.
It was 1940 the Secret Polish Army received conflicting reports about this “new facility†being built and expanded by the Germans in Auschwitz (Oswiecim in Polish) near Kraków.The commanders of the underground, secret army were also receiving requests from the Polish Government, in exile in London; to investigate and to report about German activities around Auschwitz as the unconfirmed rumors about atrocities taking place there reached the allied forces. Witold Pilecki, a lieutenant in the underground army, was the man who volunteered to Auschwitz.
Witold Pilecki was born in 1901 in Oluniec in Russia, where his family was exiled for taking part in the 1863 uprising against Russian occupation of Poland. In 1910 his family moved back into the remains of their property (Pilecki family were small gentry-landowners) near Wilno (today Vilnius). In 1918, he volunteered for the Polish Army that was being formed at that time, and then fought in the Polish-Bolshevik War of 1920.
Witold Pilecki in his cavalry uniform
In 1921 Pilecki took leave from the army to pass his High School Certificate exams (Matura). He attempted studying fine arts at the Stefan Batory University for a while.
Finally, he finishes Military school of Cavalry Reserve in Grudziadz and after being transferred to the Army Reserve as a second lieutenant, he takes over the farm management in his family property in Sukurcze in 1926. He lived and worked in Sukurcze until the outbreak of WWII. These were the happiest years of his life.
Witold Pilecki in before WWII
In 1931 Pilecki married Marianna Ostrowska, a teacher from Masovia. They had two children, a son Andrew and daughter Zofia. In the September campaign of 1939, Pilecki fought as a member of the “Prusy†army group. In November after the collapse of Polish defenses, he helped to found the Secret Polish Army, where he served as the Chief of Staff. In August 1940 Pilecki volunteered to infiltrate Germany’s Auschwitz Concentration Camp at Oswiecim
with the following objectives in mind:
Setting up of a secret organization within the camp to:
Provide extra food and distribute clothing among organization members.
Keep up the morale among fellow inmates and supply them with news from the
outside.
Preparing a task force to take over the camp in the eventuality of the
dropping of arms or of a live force (e.g. paratroops).
Report all of the above to the Secret Army headquarters
On September 19, 1940, with the permission of his commanding officers, he intentionally allowed himself to be captured by the Germans during a round-up in Warsaw’s suburb Zoliborz.
He arrived at Auschwitz at 10 P.M. on September 21, 1940, in the “second†Warsaw transport, under the name Tomasz Serafinski. He was registered as number 4859.
Â
Oswiecim - Pilecki’s mug shot
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Fragment of Pilecki’s diary (1) translated from Polish:
They made us run straight ahead towards the thicker concentration of lights. Further towards the destination (the SS troopers) ordered one of us to run to the pole on the side of the road and immediately a series from a submachine gun was sent after him.
Dead.
Ten other inmates were pulled out at random from the marching column and shot with pistols while still running to demonstrate to us the idea of “collective reprisal†if an escape was attempted by any one of us (in this case it was all arranged by the SS troopers).
They pulled all eleven corpses by ropes attached to just one leg. Dogs baited the blood soaked bodies.
All of it was done with laughter and jeering.
We were closing to the gate, an opening in the line of fences made of wire.
There was a sign at the top: “Arbeit macht frei†(Through Work To Freedom).
Only later we could fully appreciate its real meaning.
Pilecki survived his first days in Auschwitz and later established the first cell of his secret organization.
Fragment of Pilecki’s diary (2) translated from Polish:
From the darkness, from above the camp’s kitchen, Seidler the butcher spoke to us: †Do not even dream that any one of you will get out of here alive.
Your daily food ratio is intended to keep you alive for 6 weeks; whoever lives longer it’s because he steals and those who steal will be placed in SK, where nobody lives for too long.â€
Wladyslaw Baworowski - the camp’s interpreter translated it to us into Polish.
SK (Straf-Kompanie - Penal Company).
This unit was designated for all Jews, Catholic priests and those Poles whose “offencesâ€
were proven. Ernst Krankemann, the Block Commander, had a duty of finishing off as many prisoners of the unit as he possibly could to make room for new, daily “arrivalsâ€.
This duty suited Krankemann’s character very well.
If someone accidentally moved just little bit too much from the row of prisoners, Krankemann stabbed him with his knife, which he always carried in his right sleeve.
If someone, afraid of making this mistake, positioned himself slightly too far behind, he would be stabbed by the butcher in the kidney.
The sight of a falling human being, kicking his legs and moaning aggravated Krankemann.
He would jump straight away on the victim’s rib cage, kicked his kidneys and genitals, and finished him off as quickly as possible.
In ‘The Polish Underground Movement in Auschwitz’ Garlinski says:.
Pilecki’s secret organization, which he called the ‘Union of Military Organization’, was composed of cells of five prisoners who were unknown to one another with one man designated to be their commander.
These cells were to be found mainly in the camp hospital and camp work allocation office.
Once the first cells were established, contact with Warsaw became essential.
It so happened that at the time, by exceptionally fortuitous circumstances, a prisoner was released from the camp who was able to take Pilecki’s first report. Later reports were smuggled out by civilian workers employed in the camp. Another means was through prisoners who had decided to escape.
From the very start Pilecki’s principal aim was to take over Auschwitz concentration camp and free all the prisoners. He envisaged achieving this by having Home Army detachments attacking from the outside while cadre members of his Union of Military Organization, numbering around a thousand prisoners, would start a revolt from within. All his reports primarily concerned this matter. However, the Home Army High Command was less optimistic and did not believe such an operation to be viable while the Eastern Front was still far away.
In his diary Pilecki didn’t give the SS troopers much credit, and was certain that his organization could have taken control of the camp.
He waited for orders from the headquarters but at the same time the Germans started arresting members of Pilecki’s secret organization and he knew his time was up.
He also believed that if he could present “his case†in person some action would be taken.
Pilecki therefore felt it necessary to present his plans personally. This meant that he would have to escape from the camp, which he succeeded in doing with two other prisoners on 27th April 1943. Before the breakout Pilecki passed on his position within the camp organization to fellow inmate Henryk Bartoszewicz. However, neither his subsequent report nor the fact that he presented it in person altered the high command’s decision.
Fearing the reprisals on the entire Polish population was one of the reasons why such action was not allowed by the high command in London.
Another one was that there was no way to hide or to move such enormous number of people anywhere and with the Eastern Front still far away the whole project was considered unrealistic.
Witold Pilecki escaped from Auschwitz on the Easter Monday 1943, he also survived the Warsaw Uprising an the German POW camp in Germany.
He returned to Poland after the war and started organizing resistance
against the communists.
When he learnt that the Allies would not help to liberate Poland from the Soviets he started demobilizing the military underground organization.
It was then, that the communists arrested him.
Â
Pilecki - communist jail mug shots
Â
He was interrogated and tortured for many months. His finger nails were pulled out and his collarbones broken and he could hardly walk.
He never “talkedâ€.
After his process, which was a simple farce, he was sentenced to death by a firing squad.
There was no firing squad though.
The executioners dragged him the basement of the Security Headquarters building, into the boiler room.
He was gagged and could not walk.
They shot him with a single slug into the back of his head. He was buried somewhere on the rubbish tip next to the Powazki Cemetery.
His body was never found.
A real hero - Witold Pilecki - A Volunteer for Auschwitz
Pilecki i Anders
("Let's Reminisce About Witold Pilecki")
Witold Pilecki was born in Poland in 1901. When the German Army invaded the country in September, 1939, Pilecki joined the Tajna Armia Polska, the Secret Polish Army.
When Pilecki discovered the existence of Auschwitz, he suggested a plan to his senior officers. Pilecki argued he should get himself arrested and sent to the concentration camp. He would then send out reports of what was happening in the camp. Pilecki would also explore the possibility of organizing a mass break-out.
Pilecki's colonel eventually agreed and after securing a false identity as Tomasz Serafinski, he arranged to be arrested in September, 1940. As expected he was sent to Auschwitz where he became prisoner 4,859. His work consisted of building more huts to hold the increased numbers of prisoners.
Pilecki soon discovered the brutality of the Schutz Staffeinel (SS) guards. When one man managed to escape on 28th October 1940, all the prisoners were forced to stand at attention on the parade-ground from noon till nine in the evening. Anyone who moved was shot and over 200 prisoners died of exposure. Pilecki was able to send reports back to the Tajna Armia Polska explaining how the Germans were treating their prisoners. This information was then sent to the foreign office in London.
In 1942 Pilecki discovered that new windowless concrete huts were being built with nozzles in their ceilings. Soon afterwards he heard that that prisoners were being herded into these huts and that the nozzles were being used to feed cyanide gas into the building. Afterwards the bodies were taken to the building next door where they were cremated.
Pilecki got this information to the Tajna Armia Polska who passed it onto the British foreign office. This information was then passed on to the governments of other Allied countries. However, most people who saw the reports refused to believe them and dismissed the stories as attempts by the Poles to manipulate the military strategy of the Allies.
In the autumn of 1942, Jozef Cyrankiewicz, a member of the Polish Communist Party, was sent to Auschwitz. Pilecki and Cyrankiewicz worked closely together in organizing a mass breakout. By the end of 1942 they had a group of 500 ready to try and overthrow their guards.
Four of the inmates escaped on their own on 29th December, 1942. One of these men, a dentist called Kuczbara, was caught and interrogated by the Gestapo. Kuczbara was one of the leaders of Pilecki's group and so when he heard the news he realized that it would be only a matter of time before the SS realized that he had been organizing these escape attempts.
Pilecki had already arranged his escape route and after feigning typhus, he escaped from the hospital on 24th April, 1943. After hiding in the local forest, Pilecki reached his unit of the Tajna Armia Polska on 2nd May. He returned to normal duties and fought during the Warsaw Uprising in the summer of 1944. Although captured by the German Army he was eventually released by Allied troops in April, 1945.
After the Second World War Pilecki went to live in Poland.The Polish Secret Police had him executed in 1948. It is believed that this was a result of his anti-communist activities.
Only Ghosts And Echoes -
Posted by Felis in Heroes, History (Sunday February 12, 2006 at 5:03 pm)
I learnt about Witold Pilecki only by accident, when my maternal grandfather dropped his name while talking about his former associate and the then Polish Prime Minister Jozef Cyrankiewicz.
- Cyrankiewicz, he said, could have saved Pilecki but of course his own heroic tale could have been ruined.
I started asking my grandfather additional questions and learnt a few things about this man, Witold Pilecki, who according to my grandfather’s patchy story, volunteered to go to Auschwitz to gather intelligence for the Home Army (Polish Military Underground Organization) operating during the German occupation.
It was, I think, 1967 and Witold Pilecki as far as the communist authorities were concerned, officially never existed.
My grandfather knew Jozef Cyrankiewicz because both of them were members of PPS -Polish Socialist Party before WWII (PPS was a social-democratic party). Cyrankiewicz was captured and sent by the Germans to Auschwitz in 1942 but my grandfather was saved from being captured by his new identity supported by false documents. After the war, most of the members of PPS accepted the communists’ offer to join the Soviet bandwagon in exchange for good positions within the new administration and sometimes because they weren’t sure what might happen to them if they refused.
This move gave the communists more legitimacy among Western countries as well as the desperate Polish nation.
Or so they thought.
The communist party members were mostly imported from the Soviet Union.
These people, officially Polish, very often could not speak the language and like the first President Boleslaw Bierut were full time NKVG (Soviet Security) employees (the real Polish communist who ended up in Russia after 1939 were mostly executed by Stalin in the 40’s).
And so PPS and PPR (Polish Worker’s Party) were amalgamated into PZPR (Polish United Worker’s Party).
My grandpa was one of those scoundrels, who joined the new organization and for the rest of his life tried to convince himself that his decision was morally justified. He never really made it to the “top†and that is probably why he felt resentment towards Cyrankiewicz for not assisting his old comrades a little bit harder.This is how I learnt about Witold Pilecki for the first time. My grandfather made bitter comments about Cyrankiewicz’s duplicity.
I digress.
I started searching for some more information about Pilecki and slowly a picture emerged, which as much as it was depressing, gave me the feeling of faith in certain moral values, which I thought were long time dead.
Witold Pilecki was rehabilitated only in 1991 and so as I was searching a few days ago for some extra materials about him, I discovered this Wikipedia entry.
There are more sources available on line but because most of them are in Polish, I decided to quote and to translate some additional and interesting aspects of Pilecki’s life story to pay a tribute to the man, who I think, deserves much more recognition.
It was 1940 the Secret Polish Army received conflicting reports about this “new facility†being built and expanded by the Germans in Auschwitz (Oswiecim in Polish) near Kraków.The commanders of the underground, secret army were also receiving requests from the Polish Government, in exile in London; to investigate and to report about German activities around Auschwitz as the unconfirmed rumors about atrocities taking place there reached the allied forces. Witold Pilecki, a lieutenant in the underground army, was the man who volunteered to Auschwitz.
Witold Pilecki was born in 1901 in Oluniec in Russia, where his family was exiled for taking part in the 1863 uprising against Russian occupation of Poland. In 1910 his family moved back into the remains of their property (Pilecki family were small gentry-landowners) near Wilno (today Vilnius). In 1918, he volunteered for the Polish Army that was being formed at that time, and then fought in the Polish-Bolshevik War of 1920.
Witold Pilecki in his cavalry uniform
In 1921 Pilecki took leave from the army to pass his High School Certificate exams (Matura). He attempted studying fine arts at the Stefan Batory University for a while.
Finally, he finishes Military school of Cavalry Reserve in Grudziadz and after being transferred to the Army Reserve as a second lieutenant, he takes over the farm management in his family property in Sukurcze in 1926. He lived and worked in Sukurcze until the outbreak of WWII. These were the happiest years of his life.
Witold Pilecki in before WWII
In 1931 Pilecki married Marianna Ostrowska, a teacher from Masovia. They had two children, a son Andrew and daughter Zofia. In the September campaign of 1939, Pilecki fought as a member of the “Prusy†army group. In November after the collapse of Polish defenses, he helped to found the Secret Polish Army, where he served as the Chief of Staff. In August 1940 Pilecki volunteered to infiltrate Germany’s Auschwitz Concentration Camp at Oswiecim
with the following objectives in mind:
Setting up of a secret organization within the camp to:
Provide extra food and distribute clothing among organization members.
Keep up the morale among fellow inmates and supply them with news from the
outside.
Preparing a task force to take over the camp in the eventuality of the
dropping of arms or of a live force (e.g. paratroops).
Report all of the above to the Secret Army headquarters
On September 19, 1940, with the permission of his commanding officers, he intentionally allowed himself to be captured by the Germans during a round-up in Warsaw’s suburb Zoliborz.
He arrived at Auschwitz at 10 P.M. on September 21, 1940, in the “second†Warsaw transport, under the name Tomasz Serafinski. He was registered as number 4859.
Â
Oswiecim - Pilecki’s mug shot
Â
Fragment of Pilecki’s diary (1) translated from Polish:
They made us run straight ahead towards the thicker concentration of lights. Further towards the destination (the SS troopers) ordered one of us to run to the pole on the side of the road and immediately a series from a submachine gun was sent after him.
Dead.
Ten other inmates were pulled out at random from the marching column and shot with pistols while still running to demonstrate to us the idea of “collective reprisal†if an escape was attempted by any one of us (in this case it was all arranged by the SS troopers).
They pulled all eleven corpses by ropes attached to just one leg. Dogs baited the blood soaked bodies.
All of it was done with laughter and jeering.
We were closing to the gate, an opening in the line of fences made of wire.
There was a sign at the top: “Arbeit macht frei†(Through Work To Freedom).
Only later we could fully appreciate its real meaning.
Pilecki survived his first days in Auschwitz and later established the first cell of his secret organization.
Fragment of Pilecki’s diary (2) translated from Polish:
From the darkness, from above the camp’s kitchen, Seidler the butcher spoke to us: †Do not even dream that any one of you will get out of here alive.
Your daily food ratio is intended to keep you alive for 6 weeks; whoever lives longer it’s because he steals and those who steal will be placed in SK, where nobody lives for too long.â€
Wladyslaw Baworowski - the camp’s interpreter translated it to us into Polish.
SK (Straf-Kompanie - Penal Company).
This unit was designated for all Jews, Catholic priests and those Poles whose “offencesâ€
were proven. Ernst Krankemann, the Block Commander, had a duty of finishing off as many prisoners of the unit as he possibly could to make room for new, daily “arrivalsâ€.
This duty suited Krankemann’s character very well.
If someone accidentally moved just little bit too much from the row of prisoners, Krankemann stabbed him with his knife, which he always carried in his right sleeve.
If someone, afraid of making this mistake, positioned himself slightly too far behind, he would be stabbed by the butcher in the kidney.
The sight of a falling human being, kicking his legs and moaning aggravated Krankemann.
He would jump straight away on the victim’s rib cage, kicked his kidneys and genitals, and finished him off as quickly as possible.
In ‘The Polish Underground Movement in Auschwitz’ Garlinski says:.
Pilecki’s secret organization, which he called the ‘Union of Military Organization’, was composed of cells of five prisoners who were unknown to one another with one man designated to be their commander.
These cells were to be found mainly in the camp hospital and camp work allocation office.
Once the first cells were established, contact with Warsaw became essential.
It so happened that at the time, by exceptionally fortuitous circumstances, a prisoner was released from the camp who was able to take Pilecki’s first report. Later reports were smuggled out by civilian workers employed in the camp. Another means was through prisoners who had decided to escape.
From the very start Pilecki’s principal aim was to take over Auschwitz concentration camp and free all the prisoners. He envisaged achieving this by having Home Army detachments attacking from the outside while cadre members of his Union of Military Organization, numbering around a thousand prisoners, would start a revolt from within. All his reports primarily concerned this matter. However, the Home Army High Command was less optimistic and did not believe such an operation to be viable while the Eastern Front was still far away.
In his diary Pilecki didn’t give the SS troopers much credit, and was certain that his organization could have taken control of the camp.
He waited for orders from the headquarters but at the same time the Germans started arresting members of Pilecki’s secret organization and he knew his time was up.
He also believed that if he could present “his case†in person some action would be taken.
Pilecki therefore felt it necessary to present his plans personally. This meant that he would have to escape from the camp, which he succeeded in doing with two other prisoners on 27th April 1943. Before the breakout Pilecki passed on his position within the camp organization to fellow inmate Henryk Bartoszewicz. However, neither his subsequent report nor the fact that he presented it in person altered the high command’s decision.
Fearing the reprisals on the entire Polish population was one of the reasons why such action was not allowed by the high command in London.
Another one was that there was no way to hide or to move such enormous number of people anywhere and with the Eastern Front still far away the whole project was considered unrealistic.
Witold Pilecki escaped from Auschwitz on the Easter Monday 1943, he also survived the Warsaw Uprising an the German POW camp in Germany.
He returned to Poland after the war and started organizing resistance
against the communists.
When he learnt that the Allies would not help to liberate Poland from the Soviets he started demobilizing the military underground organization.
It was then, that the communists arrested him.
Â
Pilecki - communist jail mug shots
Â
He was interrogated and tortured for many months. His finger nails were pulled out and his collarbones broken and he could hardly walk.
He never “talkedâ€.
After his process, which was a simple farce, he was sentenced to death by a firing squad.
There was no firing squad though.
The executioners dragged him the basement of the Security Headquarters building, into the boiler room.
He was gagged and could not walk.
They shot him with a single slug into the back of his head. He was buried somewhere on the rubbish tip next to the Powazki Cemetery.
His body was never found.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Israel Attacks the USS Liberty
Israel Attacks the USS Liberty
Israel Attacks the USS Liberty pt 2 of 7
Israel Attacks the USS Liberty pt 3 of 7
Israel Attacks the USS Liberty pt 4 of 7
Israel Attacks the USS Liberty pt 5 of 7
Israel Attacks the USS Liberty pt 6 of 7
Israel Attacks the USS Liberty pt 7 of 7
The "Israel Lobby"
AIPAC: The Israeli Lobby pt 4 of 5
Israel Attacks the USS Liberty pt 2 of 7
Israel Attacks the USS Liberty pt 3 of 7
Israel Attacks the USS Liberty pt 4 of 7
Israel Attacks the USS Liberty pt 5 of 7
Israel Attacks the USS Liberty pt 6 of 7
Israel Attacks the USS Liberty pt 7 of 7
The "Israel Lobby"
AIPAC: The Israeli Lobby pt 4 of 5
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Iran to build a commercial center in Belarus Service: Economy
Iran to build a commercial center in Belarus Service: Economy
1386/12/26
03-16-2008
14:50:11
News Code :8612-14375
ISNA - Tehran
Service: Economy
TEHRAN, March. 16 (ISNA)-Iran started constructing the first Iranian commercial, sports and administrative center in the Belarusian city of Brest.
The center also includes amphitheaters, administrative offices, conference halls and a permanent place for exhibition of Iranian goods.
Sharing borderlines with the European Union, Poland and Ukraine are among the advantages of the center.
The building whose construction costs about 15 million dollars will be run by next two years.
Brest's mayor also encouraged Iranian investors to advocate funds in Brest possessing a unique status.
1386/12/26
03-16-2008
14:50:11
News Code :8612-14375
ISNA - Tehran
Service: Economy
TEHRAN, March. 16 (ISNA)-Iran started constructing the first Iranian commercial, sports and administrative center in the Belarusian city of Brest.
The center also includes amphitheaters, administrative offices, conference halls and a permanent place for exhibition of Iranian goods.
Sharing borderlines with the European Union, Poland and Ukraine are among the advantages of the center.
The building whose construction costs about 15 million dollars will be run by next two years.
Brest's mayor also encouraged Iranian investors to advocate funds in Brest possessing a unique status.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Polish sailing ship detained in Israel
Polish sailing ship detained in Israel
Polish sailing ship detained in Israel
14.03.2008 12:43
The Polish sailing ship ‘Pogoria’, with students from a Warsaw secondary school and their teachers on board, has been detained on the ship in Haifa, a seaport located on Israel's Mediterranean coastline.
STS Pogoria - polski żaglowiec, stalowa, trójmasztowa barkentyna zbudowana w 1980 r. w Stoczni Gdańskiej im. W. Lenina. Ma wymiary: dł. kadłuba 40.9 m, wys. 33.5 m, załoga 7+46 osób. Jest to drugi co do wielkości (na równi z bliźniaczą "Iskrą") wśród obecnie pływających polskich żaglowców. "Pogoria" jest malowana na biało z szerokim niebieskim pasem, czym odróżnia się od "Iskry" z pasem czerwonym.
Zobacz więcej w osobnym artykule: ORP Iskra (1982).
"Pogoria" jest pierwszym dużym żaglowcem zaprojektowanym przez polskiego konstruktora statków - inż. Zygmunta Chorenia i stanowiła pierwowzór dla kilku podobnych jednostek, w budowie których polskie stocznie później się wyspecjalizowały. Były to: "Pogoria", "Iskra" i bułgarska "Kaliakra", a nieco później "Oceania" (eksperymentalny żaglowiec badawczy PAN), oraz "Concordia" wybudowana dla kanadyjskiego armatora w Szczecinie.
Spis treści[ukryj]
1 Historia
2 Geneza nazwy żaglowca:
3 Przypisy
3.1 Linki zewnętrzne
//
Historia [edytuj]
"Pogoria" powstała na zamówienie Telewizji Polskiej (a dokładniej: Radiokomitetu) dla Bractwa Żelaznej Szekli. Bractwo powstało z inicjatywy kpt. Adama Jassera w 1971 r. i dorobiło się z czasem własnej audycji w TV pod nazwą "Latający Holender" prowadzonej przez kpt. Krzysztofa Baranowskiego, który został także pierwszym kapitanem "Pogorii". Znaki przypominające krzyże, które przez wiele lat nosiła "Pogoria" na żaglach rejowych, to cztery skrzyżowane szekle, symbol Bractwa.
Debiut "Pogorii" w regatach Cutty Sark miał miejsce na trasie wyścigu Mon-Karlskrona. Żaglowiec pierwszy minął linię mety, pozostawiając inne jednostki klasy A daleko z tyłu. Zwycięstwo to było bardzo cenne, gdyż "Pogoria" od momentu powstania wzbudzała wiele emocji. Podważano zasadność tak wielkich wydatków w czasach rodzącego się kryzysu gospodarczego. Gdy powstawała u schyłku epoki Gierka, podejrzewano, że jest luksusowym jachtem jednego z największych ówczesnych prominentów, szefa Radiokomitetu - Macieja Szczepańskiego (ksywa "Krwawy Maciuś"). Poważne gazety wypisywały wówczas idiotyzmy o znajdującej się na pokładzie stajni dla koni wyścigowych i oryginałach obrazów Malczewskiego wiszących w luksusowych wnętrzach.
Przed decyzją o sprzedaniu statku uratował "Pogorię" długi rejs, specjalnie wymyślony aby zawistnym ludziom zejść z oczu i aby trochę na siłę znaleźć gospodarcze zastosowanie dla tej jednostki. Była to dość ryzykowna wyprawa na Antarktydę (a dokładniej: do Antarktyki, gdyż samego kontynentu nie planowano osiągnąć,) gdzie żaglowiec spełniał rolę transportowca, przewożąc ludzi i sprzęt dla antarktycznej stacji PAN. Wyprawa odbyła się w dniach 7.12.1980 - 10.04.1981, a jej celem była Polska Stacja Antarktyczna im. Henryka Arctowskiego na Wyspach Króla Jerzego. Jednostka nie posiadała dla żeglugi w lodach ani wystarczającego wyposażenia, ani odpowiedniej konstrukcji - brak tzw. "klasy lodowej". Nie znano np. stateczności statku w przypadku oblodzenia drzewc (co oznaczało nawet kilkaset kilogramów lodu na rejach) w warunkach silnego wiatru, a warunki dla załogi były mało komfortowe jak na tamte akweny. Naukowcy, po długim pobycie na stacji polarnej, byli zmęczeni pracą i sobą nawzajem, i nie mieli ochoty żeglować na "Pogorii". Było to przyczyną niesnasek i problemów między częścią załogi a kadrą. Rejs był nieuzasadniony ekonomicznie (zbyt mała przestrzeń ładunkowa), ale nie o to przecież chodziło. Aczkolwiek naukowców dostarczono za ułamek ceny, którą PAN płacił obsługującym stację statkom towarowym, a ci, którzy odmówili na Stacji wejścia na pokład żaglowca, spóźnili się na święta do kraju płynąc miesiąc później motorowcem.
Rejs zaowocował także wspaniałym, liczącym kilkadziesiąt piosenek śpiewnikiem, którego większość utworów powstała właśnie w trakcie trwania rejsu. Śpiewnik ten ukazuje całą wyprawę w dużo pozytywniejszym świetle. Na uwagę zasługuje fakt, że na spotkanie w 15 rocznicę sławnego rejsu "Pogorii" stawili się w komplecie wszyscy - i załoga, i pasażerowie, a ci, którzy nie mogli przybyć osobiście, słali telegramy z pozdrowieniami.
Poza nietypowymi dla "Pogorii" akwenami podbiegunowymi jednostka okazała się szybka, dzielna i bezpieczna, a ocenę tę potwierdziły następne długie rejsy statku, w tym rejs do Sri Lanki, z opłynięciem po obu stronach Afryki, w pełnym okresie roku szkolnego, z młodzieżą licealną na pokładzie (1983-84), znany jako Szkoła Pod Żaglami (inicjator i kapitan - K.Baranowski), jako że jej uczestnicy godzili zwykłe obowiązki załogi żaglowca (także "psie wachty") z nauką. Była to prawdziwa szkoła charakterów, gdyż wyselekcjonowani z kilku tysięcy zgłoszeń chłopcy, po kilkuetapowych eliminacjach i obozie przygotowawczym, przerabiali, już na morzu, normalny program szkoły średniej, program bez taryfy ulgowej i w dodatku na wysokim poziomie, a część wróciła z ocenami niedostatecznymi (w warunkach lądowych byłyby to oceny co najmniej średnie). W trakcie rejsu żaglowiec zawijał do wielu portów, zarabiając na siebie czarterami, a w tym czasie wolna załoga miała możliwość kilkudniowego zwiedzania okolic.
Sukces Szkoły sprawił, że przedsięwzięciem i statkiem zainteresowali się Kanadyjczycy z West Island College w Montrealu, którzy zorganizowali na jego pokładzie w 1985 r. własną szkołę "Class Afloat". W efekcie tego udanego eksperymentu "Pogoria" w następnych sezonach była przez nich kilkakrotnie dzierżawiona, a w trakcie jednego z rejsów statek opłynął świat. Kanadyjczycy zbudowali w końcu w Szczecinie w 1992 r. własny, bliźniaczy żaglowiec "Concordia".
Kolejnym przedsięwzięciem była wyprawa zorganizowana w formie szkoły w latach 1988-89, z młodzieżą z Polski, USA i ZSRR. "Pogoria" pokonała wtedy trasę dookoła Przylądka Horn, w bardzo trudnych warunkach, płynąc w kierunku ze wschodu na zachód.
Obecnym armatorem żaglowca jest STA Poland (Sail Training Association Poland) - stowarzyszenie zajmujące się morskim szkoleniem (a właściwie wychowaniem) młodzieży.
Sukces "SzpŻ" odbił się szerokim echem, a specjalnością Kpt. Baranowskiego stało się odtąd bądź prowadzenie kolejnych szkół, bądź współpraca przy ich organizowaniu. W 1992 r. powstał dla Fundacji "Międzynarodowa Szkoła Pod Żaglami" s/y "Fryderyk Chopin", na który "Szkoła" przeniosła się z "Pogorii". Na "Pogorii" szkolne wachty odbywają się niemal w ruchu ciągłym - wystarczy obejrzeć "rozkład jazdy" żaglowca w internecie.
Pogoria od 2005 roku bierze udział w regatach Tall Ships' Races. W 2006 roku zajęła 6. miejsce, natomiast w 2007 roku 7. miejsce.
Z inicjatywy dr. Jana Grabskiego z Wydziału Fizyki Politechniki Warszawskiej od trzech lat na pokładzie Pogorii raz do roku odbywa się "Fizyka pod żaglami" mająca na celu propagowanie fizyki poprzez prezentowanie doświadczeń dla zwiedzających żaglowiec. Bierze w niej udział grupa studentów fizyki, a kapitanem jest Adam Jasser. Na finałach Tall Ships' Races 2007 Pogoria otrzymała nagrodę specjalną za ideę "Fizyki pod żaglami".
13 marca 2008 około drugiej w nocy Pogoria zderzyła sie z izraelską łodzią rybacka. Statek został zatrzymany przez izraelską prokuraturę w porcie w Hajfie. Polacy twierdzą, że wina leży po stronie samych poszkodowanych.[1]
Geneza nazwy żaglowca: [edytuj]
Żaglowiec "Pogoria" zwodowano, gdy I sekretarzem KC PZPR był Edward Gierek, pochodzący z Sosnowca, miasta Zagłębia Dąbrowskiego. Z Zagłębia pochodziło też wielu działaczy politycznych i decydentów tamtego okresu, a wśród nich szef Radiokomitetu, pierwszego armatora "Pogorii" - Maciej Szczepański. Na terenie Dąbrowy Górniczej – najrozleglejszego miasta Zagłębia, znajduje się zbiornik wodny - Pogoria I, otoczony kilkunastoma ośrodkami wypoczynkowymi i klubami żeglarskimi. Swoje pierwsze kroki żeglarskie właśnie tutaj stawiał Maciej Szczepański - i stąd właśnie nazwa żaglowca.
When sailing out of the port Pogoria rammed a small fishing boat slightly injuring two Israeli fishermen. According to ship’s crew, the fishermen are to blame for the accident as they failed to put on the warning lights on their boat.
The Haifa port authorities unofficially corroborated this version of events, but the law requires for the matter to be duly investigated.
None of the Poles were arrested but for the time being they have to remain on board, as their passports were taken away and they do not have Israeli visas.
Pogoria will probably be able to sail out of Haifa on Monday, once insurance issues have been settled.
Experience the thrill of sailing on a style of vessel that conquered the oceans of the world. From the beginning of world exploration, till the age a steam, these tall ships evolved to the pinnacle of sail technology. Many of the records set by the lumber and tea clippers of yesteryear still stand, a testament to man's ingenuity and engineering.
Ten thousand square feet of sail, a sight to behold.
All photographs courtesy of Capt. Adam Jasser.
Most of their numbers are gone, yet a few are still sailing as training vessels and still other are being commissioned to keep the spirit alive. The ship Pogoria was built in 1980 for the IRON SHACKLE FRATERNITY - a marine educational project which was conceived and founded by Captain Adam Jasser in 1971. The project was later sponsored by the Polish National Television , the TV Magazine : FLYING DUTCHMAN. The current owner and operator of Sail Training Ship (STS) POGORIA is the Sail Training Association Poland, which is a national branch of the famous British organization, The International Sail Training Association. The Sail Training Association Poland made Captain Adam Jasser their honorary member one.
One of the berths aboard the Pogoria
At 154 feet overall with accommodations for up to 50 crew and students. The vessel can be provisioned for 30 days or more. The Pogoria is 342 gross tons with a beam of 26 feet and a draft of 11 feet, carrying more than 10,700 square feet of sail and will reach speeds of 15 knots. It is not uncommon for the Pogoria to average more than 250 nautical miles in 24 hours.
During the Cutty Sark Tall Ships Race '02 from Malaga to La Coruna Spain, I sailed on the tallship STS "Pogoria". The tallship was a 148 foot three-masted Barquentine with a square rig on its first mast. The sail, which lasted 11 days, included the passage through the Straight of Gibraltar and sailing around the Cape St. Vincent. I lived and worked with 40 trainees. Some of my duties included galley work, helping the cook, standing on watch at the helm and the navigation table, keeping the ship's log, trimming the sails, and keeping the ship clean. The greatest thing I had to do was going aloft and handling the square sails.
14.03.2008 12:43
The Polish sailing ship ‘Pogoria’, with students from a Warsaw secondary school and their teachers on board, has been detained on the ship in Haifa, a seaport located on Israel's Mediterranean coastline.
STS Pogoria - polski żaglowiec, stalowa, trójmasztowa barkentyna zbudowana w 1980 r. w Stoczni Gdańskiej im. W. Lenina. Ma wymiary: dł. kadłuba 40.9 m, wys. 33.5 m, załoga 7+46 osób. Jest to drugi co do wielkości (na równi z bliźniaczą "Iskrą") wśród obecnie pływających polskich żaglowców. "Pogoria" jest malowana na biało z szerokim niebieskim pasem, czym odróżnia się od "Iskry" z pasem czerwonym.
Zobacz więcej w osobnym artykule: ORP Iskra (1982).
"Pogoria" jest pierwszym dużym żaglowcem zaprojektowanym przez polskiego konstruktora statków - inż. Zygmunta Chorenia i stanowiła pierwowzór dla kilku podobnych jednostek, w budowie których polskie stocznie później się wyspecjalizowały. Były to: "Pogoria", "Iskra" i bułgarska "Kaliakra", a nieco później "Oceania" (eksperymentalny żaglowiec badawczy PAN), oraz "Concordia" wybudowana dla kanadyjskiego armatora w Szczecinie.
Spis treści[ukryj]
1 Historia
2 Geneza nazwy żaglowca:
3 Przypisy
3.1 Linki zewnętrzne
//
Historia [edytuj]
"Pogoria" powstała na zamówienie Telewizji Polskiej (a dokładniej: Radiokomitetu) dla Bractwa Żelaznej Szekli. Bractwo powstało z inicjatywy kpt. Adama Jassera w 1971 r. i dorobiło się z czasem własnej audycji w TV pod nazwą "Latający Holender" prowadzonej przez kpt. Krzysztofa Baranowskiego, który został także pierwszym kapitanem "Pogorii". Znaki przypominające krzyże, które przez wiele lat nosiła "Pogoria" na żaglach rejowych, to cztery skrzyżowane szekle, symbol Bractwa.
Debiut "Pogorii" w regatach Cutty Sark miał miejsce na trasie wyścigu Mon-Karlskrona. Żaglowiec pierwszy minął linię mety, pozostawiając inne jednostki klasy A daleko z tyłu. Zwycięstwo to było bardzo cenne, gdyż "Pogoria" od momentu powstania wzbudzała wiele emocji. Podważano zasadność tak wielkich wydatków w czasach rodzącego się kryzysu gospodarczego. Gdy powstawała u schyłku epoki Gierka, podejrzewano, że jest luksusowym jachtem jednego z największych ówczesnych prominentów, szefa Radiokomitetu - Macieja Szczepańskiego (ksywa "Krwawy Maciuś"). Poważne gazety wypisywały wówczas idiotyzmy o znajdującej się na pokładzie stajni dla koni wyścigowych i oryginałach obrazów Malczewskiego wiszących w luksusowych wnętrzach.
Przed decyzją o sprzedaniu statku uratował "Pogorię" długi rejs, specjalnie wymyślony aby zawistnym ludziom zejść z oczu i aby trochę na siłę znaleźć gospodarcze zastosowanie dla tej jednostki. Była to dość ryzykowna wyprawa na Antarktydę (a dokładniej: do Antarktyki, gdyż samego kontynentu nie planowano osiągnąć,) gdzie żaglowiec spełniał rolę transportowca, przewożąc ludzi i sprzęt dla antarktycznej stacji PAN. Wyprawa odbyła się w dniach 7.12.1980 - 10.04.1981, a jej celem była Polska Stacja Antarktyczna im. Henryka Arctowskiego na Wyspach Króla Jerzego. Jednostka nie posiadała dla żeglugi w lodach ani wystarczającego wyposażenia, ani odpowiedniej konstrukcji - brak tzw. "klasy lodowej". Nie znano np. stateczności statku w przypadku oblodzenia drzewc (co oznaczało nawet kilkaset kilogramów lodu na rejach) w warunkach silnego wiatru, a warunki dla załogi były mało komfortowe jak na tamte akweny. Naukowcy, po długim pobycie na stacji polarnej, byli zmęczeni pracą i sobą nawzajem, i nie mieli ochoty żeglować na "Pogorii". Było to przyczyną niesnasek i problemów między częścią załogi a kadrą. Rejs był nieuzasadniony ekonomicznie (zbyt mała przestrzeń ładunkowa), ale nie o to przecież chodziło. Aczkolwiek naukowców dostarczono za ułamek ceny, którą PAN płacił obsługującym stację statkom towarowym, a ci, którzy odmówili na Stacji wejścia na pokład żaglowca, spóźnili się na święta do kraju płynąc miesiąc później motorowcem.
Rejs zaowocował także wspaniałym, liczącym kilkadziesiąt piosenek śpiewnikiem, którego większość utworów powstała właśnie w trakcie trwania rejsu. Śpiewnik ten ukazuje całą wyprawę w dużo pozytywniejszym świetle. Na uwagę zasługuje fakt, że na spotkanie w 15 rocznicę sławnego rejsu "Pogorii" stawili się w komplecie wszyscy - i załoga, i pasażerowie, a ci, którzy nie mogli przybyć osobiście, słali telegramy z pozdrowieniami.
Poza nietypowymi dla "Pogorii" akwenami podbiegunowymi jednostka okazała się szybka, dzielna i bezpieczna, a ocenę tę potwierdziły następne długie rejsy statku, w tym rejs do Sri Lanki, z opłynięciem po obu stronach Afryki, w pełnym okresie roku szkolnego, z młodzieżą licealną na pokładzie (1983-84), znany jako Szkoła Pod Żaglami (inicjator i kapitan - K.Baranowski), jako że jej uczestnicy godzili zwykłe obowiązki załogi żaglowca (także "psie wachty") z nauką. Była to prawdziwa szkoła charakterów, gdyż wyselekcjonowani z kilku tysięcy zgłoszeń chłopcy, po kilkuetapowych eliminacjach i obozie przygotowawczym, przerabiali, już na morzu, normalny program szkoły średniej, program bez taryfy ulgowej i w dodatku na wysokim poziomie, a część wróciła z ocenami niedostatecznymi (w warunkach lądowych byłyby to oceny co najmniej średnie). W trakcie rejsu żaglowiec zawijał do wielu portów, zarabiając na siebie czarterami, a w tym czasie wolna załoga miała możliwość kilkudniowego zwiedzania okolic.
Sukces Szkoły sprawił, że przedsięwzięciem i statkiem zainteresowali się Kanadyjczycy z West Island College w Montrealu, którzy zorganizowali na jego pokładzie w 1985 r. własną szkołę "Class Afloat". W efekcie tego udanego eksperymentu "Pogoria" w następnych sezonach była przez nich kilkakrotnie dzierżawiona, a w trakcie jednego z rejsów statek opłynął świat. Kanadyjczycy zbudowali w końcu w Szczecinie w 1992 r. własny, bliźniaczy żaglowiec "Concordia".
Kolejnym przedsięwzięciem była wyprawa zorganizowana w formie szkoły w latach 1988-89, z młodzieżą z Polski, USA i ZSRR. "Pogoria" pokonała wtedy trasę dookoła Przylądka Horn, w bardzo trudnych warunkach, płynąc w kierunku ze wschodu na zachód.
Obecnym armatorem żaglowca jest STA Poland (Sail Training Association Poland) - stowarzyszenie zajmujące się morskim szkoleniem (a właściwie wychowaniem) młodzieży.
Sukces "SzpŻ" odbił się szerokim echem, a specjalnością Kpt. Baranowskiego stało się odtąd bądź prowadzenie kolejnych szkół, bądź współpraca przy ich organizowaniu. W 1992 r. powstał dla Fundacji "Międzynarodowa Szkoła Pod Żaglami" s/y "Fryderyk Chopin", na który "Szkoła" przeniosła się z "Pogorii". Na "Pogorii" szkolne wachty odbywają się niemal w ruchu ciągłym - wystarczy obejrzeć "rozkład jazdy" żaglowca w internecie.
Pogoria od 2005 roku bierze udział w regatach Tall Ships' Races. W 2006 roku zajęła 6. miejsce, natomiast w 2007 roku 7. miejsce.
Z inicjatywy dr. Jana Grabskiego z Wydziału Fizyki Politechniki Warszawskiej od trzech lat na pokładzie Pogorii raz do roku odbywa się "Fizyka pod żaglami" mająca na celu propagowanie fizyki poprzez prezentowanie doświadczeń dla zwiedzających żaglowiec. Bierze w niej udział grupa studentów fizyki, a kapitanem jest Adam Jasser. Na finałach Tall Ships' Races 2007 Pogoria otrzymała nagrodę specjalną za ideę "Fizyki pod żaglami".
13 marca 2008 około drugiej w nocy Pogoria zderzyła sie z izraelską łodzią rybacka. Statek został zatrzymany przez izraelską prokuraturę w porcie w Hajfie. Polacy twierdzą, że wina leży po stronie samych poszkodowanych.[1]
Geneza nazwy żaglowca: [edytuj]
Żaglowiec "Pogoria" zwodowano, gdy I sekretarzem KC PZPR był Edward Gierek, pochodzący z Sosnowca, miasta Zagłębia Dąbrowskiego. Z Zagłębia pochodziło też wielu działaczy politycznych i decydentów tamtego okresu, a wśród nich szef Radiokomitetu, pierwszego armatora "Pogorii" - Maciej Szczepański. Na terenie Dąbrowy Górniczej – najrozleglejszego miasta Zagłębia, znajduje się zbiornik wodny - Pogoria I, otoczony kilkunastoma ośrodkami wypoczynkowymi i klubami żeglarskimi. Swoje pierwsze kroki żeglarskie właśnie tutaj stawiał Maciej Szczepański - i stąd właśnie nazwa żaglowca.
When sailing out of the port Pogoria rammed a small fishing boat slightly injuring two Israeli fishermen. According to ship’s crew, the fishermen are to blame for the accident as they failed to put on the warning lights on their boat.
The Haifa port authorities unofficially corroborated this version of events, but the law requires for the matter to be duly investigated.
None of the Poles were arrested but for the time being they have to remain on board, as their passports were taken away and they do not have Israeli visas.
Pogoria will probably be able to sail out of Haifa on Monday, once insurance issues have been settled.
Experience the thrill of sailing on a style of vessel that conquered the oceans of the world. From the beginning of world exploration, till the age a steam, these tall ships evolved to the pinnacle of sail technology. Many of the records set by the lumber and tea clippers of yesteryear still stand, a testament to man's ingenuity and engineering.
Ten thousand square feet of sail, a sight to behold.
All photographs courtesy of Capt. Adam Jasser.
Most of their numbers are gone, yet a few are still sailing as training vessels and still other are being commissioned to keep the spirit alive. The ship Pogoria was built in 1980 for the IRON SHACKLE FRATERNITY - a marine educational project which was conceived and founded by Captain Adam Jasser in 1971. The project was later sponsored by the Polish National Television , the TV Magazine : FLYING DUTCHMAN. The current owner and operator of Sail Training Ship (STS) POGORIA is the Sail Training Association Poland, which is a national branch of the famous British organization, The International Sail Training Association. The Sail Training Association Poland made Captain Adam Jasser their honorary member one.
One of the berths aboard the Pogoria
At 154 feet overall with accommodations for up to 50 crew and students. The vessel can be provisioned for 30 days or more. The Pogoria is 342 gross tons with a beam of 26 feet and a draft of 11 feet, carrying more than 10,700 square feet of sail and will reach speeds of 15 knots. It is not uncommon for the Pogoria to average more than 250 nautical miles in 24 hours.
During the Cutty Sark Tall Ships Race '02 from Malaga to La Coruna Spain, I sailed on the tallship STS "Pogoria". The tallship was a 148 foot three-masted Barquentine with a square rig on its first mast. The sail, which lasted 11 days, included the passage through the Straight of Gibraltar and sailing around the Cape St. Vincent. I lived and worked with 40 trainees. Some of my duties included galley work, helping the cook, standing on watch at the helm and the navigation table, keeping the ship's log, trimming the sails, and keeping the ship clean. The greatest thing I had to do was going aloft and handling the square sails.
z prof. Normanem G. Finkelsteinem, autorem głośnej książki The Holocaust Industry, rozmawia Jan M. Fijor
z prof. Normanem G. Finkelsteinem, autorem głośnej książki The Holocaust Industry, rozmawia Jan M. Fijor
Uzurpatorzy
- Panie profesorze, jakie związki łączą Pana z Polską?
- Moi przodkowie byli polskimi Żydami, w Polsce urodzili się moi rodzice, mieszkali w Warszawie, ich ostatnim miejscem zamieszkania do 1943 roku, czyli do czasu przymusowego przeniesienia do getta, był ich własny dom przy ulicy Miłej, pod dziewiętnastym. Moja mama była absolwentką wydziału matematycznego Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, ojciec zajmował się interesami. Posiadali w Polsce jakieś sklepy, manufakturę, nieruchomości... W czasie wojny wszystko to stracili. Holokaust przeżyli, lecz z Polski wyemigrowali, ja już urodziłem się w Stanach Zjednoczonych... Nigdy jeszcze w Polsce nie byłem.
- Czy Pan, Pańska rodzina, rościcie sobie pretensje do majątku pozostawionego w Polsce?
- Absolutnie nie...
- Dlaczego? Przecież to był wasz legalny majątek, Pan byłby jego spadkobiercą... Nieruchomość w centrum Warszawy to dzisiaj duże pieniądze.
- Takie roszczenia nie mają sensu. Większość majątku należącego niegdyś do mojej rodziny uległa w czasie wojny zniszczeniu. Wprawdzie po wojnie został on częściowo odtworzony, lecz myśmy w tej restauracji nie brali udziału. Trudno więc ocenić nasz rzeczywisty w nim udział. Nie płaciliśmy podatków, nie konserwowaliśmy tego majątku... Sprawa uległa przedawnieniu...
- To jest słaby argument. Władza ludowa wam majątek skonfiskowała, więc o zaległościach podatkowych nie ma mowy. Co prawda zaraz po upaństwowieniu, po konfiskacie majątku, należało decyzję komunistów zaskarżyć w sądzie, ale nawet gdybyście polski rząd wzięli do sądu, to i tak własność nie zostałaby wam przywrócona... W takiej sytuacji trudno mówić także o przedawnieniu. Moim zdaniem, nawet średnio zdolny adwokat jest w stanie udowodnić pańskie prawo do roszczeń majątkowych wobec władz Polski...
- Ale ja tego nie chcę. Nie tylko ja, znakomita większość ofiar holokaustu nie zamierza ani doprowadzać Polski do gospodarczej ruiny, ani tym bardziej pozbawiać polskie dzieci przedszkoli, szkół czy parków? Bo do tego sprowadziłaby się restytucja naszego mienia.
- Skoro tak, na jakiej podstawie Światowy Kongres Żydowski (WJC) skierował w początkach grudnia do sądu w Nowym Jorku pozew przeciwko państwu polskiemu o odszkodowanie za majątek utracony przez Żydów, ofiary holokaustu w Polsce?
- Takiej podstawy nie ma. Nikt im nie dał prawa do reprezentowania ofiar holokaustu. Jeśli ja nie chcę się o ten majątek upominać, to tym bardziej nie chcę, aby robił to ktoś rzekomo w moim imieniu.
- Czy WJC działa z upoważnienia ofiar holokaustu?
- Skądże! To jest czysta uzurpacja! Hucpa! Gdyby Kongres reprezentował ofiary holokaustu, odzyskane mienie czy odszkodowania zostałyby przekazane właśnie im. Tymczasem wiadomo, że do ofiar holokaustu dociera zaledwie ułamek tego, co Kongres Żydowski dotychczas uzyskał.
- Kilka dni temu prasa doniosła jednak, że sąd federalny w Nowym Jorku zatwierdził sposób wypłaty odszkodowań dla tych wszystkich, którzy ucierpieli z powodu przymusowej pracy w niemieckich fabrykach, będących własnością Szwajcarów, lub zostali oszukani przez szwajcarskich bankierów. Wynika z niego, że gros funduszy z odszkodowań przekazanych zostanie jednak ofiarom holokaustu...
- To nieprawda! Posiadam dokumenty świadczące o tym, że do ofiar holokaustu dotrze, w najlepszym razie, może 3 do 5 proc. z wymuszonych na Szwajcarach, prawie 1,5 mld dol. Ponadto pieniądze te wypłaca się w takim tempie, że wielu ich adresatów do wypłaty nie dożyje. Przecież to są w większości ludzie w podeszłym wieku.
- A pozostałe 95 proc., co się stanie z resztą pieniędzy?
- Znajdą się na dziwnych kontach dziwnych fundacji, czyli praktycznie w kieszeniach aktywistów Kongresu Żydowskiego. Ta cała akcja odszkodowań dla Żydów to jeden wielki rabunek!
- Nie powie mi Pan, że ludzie tego nie wiedzą. Jeśli jest tak, jak Pan pisze w "Holocaust Industry", to dlaczego w środowisku żydowskim nie wrze? Nie uwierzę, żeby Żydzi, naród mądry, wykształcony i tak ciężko doświadczony, godzili się tak łatwo na ten rabunek!
- Większość jest niezorientowana, nie wiedzą, o co toczy się gra. Inni udają, że nie wiedzą. Jeszcze innych to nie interesuje albo uważają, że nie ma po co wyważać drzwi. W końcu Niemcom się to należało, bo naziści tę wojnę rozpętali, Szwajcarzy na krzywdę żydowską nie reagowali, zaś Polacy to naród antysemitów, nie lubią Żydów, więc nie ma sensu ich żałować. Dużą rolę odgrywa żydowski szownizm, solidarność etniczna, narodowa. W końcu to Żydzi cierpieli, nikt inny. Nam się te pieniądze należą. Jeśli więc pozostają w rękach żydowskich, o co kruszyć kopie? Zresztą gdyby nawet ktoś chciał zaprotestować, w walce ze Światowym Kongresem Żydowskim nie ma szans. Ich wspiera prasa, telewizja, życzliwa jest im administracja Clintona, bankierzy, sądy - to jest ogromna siła, która może złamać każdego. Ludzie sie ich boją.
- Jaka była reakcja środowiska żydowskiego na Pańską książkę?
- Kierownictwo WJC ją zignorowało, nabrali wody w usta, wysyłając gdzieniegdzie sygnały, że to, co napisałem, to nieprawda. Starają się przylepić książce etykietkę "antyżydowskiej" albo przeznaczonej dla środowisk... antysemickich. Jednakże dla 90 proc. czytelników żydowskich książka była szokiem. Widać to choćby po listach, jakie od nich otrzymuję. Spotykam się co prawda z opiniami negatywnymi, że kalam własne gniazdo, że jestem pieniaczem, ale generalnie komentarze są mi życzliwe i przyjazne. W oczach znakomitej większości czytelników żydowskich, w tym w oczach ofiar holokaustu, książka spotkała się z uznaniem; wielu piszących do mnie Żydów prosi, abym więcej na temat holokaustu publikował.
- Czy dostaje Pan listy z pogróżkami?
- Niewiele, i co ciekawe, nie są to listy od Żydów, ich autorami są przeważnie niemieccy neonaziści.
- Jak się książka sprzedaje?
- W Europie, a szczególnie w Niemczech, dość dobrze. W Stanach Zjednoczonych jest nieco gorzej, ale sprzedaż rośnie. Na pewno nie jest to bestseller...
- Czy "Holocaust Industry" jest bojkotowana?
- Może należałoby powiedzieć: przemilczana lub zignorowana, zwłaszcza przez takie opiniotwórcze tytuły, jak "New York Times", "Washington Post". Trudno się jednak dziwić, skoro i one są częścią spisku, który ja nazwałem Holokaustowym biznesem ("Holocaust Industry"), a który na tragedii Żydów robią dzisiaj ogromne pieniądze.
- Panie Profesorze, ile ofiar holokaustu żyje do dzisiaj?
- Moim zdaniem ok. 25 tysięcy, choć Kongres Żydowski twierdzi, że jest ich ponad milion. Na potrzeby "holokaustowego biznesu" sfabrykowano dokumenty dowodzące rzekomo takiej liczby, ale jest ona wyssana z palca. Dla uzasadnienia nacisków na Szwajcarię, Niemcy, a teraz Polskę, skromne "25 tysięcy" brzmiałoby śmiesznie. Aby uzasadnić grabież miliardów dolarów, potrzebne były wielkie liczby.
- Przed sądem trzeba to było jednak jakoś udokumentować...
- W tym celu przyjęto wyjątkowo "elastyczną" definicję "ofiary holokaustu". Jest nią - według działaczy WJC - każdy Żyd, który przeżył II wojnę światową. Ofiarą holokaustu jest więc nie tylko więzień Auschwitz czy Majdanka, lecz także żydowski oficer Armii Czerwonej lub NKWD czy nawet legitymujący się żydowskim pochodzeniem - byli tacy - oficer Wehrmachtu, pod warunkiem, że przeżyli oni wojnę. Gdyby Kaganowicz żył do naszych czasów, też byłby ofiarą holokaustu!
- Kto, poza działaczami Kongresu, ma kontrolę nad wydatkowaniem pieniędzy pochodzących z odszkodowań?
- Nikt, choć mnie się na przykład udało dotrzeć do dokumentów, do prawdziwych liczb. Opublikowałem je w Holocaust Industry...
- Panowie Bronfman, Singer czy Sultanik mogą się o to na pana gniewać, muszą jednak w jakiś sposób kwoty te wytłumaczyć. Pieniądze nie mogą ot, tak sobie, zniknąć...
- Zniknąć nie, ale można je odłożyć "na inny cel". Utworzono przy Kongresie tzw. fundusz medyczny dla ofiar holokaustu, który ma finansować ich leczenie, pomoc medyczną w latach... 2030-2035. Komu ta rezerwa służy? Przyszłym pokoleniom ofiar holokaustu? Przecież to absurd zakładać, że w 90 lat po wojnie będą jeszcze żyły jej ofiary! Tworzy się więc fikcję, która ma uzasadnić rabunek. A przy okazji jest argument wobec tych nielicznych, którzy odważyli się Światowy Kongres Żydowski z odszkodowań rozliczyć. Dlaczego wypłacono ofiarom tak mało? Ponieważ stworzono "fundusze rezerwowe" na ich rzecz. Tymczasem tu o żadne ofiary nie chodzi. Liczą się jedynie korzyści osobiste aktywistów WJC! Tej bandzie zachłannych cyników nie zależy ani na prawdzie historycznej, ani na pomocy ofiarom, im chodzi tylko o pieniądze! Dla nich nie cofną się przed żadnym trickiem, łgarstwem czy fałszerstwem.
- Czy na nich nie ma jednak prawa? Czy nie można im dowieść defraudacji?
- To są wszystko procesy cywilne, skoro druga strona się zgodziła zapłacić, to jej problem. Stroną atakującą jest grupa wyjątkowo przebiegłych ludzi, którzy wykorzystując bezprecedensową tragedię narodu, naginają prawo do własnych celów. Po swojej stronie mają skorumpowane media, najlepszych adwokatów, sądy, przekupnych polityków. To szczwane lisy. Nie udało się z nimi wygrać Szwajcarom, nie udało się Niemcom... Szwajcarzy walczyli o sprawiedliwość trzy lata, próbowali protestować, argumentować, negocjować i co? Poddali się! Wypłacili łobuzom z World Jewish Congress lekką ręką prawie 1,5 mld dol.
- A ile, Pana zdaniem, Żydom się należało?
- Co najwyżej 100-150 mln dol.!
- Plus odsetki za 50 lat...
- Nie, to już jest razem z odsetkami! Pamiętajmy, że większość wschodnioeuropejskich Żydów przed wojną to byli ludzie ubodzy. W latach 30. prawie jedna trzecia z nich nie zarabiała więcej niż 100 dol. rocznie. Wielu nie posiadało kont bankowych w krajach zamieszkania, a co dopiero w Szwajcarii. Prawie 25 proc. Żydów żyło na skraju nędzy, od głodu ratowały ich tylko amerykańskie organizacje charytatywne...
- A mimo to Szwajcarzy zapłacili?
- Co mieli robić? WJC to groźny przeciwnik, wystraszyli się.
- A Niemcy?
- Niemcy poddali się znacznie szybciej, bo już po roku wysupłali ponad 6 mld.
- Niemcy dopuścili się straszliwej zbrodni, ja ich nie żałuję!
- Ile razy można odpowiadać za to samo przestępstwo? Niemcy płacą Żydom od 1952 roku, łącznie więc wypłacili już 50 mld dol.
- Następna na liście Kongresu Żydowskiego jest Polska. Czy wie Pan, czego się od nas WJC domaga?
- Oficjalnie dowiemy się tego 14 grudnia w Nowym Jorku, podczas pierwszego przesłuchania świadków. Domyślam się jednak, że World Jewish Congress skarżyć będzie Polskę o ok. 65 mld dol.! Na tyle szacują oni wartość mienia, które po wojnie pozostało po polskich Żydach.
- Polski na takie odszkodowanie nie stać.
- Tych ludzi to nie obchodzi. Wiedzą wprawdzie, że w przypadku Polski będzie im nieco trudniej, bo biedna, ale i tak swoje dostaną...
- A jeśli Polacy im nie dadzą?
- To ich do tego przymuszą!
- W jaki sposób?
- Bojkot ekonomiczny Polski i Polaków, konfiskata polskiego majątku za granicą, a zwłaszcza naciski na niektóre kraje Unii Europejskiej - głównie Anglię i Niemcy - aby nie zgadzały się na przyjęcie Polski do wspólnoty.
- Dlaczego wytoczono Polsce proces w Nowym Jorku?
- Bo tutaj łatwiej wygrać; swój sąd, swoi sędziowie, adwokaci...
- Kongres nie ma upoważnienia prawowitych właścicieli do występowania w ich imieniu. Poza tym, co to znaczy "własność żydowska"? Nie ma takiej własności. Nie ma też własności plemiennej! Właścicielem mógł być Rosenkrantz, Bauman, Somer, obywatele polscy, Polacy, a nie wszyscy Żydzi.
- To naiwność myśleć w ten sposób. Jeśli będzie trzeba, to ci złodzieje są gotowi sprowadzić do sądu Eastern District w Nowym Jorku tłumy ludzi, którzy przysięgną, że właśnie tak ma być, że upoważnili Kongres do takiego działania. Polacy to przecież znani antysemici, każdy sąd stanie po stronie rzekomych ofiar holokaustu. Konfrontacja jedynie sytuację pogorszy.
- Czy zatem Polska ma zbankrutować?
- Absolutnie nie! Mówiłem już o tym w wywiadzie dla innej polskiej gazety. Z chwilą, gdy "banda Bronfmana" ruszy do ataku, Polacy powinni zebrać grupę kilkudziesięciu życzliwych Polsce Żydów, ofiar holokaustu, którzy podpiszą się pod całostronnicowym ogłoszeniem w "New York Times", iż rezygnują z jakichkolwiek roszczeń majątkowych wobec Polski. Takich ludzi nie brakuje, sam pomogę w ich znalezieniu, sam się pod tym ogloszeniem podpiszę. W Izraelu mieszka wielu polskich Żydów, duża ich część myśli tak jak ja. Jest tam prof. Izrael Szahak, dla którego prawda historyczna ma wartość większą niż pieniądze. Takich ludzi trzeba zmobilizować do walki z łotrami spod znaku WJC. Pokazanie światu, że roszczenia WJC są bezzasadne, że nawet ofiary się ich zrzekają, że Kongres żydowski jest uzurpatorem, że działa bez upoważnienia ze strony ofiar - to ich obezwładni. Innego wyjścia dla Polski nie ma. Traktowanie ich jak partnerów, rozpoczęcie dialogu będzie równoznaczne z przegraną.
Równocześnie Polacy muszą zacząć negocjować z polskimi gminami żydowskimi, które są spadkobierczyniami majątku znajdującego się przed wojną w rękach żydowskich instytucji religijnych. Jeśli komuś należy się odszkodowanie, to właśnie im, a nie Światowemu Kongresowi Żydów! Na tyle, na ile Polaków stać, trzeba tym gminom i ich członkom, których jest dzisiaj niewiele ponad trzy tysiące, pomóc. Tak, aby pokazać światu, że Polacy starają się zadośćuczynić cierpieniom czy stratom swoich obywateli. W miejsce 3 mln nieruchomości, o które upomina się WJC, stworzona zostanie symboliczna rekompensata. To nie jest trudne czy niemożliwe. Chciałbym, aby Polacy wiedzieli, że porządni, prawdziwi Żydzi nie chcą Polski rujnować, nie chcą mieć także nic wspólnego z grupą szantażystów i awanturników...
- Boję się jednak, że pośród amerykańskich Żydów ludzie, tacy jak Pan, stanowią wyjątek.
- Jest ich więcej niż się panu wydaje. W opublikowanej w ostatnim numerze "First Things" recenzji mojej ksiązki wybitny historyk żydowski prof. William D. Rubinstein przestrzega przed utożsamianiem faktu lokalizacji obozów koncentracyjnych na terenie Polski, z uprawianiem przez Polaków ludobójstwa. Rubinstein przypomina, że z tego samego powodu, niższości rasowej, Niemcy mordowali zarówno Żydów, jak i Polaków. W odniesieniu zaś do zgłaszanych przez WJC roszczeń majątkowych pisze, że wprawdzie polscy komuniści konfiskowali majątek Żydom, robili to jednak nie dlatego, że byli oni Żydami, lecz dlatego, że byli kapitalistami. Z tego samego powodu konfiskowano majątek gojów - kapitalistów. Rubinstein pisze wyraźnie, iż nie widzi najmniejszego powodu, aby polski rząd miał wypłacić komukolwiek choćby jednego centa.
- Nie przeszkadza to nowojorskiemu radnemu, p. Dov Hikindowi, Żydowi z Brooklynu, rozgłaszać zmyślenia na temat rozboju, jakiego ofiarą stali się w Polsce Żydzi. Jak takie argumenty obalać?
- Trzeba się spytać p. Hikinda czy równie energicznie domagać się będzie restytucji majątku palestyńskiego w Izraelu? Jeśli domaga się, aby Polacy płacili "martwym", to przecież tym bardziej powinien ulitować się nad losem "żywych" Palestyńczyków, których Izrael wyeksmitował z ich własnej ziemi. Pan Hikind nie może stosować innego standardu wobec Polaków, a innego wobec Żydów.
- Pan Hikind nie jest wyjątkiem. W tym samym mniej więcej czasie "akademik", z uniwersytetu w Honolulu, prof. R. Rummel, stwierdził, iż Polacy są narodem "metamorderców", że mamy na sumieniu prawie 2 mln zamordowanych w latach 1945-1949, Niemców, Żydów i Ukraińców. Co Pan na ten temat sądzi?
- Uważam, że to nieprawda, ale gdyby nawet tak było, to co? Niech mi prof. Rummel pokaże naród, który w sytuacjach zagrożeń, w sytuacjach ekstremalnych nie zabijał. Ilu Indian zginęło podczas kolonizacji Ameryki? Ile istnień ludzkich mają na sumieniu Brytyjczycy? Albo Francuzi? Ilu Irlandczyków zginęło z rąk Anglików, i odwrotnie? Nie oskarżajmy innych, spójrzmy na siebie. A ilu Palestyńczyków wymordowali Izraelczycy? Co się dzieje w Izraelu? Izraelscy żołnierze strzelają w oczy palestyńskim chłopcom, mordują dzieci, eksterminują naród za to tylko, że domaga się godnego traktowania. Nie zapomijamy, że to Żydzi są w Palestynie gośćmi; Palestyńczycy są u siebie...
- A Judea, Galilea, Jerozolima - to nie są ziemie żydowskie?
- Nie można dzisiaj posługiwać sie geografią sprzed dwóch czy trzech tysięcy lat. Biblia nie może być traktowana jak załącznik do traktatu terytorialnego. Współczesne konflikty ekonomiczne czy polityczne muszą być rozwiązywane przy użyciu współczesnych metod czy narzędzi. Status quo sprzed 2 tys. lat się nie liczy. Przecież, rozumując w taki sposób, Żydzi mogliby sobie rościć pretensje do Afryki Wschodniej skąd się etnicznie wywodzą. Tymczasem mają oni do Palestyny nie więcej praw niż ja mam w stosunku do Stanów Zjednoczonych. To, co robi dzisiaj Izrael, jest godne napiętnowania. Z tym, że jakiekolwiek głosy potępienia izraelskiego ludobójstwa traktowane są jako przejaw antysemityzmu. Dużo mógłby na ten temat powiedzieć prof. Izrael Szahak.
- Kiedy ukaże się polska edycja Pańskiej książki?
- Szczerze powiedziawszy, nie wiem. Książka miała być na rynku we wrześniu, od tego czasu nie mam wiadomości ani od wydawcy brytyjskiego, ani od polskiego. Mam jednak nadzieję, że wydanie nastąpi niedługo. Miałbym wreszcie okazję do odwiedzin Polski.
- Proszę czuć się już dziś zaproszonym. Dziękuję za rozmowę.
Uzurpatorzy
- Panie profesorze, jakie związki łączą Pana z Polską?
- Moi przodkowie byli polskimi Żydami, w Polsce urodzili się moi rodzice, mieszkali w Warszawie, ich ostatnim miejscem zamieszkania do 1943 roku, czyli do czasu przymusowego przeniesienia do getta, był ich własny dom przy ulicy Miłej, pod dziewiętnastym. Moja mama była absolwentką wydziału matematycznego Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, ojciec zajmował się interesami. Posiadali w Polsce jakieś sklepy, manufakturę, nieruchomości... W czasie wojny wszystko to stracili. Holokaust przeżyli, lecz z Polski wyemigrowali, ja już urodziłem się w Stanach Zjednoczonych... Nigdy jeszcze w Polsce nie byłem.
- Czy Pan, Pańska rodzina, rościcie sobie pretensje do majątku pozostawionego w Polsce?
- Absolutnie nie...
- Dlaczego? Przecież to był wasz legalny majątek, Pan byłby jego spadkobiercą... Nieruchomość w centrum Warszawy to dzisiaj duże pieniądze.
- Takie roszczenia nie mają sensu. Większość majątku należącego niegdyś do mojej rodziny uległa w czasie wojny zniszczeniu. Wprawdzie po wojnie został on częściowo odtworzony, lecz myśmy w tej restauracji nie brali udziału. Trudno więc ocenić nasz rzeczywisty w nim udział. Nie płaciliśmy podatków, nie konserwowaliśmy tego majątku... Sprawa uległa przedawnieniu...
- To jest słaby argument. Władza ludowa wam majątek skonfiskowała, więc o zaległościach podatkowych nie ma mowy. Co prawda zaraz po upaństwowieniu, po konfiskacie majątku, należało decyzję komunistów zaskarżyć w sądzie, ale nawet gdybyście polski rząd wzięli do sądu, to i tak własność nie zostałaby wam przywrócona... W takiej sytuacji trudno mówić także o przedawnieniu. Moim zdaniem, nawet średnio zdolny adwokat jest w stanie udowodnić pańskie prawo do roszczeń majątkowych wobec władz Polski...
- Ale ja tego nie chcę. Nie tylko ja, znakomita większość ofiar holokaustu nie zamierza ani doprowadzać Polski do gospodarczej ruiny, ani tym bardziej pozbawiać polskie dzieci przedszkoli, szkół czy parków? Bo do tego sprowadziłaby się restytucja naszego mienia.
- Skoro tak, na jakiej podstawie Światowy Kongres Żydowski (WJC) skierował w początkach grudnia do sądu w Nowym Jorku pozew przeciwko państwu polskiemu o odszkodowanie za majątek utracony przez Żydów, ofiary holokaustu w Polsce?
- Takiej podstawy nie ma. Nikt im nie dał prawa do reprezentowania ofiar holokaustu. Jeśli ja nie chcę się o ten majątek upominać, to tym bardziej nie chcę, aby robił to ktoś rzekomo w moim imieniu.
- Czy WJC działa z upoważnienia ofiar holokaustu?
- Skądże! To jest czysta uzurpacja! Hucpa! Gdyby Kongres reprezentował ofiary holokaustu, odzyskane mienie czy odszkodowania zostałyby przekazane właśnie im. Tymczasem wiadomo, że do ofiar holokaustu dociera zaledwie ułamek tego, co Kongres Żydowski dotychczas uzyskał.
- Kilka dni temu prasa doniosła jednak, że sąd federalny w Nowym Jorku zatwierdził sposób wypłaty odszkodowań dla tych wszystkich, którzy ucierpieli z powodu przymusowej pracy w niemieckich fabrykach, będących własnością Szwajcarów, lub zostali oszukani przez szwajcarskich bankierów. Wynika z niego, że gros funduszy z odszkodowań przekazanych zostanie jednak ofiarom holokaustu...
- To nieprawda! Posiadam dokumenty świadczące o tym, że do ofiar holokaustu dotrze, w najlepszym razie, może 3 do 5 proc. z wymuszonych na Szwajcarach, prawie 1,5 mld dol. Ponadto pieniądze te wypłaca się w takim tempie, że wielu ich adresatów do wypłaty nie dożyje. Przecież to są w większości ludzie w podeszłym wieku.
- A pozostałe 95 proc., co się stanie z resztą pieniędzy?
- Znajdą się na dziwnych kontach dziwnych fundacji, czyli praktycznie w kieszeniach aktywistów Kongresu Żydowskiego. Ta cała akcja odszkodowań dla Żydów to jeden wielki rabunek!
- Nie powie mi Pan, że ludzie tego nie wiedzą. Jeśli jest tak, jak Pan pisze w "Holocaust Industry", to dlaczego w środowisku żydowskim nie wrze? Nie uwierzę, żeby Żydzi, naród mądry, wykształcony i tak ciężko doświadczony, godzili się tak łatwo na ten rabunek!
- Większość jest niezorientowana, nie wiedzą, o co toczy się gra. Inni udają, że nie wiedzą. Jeszcze innych to nie interesuje albo uważają, że nie ma po co wyważać drzwi. W końcu Niemcom się to należało, bo naziści tę wojnę rozpętali, Szwajcarzy na krzywdę żydowską nie reagowali, zaś Polacy to naród antysemitów, nie lubią Żydów, więc nie ma sensu ich żałować. Dużą rolę odgrywa żydowski szownizm, solidarność etniczna, narodowa. W końcu to Żydzi cierpieli, nikt inny. Nam się te pieniądze należą. Jeśli więc pozostają w rękach żydowskich, o co kruszyć kopie? Zresztą gdyby nawet ktoś chciał zaprotestować, w walce ze Światowym Kongresem Żydowskim nie ma szans. Ich wspiera prasa, telewizja, życzliwa jest im administracja Clintona, bankierzy, sądy - to jest ogromna siła, która może złamać każdego. Ludzie sie ich boją.
- Jaka była reakcja środowiska żydowskiego na Pańską książkę?
- Kierownictwo WJC ją zignorowało, nabrali wody w usta, wysyłając gdzieniegdzie sygnały, że to, co napisałem, to nieprawda. Starają się przylepić książce etykietkę "antyżydowskiej" albo przeznaczonej dla środowisk... antysemickich. Jednakże dla 90 proc. czytelników żydowskich książka była szokiem. Widać to choćby po listach, jakie od nich otrzymuję. Spotykam się co prawda z opiniami negatywnymi, że kalam własne gniazdo, że jestem pieniaczem, ale generalnie komentarze są mi życzliwe i przyjazne. W oczach znakomitej większości czytelników żydowskich, w tym w oczach ofiar holokaustu, książka spotkała się z uznaniem; wielu piszących do mnie Żydów prosi, abym więcej na temat holokaustu publikował.
- Czy dostaje Pan listy z pogróżkami?
- Niewiele, i co ciekawe, nie są to listy od Żydów, ich autorami są przeważnie niemieccy neonaziści.
- Jak się książka sprzedaje?
- W Europie, a szczególnie w Niemczech, dość dobrze. W Stanach Zjednoczonych jest nieco gorzej, ale sprzedaż rośnie. Na pewno nie jest to bestseller...
- Czy "Holocaust Industry" jest bojkotowana?
- Może należałoby powiedzieć: przemilczana lub zignorowana, zwłaszcza przez takie opiniotwórcze tytuły, jak "New York Times", "Washington Post". Trudno się jednak dziwić, skoro i one są częścią spisku, który ja nazwałem Holokaustowym biznesem ("Holocaust Industry"), a który na tragedii Żydów robią dzisiaj ogromne pieniądze.
- Panie Profesorze, ile ofiar holokaustu żyje do dzisiaj?
- Moim zdaniem ok. 25 tysięcy, choć Kongres Żydowski twierdzi, że jest ich ponad milion. Na potrzeby "holokaustowego biznesu" sfabrykowano dokumenty dowodzące rzekomo takiej liczby, ale jest ona wyssana z palca. Dla uzasadnienia nacisków na Szwajcarię, Niemcy, a teraz Polskę, skromne "25 tysięcy" brzmiałoby śmiesznie. Aby uzasadnić grabież miliardów dolarów, potrzebne były wielkie liczby.
- Przed sądem trzeba to było jednak jakoś udokumentować...
- W tym celu przyjęto wyjątkowo "elastyczną" definicję "ofiary holokaustu". Jest nią - według działaczy WJC - każdy Żyd, który przeżył II wojnę światową. Ofiarą holokaustu jest więc nie tylko więzień Auschwitz czy Majdanka, lecz także żydowski oficer Armii Czerwonej lub NKWD czy nawet legitymujący się żydowskim pochodzeniem - byli tacy - oficer Wehrmachtu, pod warunkiem, że przeżyli oni wojnę. Gdyby Kaganowicz żył do naszych czasów, też byłby ofiarą holokaustu!
- Kto, poza działaczami Kongresu, ma kontrolę nad wydatkowaniem pieniędzy pochodzących z odszkodowań?
- Nikt, choć mnie się na przykład udało dotrzeć do dokumentów, do prawdziwych liczb. Opublikowałem je w Holocaust Industry...
- Panowie Bronfman, Singer czy Sultanik mogą się o to na pana gniewać, muszą jednak w jakiś sposób kwoty te wytłumaczyć. Pieniądze nie mogą ot, tak sobie, zniknąć...
- Zniknąć nie, ale można je odłożyć "na inny cel". Utworzono przy Kongresie tzw. fundusz medyczny dla ofiar holokaustu, który ma finansować ich leczenie, pomoc medyczną w latach... 2030-2035. Komu ta rezerwa służy? Przyszłym pokoleniom ofiar holokaustu? Przecież to absurd zakładać, że w 90 lat po wojnie będą jeszcze żyły jej ofiary! Tworzy się więc fikcję, która ma uzasadnić rabunek. A przy okazji jest argument wobec tych nielicznych, którzy odważyli się Światowy Kongres Żydowski z odszkodowań rozliczyć. Dlaczego wypłacono ofiarom tak mało? Ponieważ stworzono "fundusze rezerwowe" na ich rzecz. Tymczasem tu o żadne ofiary nie chodzi. Liczą się jedynie korzyści osobiste aktywistów WJC! Tej bandzie zachłannych cyników nie zależy ani na prawdzie historycznej, ani na pomocy ofiarom, im chodzi tylko o pieniądze! Dla nich nie cofną się przed żadnym trickiem, łgarstwem czy fałszerstwem.
- Czy na nich nie ma jednak prawa? Czy nie można im dowieść defraudacji?
- To są wszystko procesy cywilne, skoro druga strona się zgodziła zapłacić, to jej problem. Stroną atakującą jest grupa wyjątkowo przebiegłych ludzi, którzy wykorzystując bezprecedensową tragedię narodu, naginają prawo do własnych celów. Po swojej stronie mają skorumpowane media, najlepszych adwokatów, sądy, przekupnych polityków. To szczwane lisy. Nie udało się z nimi wygrać Szwajcarom, nie udało się Niemcom... Szwajcarzy walczyli o sprawiedliwość trzy lata, próbowali protestować, argumentować, negocjować i co? Poddali się! Wypłacili łobuzom z World Jewish Congress lekką ręką prawie 1,5 mld dol.
- A ile, Pana zdaniem, Żydom się należało?
- Co najwyżej 100-150 mln dol.!
- Plus odsetki za 50 lat...
- Nie, to już jest razem z odsetkami! Pamiętajmy, że większość wschodnioeuropejskich Żydów przed wojną to byli ludzie ubodzy. W latach 30. prawie jedna trzecia z nich nie zarabiała więcej niż 100 dol. rocznie. Wielu nie posiadało kont bankowych w krajach zamieszkania, a co dopiero w Szwajcarii. Prawie 25 proc. Żydów żyło na skraju nędzy, od głodu ratowały ich tylko amerykańskie organizacje charytatywne...
- A mimo to Szwajcarzy zapłacili?
- Co mieli robić? WJC to groźny przeciwnik, wystraszyli się.
- A Niemcy?
- Niemcy poddali się znacznie szybciej, bo już po roku wysupłali ponad 6 mld.
- Niemcy dopuścili się straszliwej zbrodni, ja ich nie żałuję!
- Ile razy można odpowiadać za to samo przestępstwo? Niemcy płacą Żydom od 1952 roku, łącznie więc wypłacili już 50 mld dol.
- Następna na liście Kongresu Żydowskiego jest Polska. Czy wie Pan, czego się od nas WJC domaga?
- Oficjalnie dowiemy się tego 14 grudnia w Nowym Jorku, podczas pierwszego przesłuchania świadków. Domyślam się jednak, że World Jewish Congress skarżyć będzie Polskę o ok. 65 mld dol.! Na tyle szacują oni wartość mienia, które po wojnie pozostało po polskich Żydach.
- Polski na takie odszkodowanie nie stać.
- Tych ludzi to nie obchodzi. Wiedzą wprawdzie, że w przypadku Polski będzie im nieco trudniej, bo biedna, ale i tak swoje dostaną...
- A jeśli Polacy im nie dadzą?
- To ich do tego przymuszą!
- W jaki sposób?
- Bojkot ekonomiczny Polski i Polaków, konfiskata polskiego majątku za granicą, a zwłaszcza naciski na niektóre kraje Unii Europejskiej - głównie Anglię i Niemcy - aby nie zgadzały się na przyjęcie Polski do wspólnoty.
- Dlaczego wytoczono Polsce proces w Nowym Jorku?
- Bo tutaj łatwiej wygrać; swój sąd, swoi sędziowie, adwokaci...
- Kongres nie ma upoważnienia prawowitych właścicieli do występowania w ich imieniu. Poza tym, co to znaczy "własność żydowska"? Nie ma takiej własności. Nie ma też własności plemiennej! Właścicielem mógł być Rosenkrantz, Bauman, Somer, obywatele polscy, Polacy, a nie wszyscy Żydzi.
- To naiwność myśleć w ten sposób. Jeśli będzie trzeba, to ci złodzieje są gotowi sprowadzić do sądu Eastern District w Nowym Jorku tłumy ludzi, którzy przysięgną, że właśnie tak ma być, że upoważnili Kongres do takiego działania. Polacy to przecież znani antysemici, każdy sąd stanie po stronie rzekomych ofiar holokaustu. Konfrontacja jedynie sytuację pogorszy.
- Czy zatem Polska ma zbankrutować?
- Absolutnie nie! Mówiłem już o tym w wywiadzie dla innej polskiej gazety. Z chwilą, gdy "banda Bronfmana" ruszy do ataku, Polacy powinni zebrać grupę kilkudziesięciu życzliwych Polsce Żydów, ofiar holokaustu, którzy podpiszą się pod całostronnicowym ogłoszeniem w "New York Times", iż rezygnują z jakichkolwiek roszczeń majątkowych wobec Polski. Takich ludzi nie brakuje, sam pomogę w ich znalezieniu, sam się pod tym ogloszeniem podpiszę. W Izraelu mieszka wielu polskich Żydów, duża ich część myśli tak jak ja. Jest tam prof. Izrael Szahak, dla którego prawda historyczna ma wartość większą niż pieniądze. Takich ludzi trzeba zmobilizować do walki z łotrami spod znaku WJC. Pokazanie światu, że roszczenia WJC są bezzasadne, że nawet ofiary się ich zrzekają, że Kongres żydowski jest uzurpatorem, że działa bez upoważnienia ze strony ofiar - to ich obezwładni. Innego wyjścia dla Polski nie ma. Traktowanie ich jak partnerów, rozpoczęcie dialogu będzie równoznaczne z przegraną.
Równocześnie Polacy muszą zacząć negocjować z polskimi gminami żydowskimi, które są spadkobierczyniami majątku znajdującego się przed wojną w rękach żydowskich instytucji religijnych. Jeśli komuś należy się odszkodowanie, to właśnie im, a nie Światowemu Kongresowi Żydów! Na tyle, na ile Polaków stać, trzeba tym gminom i ich członkom, których jest dzisiaj niewiele ponad trzy tysiące, pomóc. Tak, aby pokazać światu, że Polacy starają się zadośćuczynić cierpieniom czy stratom swoich obywateli. W miejsce 3 mln nieruchomości, o które upomina się WJC, stworzona zostanie symboliczna rekompensata. To nie jest trudne czy niemożliwe. Chciałbym, aby Polacy wiedzieli, że porządni, prawdziwi Żydzi nie chcą Polski rujnować, nie chcą mieć także nic wspólnego z grupą szantażystów i awanturników...
- Boję się jednak, że pośród amerykańskich Żydów ludzie, tacy jak Pan, stanowią wyjątek.
- Jest ich więcej niż się panu wydaje. W opublikowanej w ostatnim numerze "First Things" recenzji mojej ksiązki wybitny historyk żydowski prof. William D. Rubinstein przestrzega przed utożsamianiem faktu lokalizacji obozów koncentracyjnych na terenie Polski, z uprawianiem przez Polaków ludobójstwa. Rubinstein przypomina, że z tego samego powodu, niższości rasowej, Niemcy mordowali zarówno Żydów, jak i Polaków. W odniesieniu zaś do zgłaszanych przez WJC roszczeń majątkowych pisze, że wprawdzie polscy komuniści konfiskowali majątek Żydom, robili to jednak nie dlatego, że byli oni Żydami, lecz dlatego, że byli kapitalistami. Z tego samego powodu konfiskowano majątek gojów - kapitalistów. Rubinstein pisze wyraźnie, iż nie widzi najmniejszego powodu, aby polski rząd miał wypłacić komukolwiek choćby jednego centa.
- Nie przeszkadza to nowojorskiemu radnemu, p. Dov Hikindowi, Żydowi z Brooklynu, rozgłaszać zmyślenia na temat rozboju, jakiego ofiarą stali się w Polsce Żydzi. Jak takie argumenty obalać?
- Trzeba się spytać p. Hikinda czy równie energicznie domagać się będzie restytucji majątku palestyńskiego w Izraelu? Jeśli domaga się, aby Polacy płacili "martwym", to przecież tym bardziej powinien ulitować się nad losem "żywych" Palestyńczyków, których Izrael wyeksmitował z ich własnej ziemi. Pan Hikind nie może stosować innego standardu wobec Polaków, a innego wobec Żydów.
- Pan Hikind nie jest wyjątkiem. W tym samym mniej więcej czasie "akademik", z uniwersytetu w Honolulu, prof. R. Rummel, stwierdził, iż Polacy są narodem "metamorderców", że mamy na sumieniu prawie 2 mln zamordowanych w latach 1945-1949, Niemców, Żydów i Ukraińców. Co Pan na ten temat sądzi?
- Uważam, że to nieprawda, ale gdyby nawet tak było, to co? Niech mi prof. Rummel pokaże naród, który w sytuacjach zagrożeń, w sytuacjach ekstremalnych nie zabijał. Ilu Indian zginęło podczas kolonizacji Ameryki? Ile istnień ludzkich mają na sumieniu Brytyjczycy? Albo Francuzi? Ilu Irlandczyków zginęło z rąk Anglików, i odwrotnie? Nie oskarżajmy innych, spójrzmy na siebie. A ilu Palestyńczyków wymordowali Izraelczycy? Co się dzieje w Izraelu? Izraelscy żołnierze strzelają w oczy palestyńskim chłopcom, mordują dzieci, eksterminują naród za to tylko, że domaga się godnego traktowania. Nie zapomijamy, że to Żydzi są w Palestynie gośćmi; Palestyńczycy są u siebie...
- A Judea, Galilea, Jerozolima - to nie są ziemie żydowskie?
- Nie można dzisiaj posługiwać sie geografią sprzed dwóch czy trzech tysięcy lat. Biblia nie może być traktowana jak załącznik do traktatu terytorialnego. Współczesne konflikty ekonomiczne czy polityczne muszą być rozwiązywane przy użyciu współczesnych metod czy narzędzi. Status quo sprzed 2 tys. lat się nie liczy. Przecież, rozumując w taki sposób, Żydzi mogliby sobie rościć pretensje do Afryki Wschodniej skąd się etnicznie wywodzą. Tymczasem mają oni do Palestyny nie więcej praw niż ja mam w stosunku do Stanów Zjednoczonych. To, co robi dzisiaj Izrael, jest godne napiętnowania. Z tym, że jakiekolwiek głosy potępienia izraelskiego ludobójstwa traktowane są jako przejaw antysemityzmu. Dużo mógłby na ten temat powiedzieć prof. Izrael Szahak.
- Kiedy ukaże się polska edycja Pańskiej książki?
- Szczerze powiedziawszy, nie wiem. Książka miała być na rynku we wrześniu, od tego czasu nie mam wiadomości ani od wydawcy brytyjskiego, ani od polskiego. Mam jednak nadzieję, że wydanie nastąpi niedługo. Miałbym wreszcie okazję do odwiedzin Polski.
- Proszę czuć się już dziś zaproszonym. Dziękuję za rozmowę.
Pomoc dla irackiej dziewczynki w Polsce
Monday, March 10, 2008
Piotr Rubik - Niech mówią że to nie jest miłość
Piotr Rubik - Niech mówią że to nie jest miłość pass to Polonia
President Bush Meets with Prime Minister Tusk of Poland
Oval Office
Video (Windows)
White House News
11:13 A.M. EDT
PRESIDENT BUSH: It's been my honor to welcome the Prime Minister of our very close ally and strategic partner, Poland. We'll both have opening statements, and then we'll take two questions a side.
I want to thank you for your candor, thank you for your friendship. The people of Poland stand as a great example of freedom and liberty. This is a nation with a proud history, a nation that has resisted tyranny and now lives as an example of a free society. And there are millions of Americans who are proud of their heritage, Mr. Prime Minister; they're proud to be called Polish Americans. And we welcome you.
I want to thank you for your nation's contributions to the liberation of people in Iraq and Afghanistan. Your troops have performed brilliantly and they'll be coming home based upon success. And I thank your government and I thank the people of Poland for the sacrifices. I also thank you to help the young democracy in Afghanistan survive and thrive and flourish. And some day, Mr. Prime Minister, people are going to say Afghanistan did exactly the same thing that happened in Poland -- people realized the blessings of liberty, and out of those blessings flow peace.
The Prime Minister and I had a long discussion about a lot of subjects. One in particular I want to talk about, and that is our mutual security. The United States recognizes the need for Polish -- the forces to be modernized. It's important for our allies to -- when they are worried about the modernization of their forces that friends respond, and we're responding. The first part of a response, of course, is to take inventory of needs. And Mr. Prime Minister, before my watch is over we will have assessed those needs and come up with a modernization plan that's concrete and tangible.
Along those lines we talked about the need for mutual security, and that the significant threat to the 21st century, or perhaps the most significant is the launch of a missile with dangerous materials in its warhead. Technologies are developing that will enable the free world to be able to defend itself from blackmail and/or strife from these such types of launches.
And we're in discussions with Poland about how we can help the mutual security of the region. I've assured the Prime Minister that any decisions made will reflect the sovereignty of Poland. I've assured the Prime Minister that this system is not aimed at Russia, and I will continue to work with President Putin to give him those assurances, as well. This system is designed for the threats of the 21st century.
And so I want to thank you very much for your candor and your friendship, and we're glad you're here.
PRIME MINISTER TUSK: (As translated.) I want to thank very much you, Mr. President, for your hospitality and genuine warmth. It doesn't really happen often that people of such a high position are so open and so friendly as you. From the very beginning, I was absolutely convinced that this meeting can bring us definitely closer to the wealth of good solutions.
I am also very glad, Mr. President, that both during our meeting and also here, you appreciate very much the contribution we are making with our troops in Iraq and in Afghanistan. For us Poles, it is really a very big effort, and we really are happy, that such an important ally appreciates it.
What really is most important from this meeting, Mr. President, that in the spirit of those talks and also in the agreement, which we have made during this conversation, we can draw the conclusion from that the United States can count on Poland whenever it needs, and Poland can count on the United States whenever Poland is in need. And this is our belief, the embodiment of the idea of solidarity, in the international dimension, and I want to thank you very much for this.
And what is really important for both parties, we came to a conclusion, both during the talks and also the cooperation which we would like to develop together, is that the missile defense system and the modernization of the Polish forces, as well as the reinforcement of the global security system, which also influences the Polish security system, that all these issues come in one package, and that this is really something which gives us very much good hope for the future. This is a very good (inaudible) for us, and once again I want to thank you for that.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you, sir. Feller.
Q Mr. President --
PRESIDENT BUSH: Hold on one second, please.
Q When --
PRESIDENT BUSH: Ben. Excuse me, please. Ben.
Q Thank you, Mr. President. Secretary Rice was able to help get peace talks restarted in the Mideast during her trip, so what is it now that you want Vice President Cheney to get? What is your specific goal for him?
PRESIDENT BUSH: The Vice President will be on an extensive itinerary, as you know. His goal is to reassure people that the United States is committed to a vision of peace in the Middle East, that we expect relevant parties to obligate themselves -- uphold their obligations on the road map; that we fully see the threats facing the Middle East -- one such threat is Iran -- and that we will continue to bolster our security agreements and relationships with our friends and allies.
The Vice President will be taking a very hopeful message to the Middle East that progress in Iraq is necessary for peace in the Middle East. And so it's -- I'm looking forward to his trip and I'm really appreciative of the fact that he's going.
Do you want to call on somebody from the Polish media?
Q Mr. President, is there any breakthrough as far as the missile defense system is concerned?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, I think there's a commitment to a system that respects Polish sovereignty, will -- that will ensure that the people of Poland will not be subjected to any undue security risks, that the system is necessary to deal with the realities of the threats. Obviously there's a lot of work to do, because many times a strategy on paper is a little different from the details. And so our experts are working through a system to make sure that the people of Poland are comfortable with the idea. This is the kind of issue that all kinds of rumors and worries can grow out of -- and we just want to assure people that it's necessary, and at the same time there will be this modernization effort that takes place.
PRIME MINISTER TUSK: What is really very important is what we stressed in the conclusion of this meeting today, that we wanted to stop the speculations on intentions expressed by the United States and expressed by Poland. Our joint intention is to cooperate in all aspects of global security, American security, and Polish security. And an element of the security is the missile defense system.
What I would call a breakthrough is my conviction that though the President of the United States and the American party understand quite clearly our expectations. And if I may use this expression, I think that you have set the perspective of Poland on the principle of the cooperation here. And as you said, Mr. President, all the technicalities pertaining to the face of the negotiations and all those technical issues, they will be solved by experts.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Matt.
Q Yes, sir. Back on the Middle East, what do you think of Israel's plan to build 750 new homes in a settlement near Jerusalem? And what, if any, threat or complication, do you see to your administration's peace efforts?
PRESIDENT BUSH: We expect both parties to -- involved in the Middle Eastern peace process to adhere to their obligations in the road map. And those obligations are clear. And to this end, the Secretary of State is dispatching the general that we named to be the coordinator of road map activities to the Middle East, for him to conduct meetings with the relevant parties.
The key question is whether or not a vision can prevail that will enable people who reject violence and extremists -- enable them to see a better tomorrow. That's what we're working toward. And, you know, this is a part of the world where people have heard promises before, and they've been vague promises. Now, they've got a President and an administration willing to work for two states, two democracies, side by side in peace.
There are three major forces that are -- we're now witnessing in the Middle East. Two of those forces adhere to peace: Israel and the forces of President Abbas. And then there's one force in the Middle East, and some suspect that they're funded from outside governments and outside movements, all aiming to destabilize democracy; all aiming to prevent the vision where people can live side by side in peace; all wanting to destroy Israel.
And the fundamental question is, will there be enough will and determination to reject those forces of extremism, and to stand up and support those who long for peace? And our mission is exactly along those lines. And I'm optimistic that we'll be able to achieve a vision that shows a way forward, and I'm optimistic leaders will step forward and do the hard things necessary so people don't have to live in deprivation and fear. And so that's our focus, and that's our mission.
Q Mr. President, it's getting to be embarrassing for Polish politicians to talk about visas in the Oval Office, but it's even more embarrassing for my countrymen to apply for visas. And it would be really ironic if Poland would become a third missile defense site, and Polish citizens would still have to apply for visas. So can we expect that, before your watch is over, something will change, and maybe we'll convince the lawmakers on Capitol Hill to do something about this?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, thank you very much. First of all, the Prime Minister, of course, brought up the issue. And he was very firm about the need for a friend to treat a friend as a friend when it comes to visas.
Look, this is a tough issue. And we changed law. And now there are ways forward for the people applying for visas. A lot of it has to do with rejection rates. And as the Prime Minister noted, the rejection rates are changing quite dramatically, and so of course, this will be taken into account.
I fully understand the frustrations. And if I were living in Poland, I'd be -- and wanted to come to America, I'd be frustrated, too. And the truth of the matter is, we're going from one era to the next. We're going from a time when the -- during the Soviet era, where there was a different motivation by the people. And we're adjusting. And I fully understand the pace of adjustment doesn't meet expectations inside Poland.
And so I'm very sympathetic. But the law is changing. The paradigm is shifting. And I hope at some point in time, obviously, that the frustrations of our friends and allies are able to be eased with more moderate visa policy.
Thank you, sir. Thank you all.
END 11:30 A.M. EDT
pass to Polonia
RAQport.com
Lech Alex Bajan
Washington DC
President Bush Meets with Prime Minister Tusk of Poland
Oval Office
Video (Windows)
White House News
11:13 A.M. EDT
PRESIDENT BUSH: It's been my honor to welcome the Prime Minister of our very close ally and strategic partner, Poland. We'll both have opening statements, and then we'll take two questions a side.
I want to thank you for your candor, thank you for your friendship. The people of Poland stand as a great example of freedom and liberty. This is a nation with a proud history, a nation that has resisted tyranny and now lives as an example of a free society. And there are millions of Americans who are proud of their heritage, Mr. Prime Minister; they're proud to be called Polish Americans. And we welcome you.
I want to thank you for your nation's contributions to the liberation of people in Iraq and Afghanistan. Your troops have performed brilliantly and they'll be coming home based upon success. And I thank your government and I thank the people of Poland for the sacrifices. I also thank you to help the young democracy in Afghanistan survive and thrive and flourish. And some day, Mr. Prime Minister, people are going to say Afghanistan did exactly the same thing that happened in Poland -- people realized the blessings of liberty, and out of those blessings flow peace.
The Prime Minister and I had a long discussion about a lot of subjects. One in particular I want to talk about, and that is our mutual security. The United States recognizes the need for Polish -- the forces to be modernized. It's important for our allies to -- when they are worried about the modernization of their forces that friends respond, and we're responding. The first part of a response, of course, is to take inventory of needs. And Mr. Prime Minister, before my watch is over we will have assessed those needs and come up with a modernization plan that's concrete and tangible.
Along those lines we talked about the need for mutual security, and that the significant threat to the 21st century, or perhaps the most significant is the launch of a missile with dangerous materials in its warhead. Technologies are developing that will enable the free world to be able to defend itself from blackmail and/or strife from these such types of launches.
And we're in discussions with Poland about how we can help the mutual security of the region. I've assured the Prime Minister that any decisions made will reflect the sovereignty of Poland. I've assured the Prime Minister that this system is not aimed at Russia, and I will continue to work with President Putin to give him those assurances, as well. This system is designed for the threats of the 21st century.
And so I want to thank you very much for your candor and your friendship, and we're glad you're here.
PRIME MINISTER TUSK: (As translated.) I want to thank very much you, Mr. President, for your hospitality and genuine warmth. It doesn't really happen often that people of such a high position are so open and so friendly as you. From the very beginning, I was absolutely convinced that this meeting can bring us definitely closer to the wealth of good solutions.
I am also very glad, Mr. President, that both during our meeting and also here, you appreciate very much the contribution we are making with our troops in Iraq and in Afghanistan. For us Poles, it is really a very big effort, and we really are happy, that such an important ally appreciates it.
What really is most important from this meeting, Mr. President, that in the spirit of those talks and also in the agreement, which we have made during this conversation, we can draw the conclusion from that the United States can count on Poland whenever it needs, and Poland can count on the United States whenever Poland is in need. And this is our belief, the embodiment of the idea of solidarity, in the international dimension, and I want to thank you very much for this.
And what is really important for both parties, we came to a conclusion, both during the talks and also the cooperation which we would like to develop together, is that the missile defense system and the modernization of the Polish forces, as well as the reinforcement of the global security system, which also influences the Polish security system, that all these issues come in one package, and that this is really something which gives us very much good hope for the future. This is a very good (inaudible) for us, and once again I want to thank you for that.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you, sir. Feller.
Q Mr. President --
PRESIDENT BUSH: Hold on one second, please.
Q When --
PRESIDENT BUSH: Ben. Excuse me, please. Ben.
Q Thank you, Mr. President. Secretary Rice was able to help get peace talks restarted in the Mideast during her trip, so what is it now that you want Vice President Cheney to get? What is your specific goal for him?
PRESIDENT BUSH: The Vice President will be on an extensive itinerary, as you know. His goal is to reassure people that the United States is committed to a vision of peace in the Middle East, that we expect relevant parties to obligate themselves -- uphold their obligations on the road map; that we fully see the threats facing the Middle East -- one such threat is Iran -- and that we will continue to bolster our security agreements and relationships with our friends and allies.
The Vice President will be taking a very hopeful message to the Middle East that progress in Iraq is necessary for peace in the Middle East. And so it's -- I'm looking forward to his trip and I'm really appreciative of the fact that he's going.
Do you want to call on somebody from the Polish media?
Q Mr. President, is there any breakthrough as far as the missile defense system is concerned?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, I think there's a commitment to a system that respects Polish sovereignty, will -- that will ensure that the people of Poland will not be subjected to any undue security risks, that the system is necessary to deal with the realities of the threats. Obviously there's a lot of work to do, because many times a strategy on paper is a little different from the details. And so our experts are working through a system to make sure that the people of Poland are comfortable with the idea. This is the kind of issue that all kinds of rumors and worries can grow out of -- and we just want to assure people that it's necessary, and at the same time there will be this modernization effort that takes place.
PRIME MINISTER TUSK: What is really very important is what we stressed in the conclusion of this meeting today, that we wanted to stop the speculations on intentions expressed by the United States and expressed by Poland. Our joint intention is to cooperate in all aspects of global security, American security, and Polish security. And an element of the security is the missile defense system.
What I would call a breakthrough is my conviction that though the President of the United States and the American party understand quite clearly our expectations. And if I may use this expression, I think that you have set the perspective of Poland on the principle of the cooperation here. And as you said, Mr. President, all the technicalities pertaining to the face of the negotiations and all those technical issues, they will be solved by experts.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Matt.
Q Yes, sir. Back on the Middle East, what do you think of Israel's plan to build 750 new homes in a settlement near Jerusalem? And what, if any, threat or complication, do you see to your administration's peace efforts?
PRESIDENT BUSH: We expect both parties to -- involved in the Middle Eastern peace process to adhere to their obligations in the road map. And those obligations are clear. And to this end, the Secretary of State is dispatching the general that we named to be the coordinator of road map activities to the Middle East, for him to conduct meetings with the relevant parties.
The key question is whether or not a vision can prevail that will enable people who reject violence and extremists -- enable them to see a better tomorrow. That's what we're working toward. And, you know, this is a part of the world where people have heard promises before, and they've been vague promises. Now, they've got a President and an administration willing to work for two states, two democracies, side by side in peace.
There are three major forces that are -- we're now witnessing in the Middle East. Two of those forces adhere to peace: Israel and the forces of President Abbas. And then there's one force in the Middle East, and some suspect that they're funded from outside governments and outside movements, all aiming to destabilize democracy; all aiming to prevent the vision where people can live side by side in peace; all wanting to destroy Israel.
And the fundamental question is, will there be enough will and determination to reject those forces of extremism, and to stand up and support those who long for peace? And our mission is exactly along those lines. And I'm optimistic that we'll be able to achieve a vision that shows a way forward, and I'm optimistic leaders will step forward and do the hard things necessary so people don't have to live in deprivation and fear. And so that's our focus, and that's our mission.
Q Mr. President, it's getting to be embarrassing for Polish politicians to talk about visas in the Oval Office, but it's even more embarrassing for my countrymen to apply for visas. And it would be really ironic if Poland would become a third missile defense site, and Polish citizens would still have to apply for visas. So can we expect that, before your watch is over, something will change, and maybe we'll convince the lawmakers on Capitol Hill to do something about this?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, thank you very much. First of all, the Prime Minister, of course, brought up the issue. And he was very firm about the need for a friend to treat a friend as a friend when it comes to visas.
Look, this is a tough issue. And we changed law. And now there are ways forward for the people applying for visas. A lot of it has to do with rejection rates. And as the Prime Minister noted, the rejection rates are changing quite dramatically, and so of course, this will be taken into account.
I fully understand the frustrations. And if I were living in Poland, I'd be -- and wanted to come to America, I'd be frustrated, too. And the truth of the matter is, we're going from one era to the next. We're going from a time when the -- during the Soviet era, where there was a different motivation by the people. And we're adjusting. And I fully understand the pace of adjustment doesn't meet expectations inside Poland.
And so I'm very sympathetic. But the law is changing. The paradigm is shifting. And I hope at some point in time, obviously, that the frustrations of our friends and allies are able to be eased with more moderate visa policy.
Thank you, sir. Thank you all.
END 11:30 A.M. EDT
pass to Polonia
RAQport.com
Lech Alex Bajan
Washington DC
Polish Army World War II BETRAYAL OF POLAND IN 1939
Polish Army World War II BETRAYAL OF POLAND IN 1939
"Polish Soldier fights for the freedom of other nations but dies only for Poland."
- Gen.Stanislaw Maczek
Invasion:
On September 1st., 1939, 1.8 million German troops invaded Poland on three fronts; East Prussia in the north, Germany in the west and Slovakia in the south. They had 2600 tanks against the Polish 180, and over 2000 aircraft against the Polish 420. Their "Blitzkrieg" tactics, coupled with their bombing of defenceless towns and refugees, had never been seen before and, at first, caught the Poles off-guard. By September 14th. Warsaw was surrounded. At this stage the poles reacted, holding off the Germans at Kutno and regrouping behind the Wisla (Vistula) and Bzura rivers. Although Britain and France declared war on September 3rd. the Poles received no help - yet it had been agreed that the Poles should fight a defensive campaign for only 2 weeks during which time the Allies could get their forces together and attack from the west.
There are many "myths" that surround the September Campaign; the fictional Polish cavalry charges against German tanks (actually reported by the Italian press and used as propaganda by the Germans), the alleged destruction of the Polish Air Force on the ground, or claims that Polish armour failed to achieve any success against the invaders. In reality, and despite the fact that Poland was only just beginning to modernise her armed forces and had been forced (by Britain and France) to delay mobilisation (which they claimed might be interpreted as aggressive behaviour) so that, at the time of invasion, only about one-third of her total potential manpower was mobilised, Polish forces ensured that the September campaign was no "walk-over". The Wehrmacht had so under-rated Polish anti-tank capabilities (the Polish-designed anti-tank gun was one of the best in the world at that time) that they had gone into action with white "balkankreuz", or crosses, prominently displayed in eight locations; these crosses made excellent aiming points for Polish gun-sights and forced the Germans to radically rethink their national insignia, initially overpainting them in yellow and then, for their later campaigns, adopting the modified "balkankreuz" similar to that used by the Luftwaffe. The recently-designed 7TP "czolg lekki", or light tank, the first in the world to be designed with a diesel engine, proved to be superior to German tanks of the same class (the PzKpfw I and II) inflicting serious damage to the German forces, limited only by the fact that they were not used in concentrated groups. They were absorbed by the Germans into their own Panzer divisions at the end of the campaign.
On September 17th. Soviet forces invaded from the east. Warsaw surrendered 2 weeks later, the garrison on the Hel peninsula surrendered on October 2nd., and the Polesie Defence group, after fighting on two fronts against both German and Soviet forces, surrendered on October 5th. The Poles had held on for twice as long as had been expected and had done more damage to the Germans than the combined British and French forces were to do in 1940. The Germans lost 50,000 men, 697 planes and 993 tanks and armoured cars.
Thousands of soldiers and civilians managed to escape to France and Britain whilst many more went "underground" . A government-in-exile was formed with Wladyslaw Raczkiewicz as President and General Wladyslaw Sikorski as Prime Minister.
The Fourth Partition:
Under the German-Soviet pact Poland was divided; the Soviets took, and absorbed into the Soviet Union, the eastern half (Byelorussia and the West Ukraine), the Germans incorporated Pomerania, Posnania and Silesia into the Reich whilst the rest was designated as the General-Gouvernement (a colony ruled from Krakow by Hitler's friend, Hans Frank).
In the Soviet zone 1.5 million Poles (including women and children) were transported to labour camps in Siberia and other areas. Many thousands of captured Polish officers were shot at several secret forest sites; the first to be discovered being Katyn, near Smolensk.
The Germans declared their intention of eliminating the Polish race (a task to be completed by 1975) alongside the Jews. This process of elimination, the "Holocaust", was carried out systematically. All members of the "intelligentsia" were hunted down in order to destroy Polish culture and leadership (many were originally exterminated at Oswiencim - better known by its German name, Auschwitz). Secret universities and schools, a "Cultural Underground", were formed (the penalty for belonging to one was death). In the General-Gouvernement there were about 100,000 secondary school pupils and over 10,000 university students involved in secret education.
The Polish Jews were herded into Ghettos where they were slowly starved and cruelly offered hopes of survival but, in fact, ended up being shot or gassed. In the end they were transported, alongside non-Jewish Poles, Gypsies and Soviet POWs, to extermination camps such as Auschwitz and Treblinka; at Auschwitz over 4 million were exterminated. 2000 concentration camps were built in Poland, which became the major site of the extermination programme, since this was where most of the intended victims lived.
Many non-Jewish Poles were either transported to Germany and used as slave labour or simply executed. In the cities the Germans would round-up and kill indiscriminately as a punishment for any underground or anti-German or pro-Jewish activity. In the countryside they kept prominent citizens as hostages who would be executed if necessary. Sometimes they liquidated whole villages; at least 300 villages were destroyed. Hans Frank said, "If I wanted to put up a poster for every seven Poles shot, the forests of Poland would not suffice to produce the paper for such posters."
Despite such horror the Poles refused to give in or cooperate (there were no Polish collaborators as in other occupied countries). The Polish Underground or AK (Armia Krajowa or Home Army) was the largest in Europe with 400,000 men. The Jewish resistance movement was set up separately because of the problem of being imprisoned within the ghettos. Both these organisations caused great damage to the Nazi military machine. Many non-Jewish Poles saved the lives of thousands of Jews despite the fact that the penalty, if caught, was death (in fact, Poland was the only occupied nation where aiding Jews was punishable by death).
Fighting on all Fronts:
The Polish Army, Navy and Air Force reorganised abroad and continued to fight the Germans. In fact they have the distinction of being the only nation to fight on every front in the War. In 1940 they fought in France, in the Norwegian campaign they earned a reputation for bravery at Narvik, and in Africa the Carpathian Brigade fought at Tobruk.
Polish Squadrons played an important role in the Battle of Britain, accounting for 12% of all German aircraft destroyed at the cost of 33 lives. By the end of the war they had flown a total of 86,527 sorties, lost 1669 men and shot down 500 German planes and 190 V1 rockets.
The Polish Navy, which had escaped intact, consisted of 60 vessels, including 2 cruisers, 9 destroyers and 5 submarines ( one of which was the famous "Orzel") which were involved in 665 actions at sea. The first German ship sunk in the war was sunk by Polish ships. The Navy also took part in the D-Day landings.
When the Soviet Union was attacked by Germany, in June 1941, Polish POWs were released from prison camps and set up an army headed by General Anders. Many civilians were taken under the protection of this army which was allowed to make its way to Persia (modern-day Iran) and then on to Egypt. This army, the Polish Second Corps, fought with distinction in Italy, their most notable victory being that at Monte Cassino, in May 1944, and which opened up the road to Rome for the Allies as a whole. One of the "heroes" of the Polish Second Corps was Wojtek, a brown bear adopted in Iran as their mascot; at Monte Cassino Wojtek actually helped in the fighting by carrying ammunition for the guns. He died, famous and well-loved, in Edinburgh Zoo in 1964, aged 22.
All the Polish forces took part in the Allied invasion of Europe and liberation of France, playing a particularly crucial role in the significant Battle of the Falaise Gap. The Polish Parachute Brigade took part in the disastrous Battle of Arnhem in Holland. In 1945, the Poles captured the German port of Wilhelmshaven.
In 1943 a division of Polish soldiers was formed in Russia under Soviet control and fought on the Eastern Front. They fought loyally alongside the Soviet troops, despite the suffering they had experienced in Soviet hands, and they distinguished themselves in breaking through the last German lines of defence, the "Pomeranian Rampart", in the fighting in Saxony and in the capture of Berlin.
The "Home Army", under the command of General Stefan Roweki (code-named "Grot"), and after his capture in 1943 (he was later murdered), by General Tadeusz Komorowski (code-named "Bor"), fought a very varied war; at times in open combat in brigade or division strength, at times involved in sabotage, often acting as execution squads eliminating German officials, and often fighting a psychological campaign against German military and civilians. It was a costly war since the Germans always took reprisals.
The Intelligence Service of the Home Army captured and sent parts of the V1 to London for examination, providing information on German military movements (giving advanced warning of the German plan to invade Russia), and gave the RAF full information about Peenemunde, where the Germans were producing V2 rockets.
Betrayal:
The crime of Katyn was discovered in 1943 and created a rift in Polish-Soviet relations. From now on the Home Army was attacked by Soviet propaganda as collaborating with the Germans and being called on to rise against the Germans once the Red Army reached the outskirts of Warsaw.
Secretly, at Teheran, the British and Americans agreed to letting the Russians profit from their invasion of Poland in 1939 and allowing them to keep the lands that had been absorbed. The "accidental" death of General Sikorski at this time helped keep protests at a minimum.
When the Russians crossed into Poland the Home Army cooperated in the fight against the Germans and contributed greatly to the victories at Lwow, Wilno and Lublin only to find themselves surrounded and disarmed by their "comrades-in-arms" and deported to labour camps in Siberia.
On August 1, 1944, with the Russian forces on the right bank of the Vistula, the Home Army rose in Warsaw; the Warsaw Rising. Heroic street-fighting involving the whole population, using the sewers as lines of communication and escape, under heavy bombardment, lasted for 63 days. The city was completely destroyed. Not only did the Russians cease to advance but they also refused to allow Allied planes to land on Russian airfields after dropping supplies. After surrendering many civilians and soldiers were executed or sent to concentration camps to be exterminated and Warsaw was razed to the ground.
The defeat in Warsaw destroyed the political and military institutions of the Polish underground and left the way open for a Soviet take-over.
With the liberation of Lublin in July 1944 a Russian-sponsored Polish Committee for National Liberation (a Communist Government in all but name) had been set up and the British had put great pressure, mostly unsuccessful, on the Government-in-exile to accept this status quo. At Yalta, in February 1945, the Allies put Poland within the Russian zone of influence in a post-war Europe. To most Poles the meaning of these two events was perfectly clear; Poland had been betrayed. At one stage the Polish Army, still fighting in Italy and Germany, was prepared to withdraw from the front lines in protest; after all, they were supposed to be fighting for Polish liberation. It is a reflection on Polish honour that no such withdrawal took place since it could leave large gaps in the front lines and so was considered too dangerous for their Allied comrades-in-arms.
The war ended on May 8th, 1945.
The Cost:
The Poles are the people who really lost the war.
Over half a million fighting men and women, and 6 million civilians (or 22% of the total population) died. About 50% of these were Polish Christians and 50% were Polish Jews. Approximately 5,384,000, or 89.9% of Polish war losses (Jews and Gentiles) were the victims of prisons, death camps, raids, executions, annihilation of ghettos, epidemics, starvation, excessive work and ill treatment. So many Poles were sent to concentration camps that virtually every family had someone close to them who had been tortured or murdered there.
There were one million war orphans and over half a million invalids.
The country lost 38% of its national assets (Britain lost 0.8%, France lost 1.5%). Half the country was swallowed up by the Soviet Union including the two great cultural centres of Lwow and Wilno.
Many Poles could not return to the country for which they has fought because they belonged to the "wrong" political group or came from eastern Poland and had thus become Soviet citizens. Others were arrested, tortured and imprisoned by the Soviet authorities for belonging to the Home Army.
Although "victors" they were not allowed to partake in victory celebrations.
Through fighting "For Our Freedom and Yours" they had exchanged one master
"Polish Soldier fights for the freedom of other nations but dies only for Poland."
- Gen.Stanislaw Maczek
Invasion:
On September 1st., 1939, 1.8 million German troops invaded Poland on three fronts; East Prussia in the north, Germany in the west and Slovakia in the south. They had 2600 tanks against the Polish 180, and over 2000 aircraft against the Polish 420. Their "Blitzkrieg" tactics, coupled with their bombing of defenceless towns and refugees, had never been seen before and, at first, caught the Poles off-guard. By September 14th. Warsaw was surrounded. At this stage the poles reacted, holding off the Germans at Kutno and regrouping behind the Wisla (Vistula) and Bzura rivers. Although Britain and France declared war on September 3rd. the Poles received no help - yet it had been agreed that the Poles should fight a defensive campaign for only 2 weeks during which time the Allies could get their forces together and attack from the west.
There are many "myths" that surround the September Campaign; the fictional Polish cavalry charges against German tanks (actually reported by the Italian press and used as propaganda by the Germans), the alleged destruction of the Polish Air Force on the ground, or claims that Polish armour failed to achieve any success against the invaders. In reality, and despite the fact that Poland was only just beginning to modernise her armed forces and had been forced (by Britain and France) to delay mobilisation (which they claimed might be interpreted as aggressive behaviour) so that, at the time of invasion, only about one-third of her total potential manpower was mobilised, Polish forces ensured that the September campaign was no "walk-over". The Wehrmacht had so under-rated Polish anti-tank capabilities (the Polish-designed anti-tank gun was one of the best in the world at that time) that they had gone into action with white "balkankreuz", or crosses, prominently displayed in eight locations; these crosses made excellent aiming points for Polish gun-sights and forced the Germans to radically rethink their national insignia, initially overpainting them in yellow and then, for their later campaigns, adopting the modified "balkankreuz" similar to that used by the Luftwaffe. The recently-designed 7TP "czolg lekki", or light tank, the first in the world to be designed with a diesel engine, proved to be superior to German tanks of the same class (the PzKpfw I and II) inflicting serious damage to the German forces, limited only by the fact that they were not used in concentrated groups. They were absorbed by the Germans into their own Panzer divisions at the end of the campaign.
On September 17th. Soviet forces invaded from the east. Warsaw surrendered 2 weeks later, the garrison on the Hel peninsula surrendered on October 2nd., and the Polesie Defence group, after fighting on two fronts against both German and Soviet forces, surrendered on October 5th. The Poles had held on for twice as long as had been expected and had done more damage to the Germans than the combined British and French forces were to do in 1940. The Germans lost 50,000 men, 697 planes and 993 tanks and armoured cars.
Thousands of soldiers and civilians managed to escape to France and Britain whilst many more went "underground" . A government-in-exile was formed with Wladyslaw Raczkiewicz as President and General Wladyslaw Sikorski as Prime Minister.
The Fourth Partition:
Under the German-Soviet pact Poland was divided; the Soviets took, and absorbed into the Soviet Union, the eastern half (Byelorussia and the West Ukraine), the Germans incorporated Pomerania, Posnania and Silesia into the Reich whilst the rest was designated as the General-Gouvernement (a colony ruled from Krakow by Hitler's friend, Hans Frank).
In the Soviet zone 1.5 million Poles (including women and children) were transported to labour camps in Siberia and other areas. Many thousands of captured Polish officers were shot at several secret forest sites; the first to be discovered being Katyn, near Smolensk.
The Germans declared their intention of eliminating the Polish race (a task to be completed by 1975) alongside the Jews. This process of elimination, the "Holocaust", was carried out systematically. All members of the "intelligentsia" were hunted down in order to destroy Polish culture and leadership (many were originally exterminated at Oswiencim - better known by its German name, Auschwitz). Secret universities and schools, a "Cultural Underground", were formed (the penalty for belonging to one was death). In the General-Gouvernement there were about 100,000 secondary school pupils and over 10,000 university students involved in secret education.
The Polish Jews were herded into Ghettos where they were slowly starved and cruelly offered hopes of survival but, in fact, ended up being shot or gassed. In the end they were transported, alongside non-Jewish Poles, Gypsies and Soviet POWs, to extermination camps such as Auschwitz and Treblinka; at Auschwitz over 4 million were exterminated. 2000 concentration camps were built in Poland, which became the major site of the extermination programme, since this was where most of the intended victims lived.
Many non-Jewish Poles were either transported to Germany and used as slave labour or simply executed. In the cities the Germans would round-up and kill indiscriminately as a punishment for any underground or anti-German or pro-Jewish activity. In the countryside they kept prominent citizens as hostages who would be executed if necessary. Sometimes they liquidated whole villages; at least 300 villages were destroyed. Hans Frank said, "If I wanted to put up a poster for every seven Poles shot, the forests of Poland would not suffice to produce the paper for such posters."
Despite such horror the Poles refused to give in or cooperate (there were no Polish collaborators as in other occupied countries). The Polish Underground or AK (Armia Krajowa or Home Army) was the largest in Europe with 400,000 men. The Jewish resistance movement was set up separately because of the problem of being imprisoned within the ghettos. Both these organisations caused great damage to the Nazi military machine. Many non-Jewish Poles saved the lives of thousands of Jews despite the fact that the penalty, if caught, was death (in fact, Poland was the only occupied nation where aiding Jews was punishable by death).
Fighting on all Fronts:
The Polish Army, Navy and Air Force reorganised abroad and continued to fight the Germans. In fact they have the distinction of being the only nation to fight on every front in the War. In 1940 they fought in France, in the Norwegian campaign they earned a reputation for bravery at Narvik, and in Africa the Carpathian Brigade fought at Tobruk.
Polish Squadrons played an important role in the Battle of Britain, accounting for 12% of all German aircraft destroyed at the cost of 33 lives. By the end of the war they had flown a total of 86,527 sorties, lost 1669 men and shot down 500 German planes and 190 V1 rockets.
The Polish Navy, which had escaped intact, consisted of 60 vessels, including 2 cruisers, 9 destroyers and 5 submarines ( one of which was the famous "Orzel") which were involved in 665 actions at sea. The first German ship sunk in the war was sunk by Polish ships. The Navy also took part in the D-Day landings.
When the Soviet Union was attacked by Germany, in June 1941, Polish POWs were released from prison camps and set up an army headed by General Anders. Many civilians were taken under the protection of this army which was allowed to make its way to Persia (modern-day Iran) and then on to Egypt. This army, the Polish Second Corps, fought with distinction in Italy, their most notable victory being that at Monte Cassino, in May 1944, and which opened up the road to Rome for the Allies as a whole. One of the "heroes" of the Polish Second Corps was Wojtek, a brown bear adopted in Iran as their mascot; at Monte Cassino Wojtek actually helped in the fighting by carrying ammunition for the guns. He died, famous and well-loved, in Edinburgh Zoo in 1964, aged 22.
All the Polish forces took part in the Allied invasion of Europe and liberation of France, playing a particularly crucial role in the significant Battle of the Falaise Gap. The Polish Parachute Brigade took part in the disastrous Battle of Arnhem in Holland. In 1945, the Poles captured the German port of Wilhelmshaven.
In 1943 a division of Polish soldiers was formed in Russia under Soviet control and fought on the Eastern Front. They fought loyally alongside the Soviet troops, despite the suffering they had experienced in Soviet hands, and they distinguished themselves in breaking through the last German lines of defence, the "Pomeranian Rampart", in the fighting in Saxony and in the capture of Berlin.
The "Home Army", under the command of General Stefan Roweki (code-named "Grot"), and after his capture in 1943 (he was later murdered), by General Tadeusz Komorowski (code-named "Bor"), fought a very varied war; at times in open combat in brigade or division strength, at times involved in sabotage, often acting as execution squads eliminating German officials, and often fighting a psychological campaign against German military and civilians. It was a costly war since the Germans always took reprisals.
The Intelligence Service of the Home Army captured and sent parts of the V1 to London for examination, providing information on German military movements (giving advanced warning of the German plan to invade Russia), and gave the RAF full information about Peenemunde, where the Germans were producing V2 rockets.
Betrayal:
The crime of Katyn was discovered in 1943 and created a rift in Polish-Soviet relations. From now on the Home Army was attacked by Soviet propaganda as collaborating with the Germans and being called on to rise against the Germans once the Red Army reached the outskirts of Warsaw.
Secretly, at Teheran, the British and Americans agreed to letting the Russians profit from their invasion of Poland in 1939 and allowing them to keep the lands that had been absorbed. The "accidental" death of General Sikorski at this time helped keep protests at a minimum.
When the Russians crossed into Poland the Home Army cooperated in the fight against the Germans and contributed greatly to the victories at Lwow, Wilno and Lublin only to find themselves surrounded and disarmed by their "comrades-in-arms" and deported to labour camps in Siberia.
On August 1, 1944, with the Russian forces on the right bank of the Vistula, the Home Army rose in Warsaw; the Warsaw Rising. Heroic street-fighting involving the whole population, using the sewers as lines of communication and escape, under heavy bombardment, lasted for 63 days. The city was completely destroyed. Not only did the Russians cease to advance but they also refused to allow Allied planes to land on Russian airfields after dropping supplies. After surrendering many civilians and soldiers were executed or sent to concentration camps to be exterminated and Warsaw was razed to the ground.
The defeat in Warsaw destroyed the political and military institutions of the Polish underground and left the way open for a Soviet take-over.
With the liberation of Lublin in July 1944 a Russian-sponsored Polish Committee for National Liberation (a Communist Government in all but name) had been set up and the British had put great pressure, mostly unsuccessful, on the Government-in-exile to accept this status quo. At Yalta, in February 1945, the Allies put Poland within the Russian zone of influence in a post-war Europe. To most Poles the meaning of these two events was perfectly clear; Poland had been betrayed. At one stage the Polish Army, still fighting in Italy and Germany, was prepared to withdraw from the front lines in protest; after all, they were supposed to be fighting for Polish liberation. It is a reflection on Polish honour that no such withdrawal took place since it could leave large gaps in the front lines and so was considered too dangerous for their Allied comrades-in-arms.
The war ended on May 8th, 1945.
The Cost:
The Poles are the people who really lost the war.
Over half a million fighting men and women, and 6 million civilians (or 22% of the total population) died. About 50% of these were Polish Christians and 50% were Polish Jews. Approximately 5,384,000, or 89.9% of Polish war losses (Jews and Gentiles) were the victims of prisons, death camps, raids, executions, annihilation of ghettos, epidemics, starvation, excessive work and ill treatment. So many Poles were sent to concentration camps that virtually every family had someone close to them who had been tortured or murdered there.
There were one million war orphans and over half a million invalids.
The country lost 38% of its national assets (Britain lost 0.8%, France lost 1.5%). Half the country was swallowed up by the Soviet Union including the two great cultural centres of Lwow and Wilno.
Many Poles could not return to the country for which they has fought because they belonged to the "wrong" political group or came from eastern Poland and had thus become Soviet citizens. Others were arrested, tortured and imprisoned by the Soviet authorities for belonging to the Home Army.
Although "victors" they were not allowed to partake in victory celebrations.
Through fighting "For Our Freedom and Yours" they had exchanged one master
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