The Secret State Series #1
Karski was a brilliant young diplomat when war broke out in 1939 with Hitler's invasion of Poland. Taken prisoner by the Soviet Red Army, which had simultaneously invaded from the East, Karski narrowly escaped the subsequent Katyn Forest Massacre. He became a member of the Polish Underground, the most significant resistance movement in occupied Europe, acting as a liaison and courier between the Underground and the Polish government-in-exile. He was twice smuggled into the Warsaw Ghetto, and entered the Nazi's Izbica transit camp disguised as a guard, witnessing first-hand the horrors of the Holocaust.
Karski's courage and testimony, conveyed in a breathtaking manner in Story of a Secret State, offer the narrative of one of the world's greatest eyewitnesses and an inspiration for all of humanity, emboldening each of us to rise to the challenge of standing up against evil and for human rights. This definitive edition—which includes a foreword by Madeleine Albright, a biographical essay by Yale historian Timothy Snyder, an afterword by Zbigniew Brzezinski, previously unpublished photos, notes, further reading, and a glossary—is an apt legacy for this hero of conscience during the most fraught and fragile moment in modern history.
Jan Karski was born in ód , Poland, in 1914.
He received a degree in Law and Diplomatic Science in 1935 and served as a liaison officer of the Polish Underground during World War II. He carried the first eyewitness report of the Holocaust to a mostly unbelieving West, meeting with President Roosevelt in 1943 to plead for Allied intervention. Story of a Secret State was originally published in 1944, becoming a bestseller and Book of the Month Club selection. After the war, Karski earned his PhD at Georgetown University, where he served as a distinguished professor in the School of Foreign Service for forty years. He died in Washington, DC, in 2000. Karski has been recognized as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem. In 2012, he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by our President.
"His wartime saga as officer, as Soviet prisoner, as escapee, in the hands of the Gestapo, and as a Polish Underground activist and courier, is beyond remarkable. In a world today where words such as 'courage' and 'heroism' have been so overused—applied freely from sports to entertainment to politics as to be rendered practically meaningless—Jan Karski was the rare human being who embodied both."
"In the words of James Russell Lowell's rousing hymn:
'Once to every man and nation, comes the moment to decide, in the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side.' Perhaps more than most of us, Jan Karski faced such a choice in the starkest of possible terms, and made his decision as courageously as one could. . . . Jan Karski was a patriot and a truth teller; may his words always be read and his legacy never forgotten."Secret State is an indispensable and compelling historical document of World War II and the Holocaust, written by a supremely courageous humanitarian."
The Secret State Series #1:
The Underground by Jan Karski 1944 Highlights and excerpts by PL Sturgis:
Pro Script: “I do not pretend to have given an exhaustive picture of the Polish Underground, its organization, and its activities. Because of our methods I believe there is no one today who could give an all embracing recital. This could be possible only after the war with the aid of information yet to be gathered and checked. This is purely a personal story, my story. I have tried to recall everything I have experienced, to tell about my own activities and to recount the deeds of all those with whom I had actual contact.
Poland’s underground State, to which I belonged, was under the authority of the Polish Government in London. I know that, besides this organization, there were other elements carrying on their activities under the direction or the influence of Moscow. Because of my sincere intention to describe only my personal experience, their activities could not possibly be included in my story. Being the First active Member of the Polish Underground in the fortunate position to publish some aspects of its story, I hope that it will encourage others to relate their experiences, and that out of such narratives the free people all over the world will be able to form an objective opinion as to how the Polish people reacted during the years of German concept. Jan Karski:
Daily Bites of The Secret State Series #1:
Daily Bites of The Secret State Series #1:
“The Underground”
Bite #17,Under German Control:
by Jan Karski:
During our march in the open field near the Russian - German Border, one of the German officers pointed to a barefoot prisoner who was covered with a mat, dirty and shivering in the cold, made some derisive remark to the other three officers. It must have been awfully to them because all four officers burst out into shouts of laughter! when they had passed by I turned to look at my neighbor. He was young and about my size, slightly over twenty years of age. His uniform hung loosely on his stick like body.
He was without a cap. “Be careful” I murmured to him, “Or you may end up in front of a firing squad!” .... “I don’t care anymore!” he answer angrily. His eyes were full of humiliation and grief. I was surprised to hear him speak good pure Polish. The other prisoners spoke peasant dialect or city slang. I could see that his morale was dangerously low and he was in a bad psychological condition. “Let’s stick together” I said to him. After the inspections we were marched two or three miles to a bridge over a vast muddy river. At the other end of the bridge it looked as though a mirror had been set in the landscape, making both sides of the river completely identical.
It was guarded by Germans. As we saw them we realized a new stage had begun in our existence. Now we were definitely about pass under German control. The four officers split into two pairs. The two German officers crossed to their side of the bridge and stood in position while the two Russian officers stayed and took their position. The guards on either side formed groups of men. The Germans called out a number and the Russians verified the number while the exchange groups of prisoners waited anxiously. Then we were released and propelled forward. Both groups walked slowly and uncertainly. When we passed the German exchange prisoners in the middle of the bridge an odd ludicrous thing happened.
He was without a cap. “Be careful” I murmured to him, “Or you may end up in front of a firing squad!” .... “I don’t care anymore!” he answer angrily. His eyes were full of humiliation and grief. I was surprised to hear him speak good pure Polish. The other prisoners spoke peasant dialect or city slang. I could see that his morale was dangerously low and he was in a bad psychological condition. “Let’s stick together” I said to him. After the inspections we were marched two or three miles to a bridge over a vast muddy river. At the other end of the bridge it looked as though a mirror had been set in the landscape, making both sides of the river completely identical.
It was guarded by Germans. As we saw them we realized a new stage had begun in our existence. Now we were definitely about pass under German control. The four officers split into two pairs. The two German officers crossed to their side of the bridge and stood in position while the two Russian officers stayed and took their position. The guards on either side formed groups of men. The Germans called out a number and the Russians verified the number while the exchange groups of prisoners waited anxiously. Then we were released and propelled forward. Both groups walked slowly and uncertainly. When we passed the German exchange prisoners in the middle of the bridge an odd ludicrous thing happened.
(to be continued) ....
(To be continued )
Daily Bites of The Secret State Series #1
by Jan Karski 1944 :
“From The Secret State”
#19) Another Two Day Journey:
#20) Insane Brutality:
#21) Three Robust Men:
#22) Transported for Forced Labor:
#23) Now or Never:
#24) To the Citizens of Poland:
#25) Risking Escape:
#26) Searching for Shelter:
#27) The Polish Patriot:
#28) Priceless Hospitality:
#29) Shocking News:
#30) No Longer a Poland 1944:
To be Continued in the Next Daily Bites of “The Secret State Series #1”
Stand Up To Government Corruption and Hypocrisy
NEVER FORGET THE SACRIFICES
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