The Secret State Series #4
Story of a Secret State stands as one of the most poignant and inspiring memoirs of World War II and the Holocaust. With elements of a spy thriller, documenting his experiences in the Polish Underground, and as one of the first accounts of the systematic slaughter of the Jews by the German Nazis, this volume is a remarkable testimony of one man's courage and a nation's struggle for resistance against overwhelming oppression.
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Albright, a biographical essay by Yale historian Timothy Snyder, an afterword by Zbigniew Brzezinski, previously unpublished photos, notes, further reading, and a glossary—is an apt legacy for this hero of conscience during the most fraught and fragile moment in modern history.
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."
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."
"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 #4:
The Secret State #4 “A New Regime”
by Jan Karski: Highlights and excerpts by PL Sturgis:
by Jan Karski: Highlights and excerpts by PL Sturgis:
The Secret state Series 1: “The Underground” by Jan Karski:
Introduction: During my four and a half months absence while captured by the Russians and the the Germans, Conditions in Poland had changed considerably. The first few conversations made me conscious of the fact that the consolidation of the underground had practically been achieved. The movement had crystallized into the major organization: The coalition of the four largest political parties;
1) The Peasants
2) The Socialist
3) The Christian Labor
4) The Nationalist.
This was the official military organization which had been recognized by the government as a military unit enjoying equal rights with the Polish Army in France. The most important need for that third party was to unite and agree on a chief delegate. The government was not interested in the personality of the candidate, nor his political affiliation, nor was he to become involved in party representation. The government would confirm the appointment of any individual who possessed authority and had the confidence of the population.
(hmmmm? 1940 sounds familiar in 2017)
The Polish underground State to which Karski belonged was under the authority of the Polish government in London. He admitted that besides this organization there were other organizations carrying on their activities under the direct influence of Moscow. Being the first active member of the Polish Underground and in the fortunate position to publish some aspect of its story, he hoped that it would encourage others to relate their experiences and that out of such narratives the free people all over the world would be able to form an objective opinion as to how the Polish people reacted during the years of German conquest.
Daily Bites of The Secret State Series #4:
“A New Regime”
Bites #6-10,The Greatest Difficulty:
#7) My Most Honorable Appointment:
#8) Returning to France:
#9) An Uneasy Feeling:
#10) Debating the Cause:
by Jan Karski :
#6) The Greatest Difficulty:
The greatest difficulty in the path of developing this new regime was the fact that the parties which came to power in the underground had not participated in the prewar government and had not entered in the elections. Consequently, it was impossible to determine the exact degree of their popular strength and influence and their estimates of their relative strength and importance in underground work naturally conflicted. It was really apparent that the four parties in the underground state (Socialists, nationalists, peasants, and christian labor) had the support of the vast majority of the Polish people, but it was near impossible to separate the common achievements into its component parts. This was complicated by the fact that all four parties, as a result of their prewar experience, were anxious to safeguard their independence from any administration. They did not want the government to interfere into their internal affairs and were anxious to keep control of their parties in their own hands. Steps had to be taken to assure each party in the underground that the administration created in the underground would not be hostile to its principles and interests. It was of crucial importance for the representatives whom I met at Cracow and Warsaw to agree on the person who would have extensive powers in the underground government. A successful account was finally reached, although the process was difficult and complicated.
#7) My Most Honorable Appointment:
After a successful accord was reached for a chief in the underground and provincial delegates, urgent stress was placed on the responsibility of these officers to all political parties which was to constitute an underground parliament and control the personnel and budget of the administrative branch. A (so called) political key was decided upon to apportion the most important administrative posts among the parties. On my return to France, part of my mission was to report to the government all the points of view of the various parties, the agreements and conditions under which their representatives in France would support Sikorski’s government. The second half of my mission consisted of what I considered to be the most honorable that I had ever reached in my life. I was sworn to transmit all the most important secret plans, internal affairs, and points of view of all four parties of the underground to their own representatives in France. In my oath I explicitly promised that I would not transmit any of this material to anyone but the persons designated by each party in Poland--- that I would not use my knowledge against any of the parties politically and that I would not exploit any of this information to further my personal career. My position amounted to that of a father confessor for each party. As I have said, “I regarded it as the most honorable appointment I have ever received.”
#8) Returning to France:
I remained in Warsaw altogether about two weeks and then received instructions to return to France by the same route. After Stopping at Cracow, accompanying me was a 17 year old boy, the son of a Warsaw physician. His parents regarded my route as safe and had implored me to take the boy to France where he could join the Polish Army. I spent about three days in Cracow conferring with the underground authorities and then left for the frontier with the boy and a tiny roll of microfilm, in which a message of 38 pages of plans and suggestions which was photographed for the organization of the underground. The film was undeveloped and the text could be obliterated in an instant by exposing it to the light if the need arose. As I journeyed to meet my guide I could not quite analyze certain misgivings I had about the trip. I was to follow a route of which I was thoroughly familiar and my own experience was to be backed by that of a guide who had an excellent reputation. Nevertheless, there was something ominous in the air. My superiors in Cracow seemed to have been a shade too anxious in their warnings and too worried about my safety. sitting in the train and traveling toward the frontier I could not help glancing at the boy and brooding about our prospects. We would have to proceed several miles on foot in order to meet my guide. After I met him I would be under his care. I would be, so to speak, his responsibility, for it was the rule of the underground authorities in each country to plan in detail the routes of their emissaries. Each courier has his own special route. His appointed guide knows all the intermediary stopping points beyond the danger zone till he delivers his man to the underground organization in the neutral country.
#9) An Uneasy Feeling:
When I met my guide I noticed that he too seemed unusually worried, a trifle gloomy and reluctant about going on this trip. At first I thought it was my imagination and his mood was merely a projection of my own, but he soon released the source of his foreboding. It appeared that the predecessor who was due back the week before, had not yet returned. In conversation he seemed to be hinting at postponing our trip. I had the teen with me who wanted to join the Polish Army in France. This was the end of May, 1940. Holland and Belgium had fallen and the Germans were marching on Paris. Although, I believed, with nearly everyone in Warsaw, that France would hold and that Germany had over extended herself in the offensive and would ultimately be crushed as a consequence. Nevertheless, I could not help speculating on what the defeat of France would mean. I was by now accustomed to considering remote eventualities since the improbable frequently materialized in underground work and did so with appalling results. I realized that if France were to be defeated I would be left in mid air somewhere in Europe with a seventeen year old boy. The entire liaison system between Poland and the french government was based on continental routes. If France collapsed this system would collapse with it. On the last night before our departure my guide went into the village to make inquiries while I, and the boy, stayed with his father and sister. The guides sister seemed very depressed and behaved peculiarly from the moment she arrived. The girl had informed the boy that she feared the other guide had been caught by the Gestapo. If this was the case the route was now extremely perilous. The guide had warned his sister not to inform me but she thought the boy should at least be told. Perhaps it would prevent him from undertaking the trip. I told the girl and her father that I must discuss the entire matter with my guide when he returns.
#10) Debating the cause:
The instant my guide arrived I confronted him with the fact that his sister had told the young boy that she feared he should not go on the trip as the other guide had not returned and may have been caught by the Gestapo, for he was past due for more than a week. I suggested we postpone the trip. He glared at me! “Postpone our trip because these children jabber wildly?” Despite the fact that I was irritated by his harshness, I felt a great deal of sympathy for my guide. Obviously, he meant no serious harm but was torn by a conflict between his nervousness and his sense of responsibility. He was uneasy and distraught. “There happens to be a great deal that requires discussion!” I said, as I glanced at the boy who was doubled up with strain and tension. “There is nothing to discuss!” he growled angrily. “My orders do not include the boy so he will have to stay here. The best thing for us to do is to get some sleep. It is raining now so we will start in three hours. It’s safer for us to travel in the rain and it looks as though it will keep it up for a few days.” I was reluctant to leave the boy for I had grown quite fond of him. He too appeared anxious to continue the trip and proudly resented the insinuation that he might not have the necessary courage or stamina. After a heated conversation I finally persuaded him it was for the best. I dozed off for a couple hours and then was awakened by my guide. “Get up!” he said. “We must leave now!”
(to be continued) ....
The Secret State: Series 4:
#1) The Hour of Decision:
#2) The Socialists and Nationalists:
#3) The Polish Peasant Party:
#4) The Christian Labor Party:
#5) Creating a Special Underground Center:
#6) The Greatest Difficulty:
#7) My Most Honorable Appointment:
#8) Returning to France:
#9) An Uneasy Feeling:
#10) Debating the Cause:
#11) Through the woods, the Rain, and the Mud:
#12) Risking our Lives for One Night’s Rest:
#13) Caught by the Gestapo:
#14) Cast into a Dingy Cell:
#15) Tortured and Interrogated:
#16) Do or Die:
#17) Underground: Under Fire:
#18) Faithful in the spotlight:
#19) My Second Interrogation:
#20) Inspector Pick:
#21) Severe Brutality:
#22) Sticking to my Story:
#23) Beaten to unconsciousness:
#24) Their Psychological Approach:
#25) Skillful Deception:
#26) In the Office of the Nazi Leader:
#27) The New Order:
#28) The clear Purpose of my interview.
#29) Getting Down to Business:
#30) Two Reasons I could not Accept:.
To be Continued in the Next Daily Bites of “The Secret State Series #4”
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#10) Debating the cause:
The instant my guide arrived I confronted him with the fact that his sister had told the young boy that she feared he should not go on the trip as the other guide had not returned and may have been caught by the Gestapo, for he was past due for more than a week. I suggested we postpone the trip. He glared at me! “Postpone our trip because these children jabber wildly?” Despite the fact that I was irritated by his harshness, I felt a great deal of sympathy for my guide. Obviously, he meant no serious harm but was torn by a conflict between his nervousness and his sense of responsibility. He was uneasy and distraught. “There happens to be a great deal that requires discussion!” I said, as I glanced at the boy who was doubled up with strain and tension. “There is nothing to discuss!” he growled angrily. “My orders do not include the boy so he will have to stay here. The best thing for us to do is to get some sleep. It is raining now so we will start in three hours. It’s safer for us to travel in the rain and it looks as though it will keep it up for a few days.” I was reluctant to leave the boy for I had grown quite fond of him. He too appeared anxious to continue the trip and proudly resented the insinuation that he might not have the necessary courage or stamina. After a heated conversation I finally persuaded him it was for the best. I dozed off for a couple hours and then was awakened by my guide. “Get up!” he said. “We must leave now!”
(to be continued) ....
(To be continued )
Daily Bites of The Secret State Series #4
“A New Regime”
#12) Risking our Lives for One Night’s Rest:
#13) Caught by the Gestapo:
#14) Cast into a Dingy Cell:
#15) Tortured and Interrogated:
by Jan Karski 1944 :
“From The Secret State”
#1) The Hour of Decision:
#2) The Socialists and Nationalists:
#3) The Polish Peasant Party:
#4) The Christian Labor Party:
#5) Creating a Special Underground Center:
#6) The Greatest Difficulty:
#7) My Most Honorable Appointment:
#8) Returning to France:
#9) An Uneasy Feeling:
#10) Debating the Cause:
#11) Through the woods, the Rain, and the Mud:
#12) Risking our Lives for One Night’s Rest:
#13) Caught by the Gestapo:
#14) Cast into a Dingy Cell:
#15) Tortured and Interrogated:
#16) Do or Die:
#17) Underground: Under Fire:
#18) Faithful in the spotlight:
#19) My Second Interrogation:
#20) Inspector Pick:
#21) Severe Brutality:
#22) Sticking to my Story:
#23) Beaten to unconsciousness:
#24) Their Psychological Approach:
#25) Skillful Deception:
#26) In the Office of the Nazi Leader:
#27) The New Order:
#28) The clear Purpose of my interview.
#29) Getting Down to Business:
#30) Two Reasons I could not Accept:.
LibertygroupFreedom
https://redd.it/6y400k
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