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Albright, a biographical essay by Yale historian Timothy Snyder, an afterword by Zbigniew Brzezinski, previously unpublished photos, notes, further reading, and a glossary—is an apt legacy for this hero of conscience during the most fraught and fragile moment in modern history.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 #21-25,Severe Brutality:
#22) Sticking to my Story:
#23) Beaten to unconsciousness:
#24) Their Psychological Approach:
#25) Skillful Deception:
by Jan Karski :
#21) Severe Brutality:
Again I denied working for the Underground Organization. One of the guards wrapped me sharply behind the ear with their rubber police stick. A vivid agonizing pain shot through my entire body as if a bolt of lightning had gone through me. Of all the beatings I had endured I never felt anything to equal the instant of sheer pain produced by the rubber stick the guard held. It made every muscle in my body wince in sharp agony. It was something like the sensation produced when a dentist strikes a nerve, but multiplied and spread over my entire nervous system. A cry broke from me and I flinched away as I saw out of the corner of my eye, the stick being raised again. The inspector held up his hand warding off the blow. “I think we will give him another chance.” he said. “He doesn’t look like the type that can stand much punishment.” ----- “So, talk now!” --- “I will but you won’t believe me,” I said. the pain of that paralyzing blow vanished quickly, leaving only the memory and the sickening anticipation of a repetition. But my fatigue, the lack of food and sleep, the other blows I had received, and the sapping nature of the whole ordeal combined, made me dizzy and nauseous. I gagged and nearly toppled from my chair. The Inspector recoiled with refined loathing. “Get him out of here! Take him to a basin before he throws up all over the place!” They dragged me from the chair and hustled me to a dingy wash room where I vomited in a smelly urinal. My stomach muscles were contracting in tormented spasms. One of the guards handed me a bottle of brandy. I gulped a mouthful and they snatched it away and drug me back to their interrogation chair.
#22) sticking to my story:
The guards drug me back to the inspector’s office and I collapsed into the interrogation chair feeling drained of every ounce of energy, lifeless and light headed. Inspector Pick dabbed at his mouth with a handkerchief. “Answer me! Where did you start your journey? Who gave you your papers and film?---”I started from Warsaw” I answered. “My friend and schoolmate gave me the papers and film. It only showed the ruins of Warsaw. ----”Why did you throw the film in the water if it only showed the ruins of Warsaw?” ---- “I thought it would protect my friend.”---- “Where is your knapsack hidden?”---- “I do not have a knapsack!” --- I denied the charges indignantly with an air of injured innocence. -- “You are a liar!” one of the guards charged and crashed his fist into my mouth. I felt a tooth crack and loosen. Blood oozed from my lips. The inspector waned the guard away from me. He looked at me distantly, coolly. “Do you expect us to believe you hiked from the border four days with no food?” --- “It is the truth” I said. --- “For the last time: Where is your knapsack?” I turned the problem over feverishly in my mind. There was nothing incriminating in my knapsack but I felt that once I started to change my story I would lose track of it easily and might reveal something important if I was at a loss for words. Again the sharp pain rocketed through me as the guard’s truncheon (police stick) landed behind my ear. I slid forward and crumpled to the floor.
#23) Beaten to Unconsciousness:
Inspector Pick’s voice seemed to drone far above me like the humming of a distant plane. “That fainting act will get you nowhere! Those swipes behind the ear have been worked out by our greatest medical authorities! They are painful but you can not lose consciousness from them!” The effects from these blows seemed to revoke a frenzied and sadistic delight in the guards. Their laughter, the voice of the inspector, shrill, excited, and disdainful, registered on my nerves. “Get to work on him!” he shouted. “Leave over just enough of him to be questioned.” The guards pounced on me and popped me upright against the wall. A vertible barrage of fists crunched against my face and body. As I sagged they supported me by holding me under the armpits. With the last remnant of my consciousness I felt them release me. I collapsed on the floor in an insensible heap. They had over estimated my stamina and had not left over enough to be questioned. They left me in my cell for three days without disturbing me. All my joints ached. My face was puffy and bruised, and the side where I had been kicked was sensitive to the slightest touch. I felt the hopelessness of the situation. I realized it was obvious to the Gestapo that I was lying. During every hearing there were more and more questions that I could not answer but I was persuaded that the only thing that could save me was sticking to my story. The aged Slovakian who brought me food and water encouraged me to eat but I could barely manage to swallow the slop. The second morning he took me to the wash room. I tried to wash the dried blood from my face. There were several Slovakian soldiers there washing and shaving. I noticed a razor blade left on the window sill above the basin where I was washing. Almost automatically I snatched it frantically and stuck it in my pocket.
#24) Their Psychological Approach:
Walking back to my cell from the wash room I clutched the razor blade feverishly and that night I fashioned a frame from a piece of wood in the cell and carefully inserted the blade. It made an excellent weapon. I hid it in the mattress thinking it would be useful if the torturing continued. At the end of the third day the Gestapo guards entered my cell. I expected the usual torrent of abuse and another beating but somehow I felt defiant. This note of challenge must have been communicated to one of the guards. He scrutinized me and spoke venomously. “I think you might like another session with us? Maybe you want to show us how tough you are? I hope you do get another chance but today we have to pretty you up for a visit to an SS Officer. Don’t you feel important?” Deadened as my faculties had become I reacted sharply to this news. I was ready to encourage the feeblest hope in myself, the faintest prospect of life and freedom. Perhaps they believed my story, or as I had hoped before, they may consider me an unimportant link, scarcely worth bothering about. I became even more cheerful when a barber entered to clean and shave me. While this was being done the guard took my shoes and clothes and brought them back brushed and cleaned. Nothing dampened my optimism when I entered the office of the Schultz Staffer man. He dismissed the guards curtly, even with a faint touch of loathing, offered me a chair with graciousness and courtesy as he walked over to a crippled soldier. The soldier stood rigidly at the other end of the room. I studied him eagerly seeking a clue to the strategy I should employ.
#25) Skillful Deception:
At least the German Gestapo was taking me in a different direction. The inspector appointed my next interrogation to a handsome youth not more than 25 years old, tall and slender, with long blonde hair that fell with premeditated charm over his forehead. He had an attitude of cool masculinity. At any other time I would have been amused at the effort he made to fulfill each detail of this carefully worked out pose. His uniform was particularly taylored and garnished with medals and ribbons. His superiors had undoubtedly cast him as a typical specimen of youthful Prussian Junker and he strained to fulfill his obligation. He walked toward me with a firm stride as if his personality had been split with one part functioning as a harsh taskmaster perpetually observing and grading the behavior of his second personality. Something about him fascinated me. This was the genuine article, so authentic a product of Nazi and Prussian tradition as to be vaguely unreal! I was utterly amazed when he came close to me and laid a gentle hand on my shoulder and said in solitude: “Don’t be afraid of anything. I am going to see to it that no harm comes to you!” The candid charm of his speech upset all my expectations. He continued: “I can see you are not the usual type of prisoner we get here. You have culture and breeding. If you were born German you would be very much like I am. It is pleasant to meet someone like you in this God forsaken place where there are only fools.” Well, my brain was working at top speed trying to fathom the purpose of this new approach. None of my friends who had been caught in the Gestapo dragnet had ever mentioned an interview remotely resembling this one. I replied to his speech with extreme wariness, like a man stepping across a field full of holes in the dark. “You seem so much different than others I have encountered here” I told him. His response to my remark consisted only of a frank direct stare.
(to be continued) ....
(To be continued )
Daily Bites of The Secret State Series #4
“A New Regime”
#27) The New Order:
#28) The clear Purpose of my interview.
#29) Getting Down to Business:
#30) Two Reasons I could not Accept:
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:.
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