The Secret State Series #6
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Albright, a biographical essay by Yale historian Timothy Snyder, an afterword by Zbigniew Brzezinski, previously unpublished photos, notes, further reading, and a glossary—is an apt legacy for this hero of conscience during the most fraught and fragile moment in modern history.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 #6:
The Secret State #6 “Hunted”
From Polish Officer to German Slave: 1944
by Jan Karski: Highlights and excerpts by PL Sturgis:
From Polish Officer to German Slave: 1944
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 #6:
From Polish Officer to German Slave: 1944
“Hunted”
Bites #21-25,The Fraudulent Letter:
#22) The Underground Stranger:
#23) A Secret Task:
#24) A Favor Based on Trust:
#25) Mysterious Rescue:
by Jan Karski :
#21) The Fraudulent Letters:
The letters I penned to the Nazi Authorities was signed by the name of a Volksdeutsche and contained an urgent request from the writer to be allowed to serve his country. They had to be written with considerable variations in order to prevent our fraud from being too apparent. They ran more or less to the form a Nazi convert would normally use. Here is a copy of the letter: “ The Fuehrer has awakened in me the conscious of the German Community. I am at present serving the Vaterland as a farmer (or a merchant, policeman) I can not continue to stand by any longer while my German brothers are heroicly dying. I wish to contribute my service to the glorious German Army and herewith solicit the privilege of immediate induction into the Wehrmacht. (end of letter) when Danuta read the first letter I had written the eagerness displayed for the project suffered a certain set back now. She looked at me with unusual seriousness, obviously disturbed. I sensed that this trick violated her sense of decency and honor. Despite her hatred for the most traitorous members of the Volksdeutsche, I could see that she felt it to be too cruel of a trick to play on them. I had long since become hardened to methods which affronted me at first but had learned to accept calmly because of the absolute necessity. Here she was making me feel my initial emotions again. “Please?” I begged. “You have to understand our position and how much harm these individuals are doing for us.!” WE needed to upset the Nazi crimes.
#22) Underground Stranger:
I had set aside one day each week as a Holiday but the work had taken such a hold on me that I found it almost impossible to idle. I had to discipline myself into grim relaxation and force myself to lounge and read while my mind was elsewhere. On one such night as I sat restlessly fingering through a book I heard the familiar scratching at the garden window which signaled Lucien’s visits. Glad to have an end put to my tedious relaxation I rushed to meet Lucien but first met the presence of a stranger. He was a short, powerfully built young man. He wore common farmer’s garments and his manner was, by no means, naive or insensitive. I knew immediately that he was an underground man by the swift appraising glance he shot about the room. He eyed me with unruffled calm. His manner was unusually alert and self assured. I glanced inquisitively toward Lucien. Something about the stranger’s bearings struck me as completely extra ordinary. He was not at all typical of the person I would expect to meet with Lucien. His face was set in hard unyielding lines. His lips clamped tightly together. He seemed determined, preoccupied and even a trifle cruel. The three of us gazed at each other without uttering a word. I thought it was up to Lucien to break the ice and I thought if he insisted on being rude that I would maintain a stubborn silence myself. It just seemed to me that some obscure point of pride was becoming involved as the silence prolonged itself.
#23) A Secret Task:
Lucien shows up with a complete stranger and remains silent, waiting for me to speak. Then to my complete surprise and indignation, Lucien tugs on his young friend’s sleeve and directs him to a corner of the room. They whispered together for a moment or two and then came forward again. Their strange behavior was now beginning to infuriate me! As they approached the center of the room I advanced to meet them and said harshly: “If you prefer privacy Lucien, just let me know and I will leave you two gentlemen alone!” Lucien looked at me in genuine astonishment and then his expression changed to one of comprehension and finally, even to one of mild amusement. “OH! Wait Witold, we really did not mean to be rude. We had some urgent business and I completely forgot my manners. I’m terribly sorry!” It was my turn to feel embarrassed. My insistence on good manners had been ridiculous. I had taken offense on a trifle. I muttered something sheepishly. We both got caught in a moment of mutual apology and it became a little comical. “I would like you to meet Kostrzewa” he said in a business like fashion. Kostrzewa broke into a smile. “I have seen you around the village.” he said. “I am very glad to meet you.” Then somewhat noncommittably Lucien asked me if I would do him a favor. “What is it?” I asked. “We need someone to do sentry duty for us,” he said. I asked his to add more to that. “ Nothing to add” he said “except for you to stand guard and whistle if anyone approaches.” Of course, I told them I would do it. They both promised to return in a day or two and quickly disappeared through the window. (to be continued) A Favor Based on Trust:
#24) A Favor Based on Trust:
Two days later Lucien returned with Kostrzewa. I felt something important was in the wind. Not that Lucien displayed any tenseness. He was too well trained to expose any of the natural effects of an unusual situation. I had seen too many men in similar states. they always carried themselves with a certain self conscious ease. It was as though, after a period of underground training, one became a kind of delicate machine registering the slightest of tremors. Watching Lucien’s vague smile I felt my heart begin to pound and my palms became damp and hot. I greeted him coolly. “Is this the night you want me to do the little favor for you?” “Yes!” he answered. “You should put on some boots. It will be damp walking in the grass.” I started up to my room when he stopped me and advised me to put on some dark clothes. I told him I will be down soon. Lucien sat down in the same arm chair that he always unconsciously chose when he was nervous or strained. I glanced at him as I went up the stairs. The muscles of his jaw worked and his brow was contorted in thought. I changed quickly into dark clothes and slipped on a sweater under my jacket and returned quickly to the parlor. Lucien was pacing back and forth. He asked if I was ready and before I could answer he was headed for the back door. I followed him. On the pathway he stopped and put a restraining hand on my shoulder casting sharp searching glances into the darkness. Satisfied we were unobserved he resumed walking with rapid intense strides.
#25 mysterious Rescue:
The air was damp and raw. I pulled up my coat collar and walked silently at Lucien’s side. We hugged the side of the path keeping in the shadow of the trees. Then we cut through the woods. I soon realized that we were detouring around the village so that we could re enter the woods from which I had first arrived to the estate. In the darkness Lucien went ahead rapidly, sure of the locale. I stumbled after him. We had walked a tedious mile or two when Lucien called a halt. He dropped to the ground behind a thick clump of bushes that had apparently been selected before hand. It was an excellent vantage point with a clear view of the road while we were invisible to anyone who passed along. I felt sure these careful preparations had not been made for a petty affair. I was annoyed at Lucien’s air of mystery and lack of respect for me. “When is it-- whatever is---going to happen? I demanded. “I shall explain later.” he said. I cursed inwardly. “Don’t you trust me?” I asked. “That is precisely it.” he replied. I felt humiliated but there was nothing I could do. I was about to stretch my legs and stand when Lucien pushed me down. Somebody was coming down the road whistling the same tune I was directed to whistle for a warning of an unexpected presence. I thought it was Kostrzewa. Then I saw someone following Kostrzewa...if it was Kostrzewa. Then there was a wild scuffling, bodies struggling and twigs snapping. Lucien rose in excitement. “Stay here!” he demanded. “If anyone comes you whistle the tune and run for cover.”
(to be continued) ....
(To be continued )
Daily Bites of The Secret State Series #6
“Hunted:”
From Polish Officer to German Slave: 1944
#27) Emotions of Guilt:
#28) Committing a Crime or Saving a Life?
#29) Destroying documents:
#30) Leaving for Cracow:
by Jan Karski 1944 :
“From The Secret State”
#1) Hiding Out:
#2) Three Days of Confinement:
#3) Breach of Discipline:
#4) A Touch of Underground Measles:
#5) The Farmer’s Daughter:
#6) Meeting the New Me:
#7) Out of my Shell:
#8) Trading the old Coat for the New:
#9) At Home on the Farm:
#10) Getting Acquainted:
#11) The First Three Weeks:
#12) My Role as a Gardener:
#13) Midnight Underground Guest:
#14) A Familiar Voice:
#15) Returning to Underground Work:
#16) Back in the Saddle:
#17) My Letter to the Polish Citizens:
#18) Creating a Masterpiece:
#19) Denationalizing Poland:
#20) Suspecting a Traitor:
#21) The Fraudulent Letter:
#22) The Underground Stranger:
#23) A Secret Task:
#24) A Favor Based on Trust:
#25) Mysterious Rescue:
#26) A Bloody Fight:
#27) Emotions of Guilt:
#28) Committing a Crime or Saving a Life?
#29) Destroying documents:
#30) Leaving for Cracow:
LibertygroupFreedom
https://redd.it/6y400k
“Hunted”
From Polish Officer to German Slave: 1944
From Polish Officer to German Slave: 1944
"FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM AND LIBERTY"
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