The Secret State Series #7
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Albright, a biographical essay by Yale historian Timothy Snyder, an afterword by Zbigniew Brzezinski, previously unpublished photos, notes, further reading, and a glossary—is an apt legacy for this hero of conscience during the most fraught and fragile moment in modern history.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 #7:
The Secret State #7 “Retribution”
Top Officer in WW2 to German Slave
by Jan Karski: Highlights and excerpts by PL Sturgis:
Top Officer in WW2 to German Slave
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 #7:
Top Officer in WW2 to German Slave
“Retribution”
Bites #21-25, Forbidden Books:
#22) In Bold Print:
#23) Trees Hidden in the Forest:
#24) Hidden Archives:
#25) Tension at the Top:
by Jan Karski :
#21) Forbidden Books:
The secret press published books and pamphlets of all kinds. The pamphlets were mostly ideological. The books were chiefly reprints of books that Germany had forbidden; Polish classics; texts for underground education; military works and prayer books. The stories of the underground press would include endless episodes of ingenuity and heroism. The boldness and enterprise that went into these stories were exceptional, since it functioned, not only to keep these stories alive, but in every way to make them a provokation and threat to the Germans and a symbol of unyielding attitudes of Polish resistance. Energy was directed and danger risked for the purpose of subjecting the Germans to contempt and keeping up the Polish morale by a defiant refusal to accept the German occupation as a reality. Most of the press was published on common paper in 8” x 8” size for the sake of safety and distribution. At one period one of the papers suddenly appeared in bold format in an issue the size of the London Times. this seemed, in those circumstances, nothing short of insanity. In the first editorial the publisher explained: “We have decided to publish our paper in a size considered unsuitable for conspirators because we have resolved to take no notice of the bloody scroundrels of Szuch Boulevard. (Gestapo Headquarters) We ignore the danger of the gestapo and pay no heed to the German occupation. Just as the spirit of a nation can not be killed ....neither can its courage and contempt for the enemy be stopped!”
#22) In Bold Print:
The Bold Printed Newspaper continued to run for some time in its unusual format. The publishers asked their readers to consider the only payment they ask for the risks they are taking is a wide circulation; audacity; and thoroughly read. This is contrary to all the rules of conspiracy. The proof reading of this paper was also excellent. The editors of this remarkable newspaper explained: “We have no difficulty in obtaining paper from the German authorities since they are corrupt to the core. Anything can be obtained from them by bribery. We are using this fine quality paper to show the world the infamous venality of the German administration. The attitude of ignoring the Germans was expressed in many phases of publishing. I remember a pamphlet printed in three colors with artistry and skill and would have been distinguished at any time. These were, in a sense, all superfluous and wasteful efforts, but to us they served a valuable, political and morale building purpose. The secret press was the means in which the underground organization kept in direct contact with the large mass of the population. Through it, the people were constantly kept aware of what was being done, so their morale and hopes were kept at a high pitch. For their work to be successful the underground organization required the knowledge too, that the people had faith in them and supported their authority. Testimony to this effect was received in many ways.
#23) Hiding the trees in the Forest:
I had in my possession quite a respectable conspiratorial apparatus which would seem meaningless and contradictory to many people. People could not understand how I could hold a normal office in the underground. the notions of meetings and consultations were impossible to explain. In their vision, underground warriors met briefly, usually at night, and in dangerous circumstances. Illumination conspirators wore masks and spoke in tense whispers. They behaved like a cross between a detective and a reckless gambler staking his last coin on the turn of a card. Nothing could be further from the truth. The motion pictures I have seen and the fiction I have read about the underground in Europe are invariably products of purely sensational imagination. The kind of work we engaged in had to be done by the most prosaic (common place) methods. Mystery and excitement attract attention and the greatest law in the underground work is to be inconspicuous. The quality we valued more than any other was the ability to melt into the landscape. For the most part, our work was probably less thrilling and less of an adventure than the work of a carpenter. Some of our men put in endless hours at observation points. Others had the unglamorous job of distributing the secret press. It was dull, heavy, fatiguing work that was dangerous but unexciting.
#24) Hidden Archives:
My own apparatus was elaborate. I had four well equipped organization offices. Two of them were for meeting places with military and civilian leaders and one for the public records and the last one was the usual office for clerical work. There were two typewriters for my assistants which were two women. The women did the typing and there were two teenage boys who served as my military connection (liaison) men. Four well trained and reliable University graduates served as state representatives of my department and were entitled to confer with civilian and military leaders. The two meeting places were large commercial offices. the owners were perfectly aware that we had rented the office for confidential purposes. The fact that the office building where we were located was registered by the Germans was to our benefit. I was actually employed as an advertizing agent in the company. This was an excellent pretext for daily calls at the office. My public records were hidden in a Warsaw restaurant. The art of hiding documents behind walls, under floors, in bath tubs, double drawers, and common places had reached an increasing level of ingenuity. Even if the Germans were to institute a campaign to unearth the hidden documents of Poland they would need a whole army of workers to demolish houses, tear out floors, and take houses apart apart inch by inch. They would even have to split apart thousands of trees.
#25) Tension at the Top:
My personal office was in a private apartment in a prosperous but quiet building. It was a large comfortable steam heated room. The typewriters were of the noiseless variety so that they could be used far into the night without complaints. The two women who worked on them were modest in appearance and attracted no appearance as they came and went. My own work was difficult and precise, Everyday I would meet with two or three men who were deep in underground work. Our interviews were carried out with constant knowledge that the Gestapo may be hovering about. I had to exchange views with them on scores of topics; explain the opinions of other underground leaders; learn their views and communicate back again to the underground leaders. For these meetings I often brought a question or an opinion from the Commander of the army or the Chief Delegate of the Underground organization and then transmit back to him the maximum amount of information. The most painful moments, as far as I was concerned, occurred when an interview had to be interrupted because I was not in possession of all the relative data. They would be furious of Having to go through all the complicated preparations to call for another meeting. Later I learned my trade better and corrected most of my earlier faults.
#24) Hidden Archives:
My own apparatus was elaborate. I had four well equipped organization offices. Two of them were for meeting places with military and civilian leaders and one for the public records and the last one was the usual office for clerical work. There were two typewriters for my assistants which were two women. The women did the typing and there were two teenage boys who served as my military connection (liaison) men. Four well trained and reliable University graduates served as state representatives of my department and were entitled to confer with civilian and military leaders. The two meeting places were large commercial offices. the owners were perfectly aware that we had rented the office for confidential purposes. The fact that the office building where we were located was registered by the Germans was to our benefit. I was actually employed as an advertizing agent in the company. This was an excellent pretext for daily calls at the office. My public records were hidden in a Warsaw restaurant. The art of hiding documents behind walls, under floors, in bath tubs, double drawers, and common places had reached an increasing level of ingenuity. Even if the Germans were to institute a campaign to unearth the hidden documents of Poland they would need a whole army of workers to demolish houses, tear out floors, and take houses apart apart inch by inch. They would even have to split apart thousands of trees.
#25) Tension at the Top:
My personal office was in a private apartment in a prosperous but quiet building. It was a large comfortable steam heated room. The typewriters were of the noiseless variety so that they could be used far into the night without complaints. The two women who worked on them were modest in appearance and attracted no appearance as they came and went. My own work was difficult and precise, Everyday I would meet with two or three men who were deep in underground work. Our interviews were carried out with constant knowledge that the Gestapo may be hovering about. I had to exchange views with them on scores of topics; explain the opinions of other underground leaders; learn their views and communicate back again to the underground leaders. For these meetings I often brought a question or an opinion from the Commander of the army or the Chief Delegate of the Underground organization and then transmit back to him the maximum amount of information. The most painful moments, as far as I was concerned, occurred when an interview had to be interrupted because I was not in possession of all the relative data. They would be furious of Having to go through all the complicated preparations to call for another meeting. Later I learned my trade better and corrected most of my earlier faults.
(to be continued) ....
(To be continued )
Daily Bites of The Secret State Series #7
“Retribution”
Top Officer in WW2 to German Slave
#27) Unforgettable Tragedies:
#28) Hidden Archives:
#29) All’s Fair in Love and War:
#30) Losing to Win:
by Jan Karski 1944 :
“From The Secret State”
#1) The Spirit of Resistance:
#2) Never Forgotten: Never Forgiven:
#3) Confiscating Children:
#4) Ten Commandments of Resistance:
#5) Ferocious Retaliation:
#6) Germicide the Germans:
#7) Testing True Patriots:
#8) Labor Camps:
#9) The ends Justifying the Means:
#10) War Bonds:
#11) The Secret Press:
#12) The Hidden Printing Machines:
#13) The Hidden Printing Machines:
#14) Secret Codes:
#15) From the Closest to the Roof tops:
#16) The Printing Press Invasion:
#17) The Printing Press Invasions:
#18) The Three System of Selling:
#19) The Lord’s Prayer of the Polish Underground:
#20) Our Daily Bread:
#21) Forbidden Books:
#22) In Bold Print:
#23) Trees Hidden in the Forest:
#24) Hidden Archives:
#25) Tension at the Top:
#26) The Liaison Woman:
#27) Unforgettable Tragedies:
#28) Hidden Archives:
#29) All’s Fair in Love and War:
#30) Losing to Win:
LibertygroupFreedom
https://redd.it/6y400k
“Retribution”
Top Officer in WW2 to German Slave
Top Officer in WW2 to German Slave
"FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM AND LIBERTY"
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