Daily Bites of The Secret State Series #1: Bite #12,Divergence between two Countries

The Secret State Series #1

STORY OF A SECRET STATE

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Albright, a biographical essay by Yale historian Timothy Snyder, an afterword by Zbigniew Brzezinski, previously unpublished photos, notes, further reading, and a glossary—is an apt legacy for this hero of conscience during the most fraught and fragile moment in modern history.
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:

PEARL LEONA STURGIS·SUNDAY, JULY 9, 2017

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:

“The Underground”

Bite #12,Divergence between two Countries:

by Jan Karski:

Packed with 60 men to one rail car, on the second day we noticed that the people outside looked and dressed differently and were speaking a foreign language. The last vestige of uncertainty was eliminated.--- We were well within the Russian Border. Small groups of Russians, mostly women and children, stood about and eyed us with undemonstrative, but not unfriendly, curiosity. At the next rest stop we hesitated to approach them but finally, a few of us tentatively walked closer. They did not shrink but watched calmly, some smiling. They offered us water and a few of the women gave us cigarettes.

It was evident that other prisoners must have passed this way. Otherwise they could hardly have been so prepared for our advent. At another stop we had an opportunity to understand their attitude toward us more fully. Two or three of our officers could speak fluent Russian and they served as interpreters. A young roughly dressed and sober faced woman gave a drink to one officer. He was a tall erect young man around 30 years old. He expressed his gratitude and then added ardently: “You are our friends. Together we will fight and beat the German barbarians.” She backed away and stiffened. “You Polish Fascist Lords! Here in Russia you will be strong to work and too weak to oppress the poor!” 

The incident was like a dash of cold water thrown on him. Hence forward we were more circumspect and less open, aware of the great gulf of misunderstanding between the two countries. Our countries so close in geography, origin, and language are so vastly separated by divergent histories and political systems. In particular, we understood that we, the officers, were the special target of whatever bitterness the changing relations of our two countries had left in Russia. To them we were idle aristocrats and quite beyond redemption. 

(to be continued) ....

(To be continued ) 

Daily Bites of The Secret State Series #1 

Bite #13,Marching to our Destination:

by Jan Karski 1944 :

“From The Secret State”

 #1) Introduction:

 #2) While Attending a Party:

 #3) Secret Assignment:

 #4) Fifteen days of Marching:

 #5) The Hammer and the Sickle:

 #6) surrendering to the Soviets: 

#7) Laying Down our Arms:

 #8) Prisoners of the Red Army: 

#9) Vanishing in the crowd:

 #10) Heart of the Crowd: 

#11) Packed Like Sardines: 

#12) Divergence between two Countries: 

#13) Marching to our Destination: 

#14) From Polish officer to Russian Slave: 

#15) Hazardous Possibilities:

#16) Exchanged and Escaped: 

#17) Under German Control: 

#18) Crossing over the Bridge: 

#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:

IN CASE YOU MISSED ONE OF THE SERIES

To be Continued in the Next Daily Bites of “The Secret State Series #1”

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