The Secret State Series #9
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Albright, a biographical essay by Yale historian Timothy Snyder, an afterword by Zbigniew Brzezinski, previously unpublished photos, notes, further reading, and a glossary—is an apt legacy for this hero of conscience during the most fraught and fragile moment in modern history.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. 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.
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."
"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 #9:
The Secret State #9 Hitler’s Jewish Extermination:
Top Officer in WW2 to German Slaves,
to Top Underground Courier:
(an unknown chapter of World War 2)
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 #9:
Bites #16-20, A Game Called Murder:
#17) After the Shooting:
#18) Reports to the Allies:
#19) A Special Meeting:
#20) Requesting Drastic Details:
by Jan Karski :
#16) The Children’s Game called “Murder”
Walking down the street in the ghetto all of a sudden my companions grabbed my arms and rushed to the nearest exit. I became frightened. I thought I had been recognized. “Hurry! Hurry!” You must see this and you must report this to the world.” the guides led me to the top floor of the building. The guide knocked on an apartment door answered by a young frightened boy who ran in the other room away from us. The guide urged me to the window, pulled down the shade and told me to look through the slit at the side. “You will never believe this happened unless you see it with your own eyes!” he said. I looked in the street and saw two little boys dressed in Hitler’s uniforms. They wore no caps and their blonde hair shone in the sunlight. With their round rosy cheeks they were like the image of health and life. They chattered and laughed and pushed each other in merriment. The younger one pulled out a gun from his hip pocket and then I realized what I was about to witness. His eyes roamed about looking for a target with the same excitement as a boy at a carnival. I noticed all the pavements around him were deserted. The gaze of the boy with the gun came to rest on a spot out of my line of vision. he raised his arm and took perfect aim. The shot rang out, followed by the noise of breaking glass, and then the terrible cries of a man in agony. The boy who had fired the shot shouted with joy. The other little boy clapped him on the shoulders, and said something to him, obviously complimentary. They smiled at each other, stood there for a moment as though they were aware of, and elated about, their invisible audience. Then they linked arms and walked off toward the exit of the ghetto, chatting cheerfully as if they were returning from a sporting event.
#17) After the Shooting:
Walking down the street in the ghetto all of a sudden my companions grabbed my arms and rushed to the nearest exit. I became frightened. I thought I had been recognized. “Hurry! Hurry!” You must see this and you must report this to the world.” the guides led me to the top floor of the building. The guide knocked on an apartment door answered by a young frightened boy who ran in the other room away from us. The guide urged me to the window, pulled down the shade and told me to look through the slit at the side. “You will never believe this happened unless you see it with your own eyes!” he said. I looked in the street and saw two little boys dressed in Hitler’s uniforms. They wore no caps and their blonde hair shone in the sunlight. With their round rosy cheeks they were like the image of health and life. They chattered and laughed and pushed each other in merriment. The younger one pulled out a gun from his hip pocket and then I realized what I was about to witness. His eyes roamed about looking for a target with the same excitement as a boy at a carnival. I noticed all the pavements around him were deserted. The gaze of the boy with the gun came to rest on a spot out of my line of vision. he raised his arm and took perfect aim. The shot rang out, followed by the noise of breaking glass, and then the terrible cries of a man in agony. The boy who had fired the shot shouted with joy. The other little boy clapped him on the shoulders, and said something to him, obviously complimentary. They smiled at each other, stood there for a moment as though they were aware of, and elated about, their invisible audience. Then they linked arms and walked off toward the exit of the ghetto, chatting cheerfully as if they were returning from a sporting event.
#17) After the Shooting:
In the room behind me there was complete silence. No one stirred after the shooting. I remained at the window afraid to change the position of my body or remove my cramped leg. I was seized with such panic that I could not make the effort to take a single step or force a word out of my throat. It seemed to me as if I were to make the slightest movement I would precipitate another scene such as I had just witnessed. I do not know how long I remained there. I was so completely unconscious of time. At length, I felt a hand on my shoulder. Repressing a nervous start, I turned around to see a woman. The tenant of the apartment was standing there, her face the color of chalk in the dim light. She gestured to me. “You came to help us? It won’t do any good! Go back! Run away! Don’t torture yourself anymore.” My two guides were sitting motionless on a dilapidated couch with their heads in their hands. I approached them. “Let’s go!” I said, stammering. “Take me out of here. I am very tired. I must go. I will come back some other time.” They rose quickly and silently and silently and placed themselves on either side of me. We clattered hurriedly down the broken staircase without saying a word. In the street I almost broke into a run while they kept up with me the best they could. We hurried through the doors in the cellar until we reached the secret door that led to the outside.
#18) Reports to the Allies:
Two days later I repeated my visit to the ghetto to memorize more vividly my visual impression I walked with my guides for three hours through the streets of this inferno to better testify of the truth before the leading men and women of the free countries of the world. I reported my experience to outstanding members of the British and American governments and all the Jewish leaders of both continents. I told what I had seen in the ghetto to some of the world’s greatest writers.: to H.G. Wells: Arthur Koestler: members of the P.E.N. Club. I knew they could describe it with great force. I told it to others too, and to one in particular, who will never be heard from again. In London five weeks later a meeting was arranged for me. To me it was only one of in-numeral such meetings and not the most important. Since my arrival in London I had been swamped with literally hundreds of conferences, conversations, contacts, and reports. I had been involved in them from 9 AM to midnight every day with hardly an intermission except for necessities.
#19) A Special Meeting:
I was tired after all the meetings but I knew it was important. I was looking forward to this special meeting with the London Jewish Leader of the Jewish Bund. He had been in Poland until 1940 and had worked in the Jewish underground. He had been a member of the Council in Warsaw for the ghetto and was held for a time as a hostage by the Nazis. We were to meet in the Stratton House, a noisy bee hive of a building. When I entered one of the small rooms my superior was already there, sitting and waiting quietly in the office chair. I was very tired. I studied him casually while we introduced ourselves. Since the war began I have had to deal without exaggeration with thousands of people and always with an insufficient amount of time. Consequently, I have had to learn to size up character at a glance. It has become a fixed habit with me to define quickly the mentality and habits of anyone I met so as to do my work more efficiently in the shortest amount of time. To me, this Jewish leader looked like the type I had often encountered among Jewish Leaders. He had the hard suspicious glance; the self made man who could not be cajoled and was constantly on the alert for falsehood. I had to be exact. “What do you want to hear?” I asked. “Tell me what you know about the Jews in Poland” he said. “Are you entitled to see the material I received at the joint conferences?” I asked. “I am” he answered. I began my story in a cut and dried fashion without softening or interpreting. The Jewish listened intently with a desire for more information that I could not satisfy.
#20) Requesting Drastic Details:
Two days later I repeated my visit to the ghetto to memorize more vividly my visual impression I walked with my guides for three hours through the streets of this inferno to better testify of the truth before the leading men and women of the free countries of the world. I reported my experience to outstanding members of the British and American governments and all the Jewish leaders of both continents. I told what I had seen in the ghetto to some of the world’s greatest writers.: to H.G. Wells: Arthur Koestler: members of the P.E.N. Club. I knew they could describe it with great force. I told it to others too, and to one in particular, who will never be heard from again. In London five weeks later a meeting was arranged for me. To me it was only one of in-numeral such meetings and not the most important. Since my arrival in London I had been swamped with literally hundreds of conferences, conversations, contacts, and reports. I had been involved in them from 9 AM to midnight every day with hardly an intermission except for necessities.
#19) A Special Meeting:
I was tired after all the meetings but I knew it was important. I was looking forward to this special meeting with the London Jewish Leader of the Jewish Bund. He had been in Poland until 1940 and had worked in the Jewish underground. He had been a member of the Council in Warsaw for the ghetto and was held for a time as a hostage by the Nazis. We were to meet in the Stratton House, a noisy bee hive of a building. When I entered one of the small rooms my superior was already there, sitting and waiting quietly in the office chair. I was very tired. I studied him casually while we introduced ourselves. Since the war began I have had to deal without exaggeration with thousands of people and always with an insufficient amount of time. Consequently, I have had to learn to size up character at a glance. It has become a fixed habit with me to define quickly the mentality and habits of anyone I met so as to do my work more efficiently in the shortest amount of time. To me, this Jewish leader looked like the type I had often encountered among Jewish Leaders. He had the hard suspicious glance; the self made man who could not be cajoled and was constantly on the alert for falsehood. I had to be exact. “What do you want to hear?” I asked. “Tell me what you know about the Jews in Poland” he said. “Are you entitled to see the material I received at the joint conferences?” I asked. “I am” he answered. I began my story in a cut and dried fashion without softening or interpreting. The Jewish listened intently with a desire for more information that I could not satisfy.
#20) Requesting Drastic Details:
As I got to the end of the horrible message I relayed to the London Jewish representative for Poland I thought I had given detailed information. I ended with this statement: “Conditions are horrible and the instructions I gave at the joint conference in London from the Jewish Warsaw leaders can not be carried out for political reasons. The answers are just as the Warsaw leaders predicted. It can not be done.” The Jewish Poland Representative rose up immediately. His eyes were glaring with anger and contempt. “Listen!” He almost shouted! “I did not meet with you to hear about what they decided here! I already know that! I want to know more about the Jewish underground in Warsaw!” I answered him with brutal simplicity and directness. “Very well then. this is what they want from the free countries in the world: “Let them go to all the important English and American offices and agencies. Tell them not to leave until they have a guarantee that a way has been decided to save the Jews from Hitler’s evil destruction. Let them accept no food or drink while the world looks on. This may shake the conscience of the world. “ The Jewish leader jumped up as though he had been bitten. He paced around the room and held his hands to his head as though it ached fiercely. “If I were to go on a hunger strike they would simply bring in two policemen and drag me away to an institution!” he moaned. We talked at great length. I poured out my heart to him but he wanted more concrete and even trivial details. He asked me if I remembered the words of a child dying in the street. When I could not answer his questions he said sarcastically: “I forgot! You are not a Jew!”
(to be continued) ....
(To be continued )
Daily Bites of The Secret State Series #9
Hitler’s Jewish Extermination:
Top Officer in WW2 to German Slaves,
to Top Underground Courier:
to Top Underground Courier:
#22) Tales of Horror:
#23) Preparations for Entering Death Camp:
#24) buying Back a Life:
#25) Inside the Death Camp:
by Jan Karski 1944 :
“From The Secret State”
The Secret State: Series 9:
#26) The One Way Train Ride:
#27) Indescribable Dehumanizing:
#28) Marching through the Death Camp:
#29) Posted at the Death Gate:
#30) The Massacre: (to be continued) How the War was Won:
LibertygroupFreedom
https://redd.it/6y400k
Hitler’s Jewish Extermination:
Top Officer in WW2 to German Slaves,
to Top Underground Courier:
to Top Underground Courier:
"FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM AND LIBERTY"
Stand Up To Government Corruption and Hypocrisy
NEVER FORGET THE SACRIFICES
BY OUR VETERANS Note: We at Friends of Liberty cannot make any warranties about the completeness, reliability and accuracy of this information.
Don't forget to follow the Friends Of Liberty on Facebook and our Page also Pinterest , Twitter , Tumblr and Google Plus PLEASE help spread the word by sharing our articles on your favorite social networks.
LibertygroupFreedom 
Friends of Liberty is a non-partisan, non-profit organization with the mission to Educate, protect and defend individual freedoms and individual rights.
Support the Trump Presidency and help us fight Liberal Media Bias. Please LIKE and SHARE this story on Facebook or Twitter.
WE THE PEOPLE
TOGETHER WE WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
Join The Resistance and Share This Article Now!
Help us spread the word about the Friends Of Liberty Blog we're reaching millions help us reach millions more.
‼️️ ♻️ PLEASE SHARE ♻️ ‼️️
Please SHARE this now! The Crooked Liberal Media will hide and distort the TRUTH. It’s up to us, Trump social media warriors, to get the truth out. If we don’t, no one will!
Share this story on Facebook and let us know because we want to hear YOUR voice!
No comments:
Post a Comment