Description
Book SynopsisIn 1939, both Germany (September 1st) and Soviet Union (September 17) invaded Poland. The eight narratives presented in this book deal with Polish destinies, untold stories of people, mostly very young, who survived the Second World War, and how great an impact the war had on their lives.
Trade ReviewPoland was the first country to stand against Hitler’s Nazi armies and the Red Armies of Stalin’s Soviet Union when, in Sept. 1939, at the beginning of World War 11, they both marched into Poland with the deliberate intention of dividing the country and destroying it’s people. The eminent literary historian and master story-teller, Aleksandra Ziolkowska-Boehm’s important and beautifully crafted book records the history of this horrific time through eight powerful narratives relating the experiences of diverse people, many of whom survived the atrocities of ethnic cleansing, the valiant Warsaw Uprising in 1944 and struggles beyond. The author brings her intriguing and fascinating protagonists alive with a brilliant mix of intimate physical experiences and their profound thoughts of how the trauma of war affected their own philosophy of life and the meaning of it all. With these unforgettable true life-stories of special, yet ordinary people, who symbolize the sum of all persons, Aleksandra has created an essential link in the chain of human chronicles that document the heroic epic history of Poland and the Polish people. The author offers an invaluable bonus in the “Annex” where she relates how she personally perceives “creative nonfiction.” -- Audrey Ronning Topping, American Publisher's 2013 Prose Award winner author
The Second World War is a historical event so immense that it all too easily can become an abstraction. In Untold Stories of Polish Heroes from World War II, Aleksandra Ziółkowska-Boehm humanizes our recollection of the conflict by demonstrating its effects on the lives of surviving sons and daughters of Poland, the land most devastated by the war. Representing a vivid cross section of Polish society, and a telling variety of wartime experiences, these individual portraits of diplomats, warriors, and ordinary people caught up in extraordinary times reveal much about the fate of Poland in its time of greatest trial. -- Neal Pease, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
In Untold Stories of Polish Heroes from World War II, Aleksandra Ziolkowska-Boehm continues to inform, delight, and amaze readers who have (or soon will) know her as one of our most able chroniclers of Polish resistance to Nazi and Soviet invaders during World War II. These are the memories of surviving resistance fighters, mainly after the war. What unites them is their experiences as “brethren in those dark days,” a time of consummate cruelty by the Nazis, when the penalty of resistance under the Nazis was horrific: if a Polish resistance fighter killed German soldier, a hundred Poles were randomly executed. Saving Jews carried the death penalty. Polish citizens who sheltered Jews were executed, along with their families. Many of the survivors were scattered around the world after the war, from the United States to India, and elsewhere, working to retain a sense of Polish culture and history. Her "Annex," on literary journalism, will evoke empathy and understanding from all who write. For the survivors, and generations to come, this book is invaluable testimony. -- Bruce E. Johansen, University of Nebraska at Omaha
Some events in history are over remembered, others are under remembered. Aleksandra Ziolkowska-Boehm tell us the stories of survivors and heroes who have not made it to the front pages of newspapers, but who are every little bit as significant as those who have. She does so in an intimate way, as if she were telling secrets to a friend. You will not remain indifferent to the content of this book. -- Ewa Thompson, Rice University
Table of ContentsForeword by James S. Pula Acknowledgments Preface Chapter One: Father and Son—Tadeusz and Zbigniew Brzeziński Chapter Two: Two Great Passions—Flying And Writing: Rudolf Falkowski Chapter Three: “I carried the films on my head” Photographer of the Warsaw Uprising: Wiesław Chrzanowski Chapter Four: Varsovians in the States: Krystyna and Marek Jaroszewicz Chapter Five: “I was that child about to be born…”: Maria Kowal Chapter Six: The Child from Bialowieza Primeval Forest, the Urals, Isfahan and Mexico: Danuta Batorska Chapter Seven: Captive of the Theatre: Marion Andre Chapter Eight: Angola-Born, Brazil-Based Poet, Artist: Tomasz Lychowski Annex: Literary Journalism, Storytelling, or Literature of Fact Index About the Author
