The Truth about Poland - a booklet published against the Nazi plot to completely eradicate the heritage of the Polish state and its cultural treasures. New York, published by Polish Information Center, [1943]. Rare.
The Nazis' goal in conquering Poland, apart from the strategic interest to create an advantage against Russia, was intended to completely erase the Polish heritage. The first actions carried out by the Nazis upon the conquest of Poland were the extermination of Poland's historical culture, closure of public libraries, destruction of archival buildings, persecution of the Polish clergy and the educated class, and more. The booklet before us was published while Poland was still under Nazi rule and it was actually intended to preserve Poland "from the outside", to prove to the world what true Poland is, what its historical and current assets are, and thus thwart the Nazi plot to completely eradicate any trace of historical Poland. To this end, the booklet is full of photographs and explanations about the magnificent Polish historical culture, important buildings, what Polish children look like (yes! even that had to be proven), general information about the population of Poland, Polish industrial enterprises and produce, and more. After the reader gets the true picture of historical Poland and everything that is actually "Polish" that the Nazis tried to eradicate, the booklet goes on to explain what actually happened with Germany's invasion of Poland - "How the war came to Poland", why Hitler decided to attack Poland, what was the Polish reaction, the losses in the Polish army, Polish immigrants as a result of the war, the destruction of important buildings, the murder and atrocities committed by the Germans in Warsaw and Polish cities by means of "before" and "after" photographs of sites that the Germans desecrated, and the vision of the Polish state after the defeat of Nazi Germany. Among other things, there is a declaration expressing the expectation of the Polish state from European countries after the war ends: "Poland expects the countries of Central and Eastern Europe to create a commonwealth strong enough to withstand German aggression, which has been plaguing it for hundreds of years. This commonwealth will facilitate the economic development of Central and Eastern Europe, promote neighborly trade exchanges with Russia as a stabilizing element on the continent. It will be a strong factor for Russia's security in the West. The governments of Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Greece have established a Central-Eastern European Planning Council, the nucleus of cooperation in this direction....".
Among other things, there are several rare photographs documenting the Nazi atrocities in Poland: the only known photograph (at the time) of a manhunt in the Warsaw Ghetto, corpses of small children murdered by the Nazis, Germans shooting wounded civilians, Jews digging their own graves, a girl crying over the body of her murdered sister, two Poles hanging on one rope, the butcher Frank in the destroyed Warsaw Ghetto, the destroyed Royal Palace in Warsaw, and more.
[52] p. 25 cm. The booklet is bound in a hard outer cover for reinforcement. Very good condition.
