Warsaw Uprising 1944: October 6 Compendium of Resources

COMPENDIUM OF RESOURCES

WARSAW UPRISING 1944

RECOMMENDED WEBSITES

Warsaw Uprising 1944
(Project In Posterum)

Warsaw Uprising 1944
Polonia Today.com

The Personal Notes and Diary of Eugeniusz Melech

Written in English, Before, During and After the

Powstanie Warszawskie - The Warsaw Uprising

(compiled and edited by Lester P. Gideon)

BBC TIMEWATCH - BATTLE FOR WARSAW

by Wanda Koscia

List of Polish Military Units in Warsaw Uprising (wiki)

Tadeusz Kondracki - The Warsaw Uprising

Translated from Polish by Antoni Bohdanowicz

The Warsaw Rising 
Poland In Exile.com

Cultural Representations of the Warsaw Uprising (wiki)

History of No. 301 Polish Bomber Squadron

by Wilhelm Ratuszynski

1st Polish People's Army - Pierszwa Armia Wojska Polskiego

Poland in Exile

Soviet Repressions of Polish Citizens (1939-1946) (wiki)

Nazi Crimes Against Ethnic Poles 1939- 1944 (wiki)

MILESTONES IN THE STORY OF THE POLISH AMERICAN CONGRESS
THE FIRST 50 YEARS 1944-1994

German Crimes Committed During the Warsaw Uprising Part I
Document compiled by Dr. S.D. Stein
Faculty of Humanities, Languages and Social Sciences
University of the West of England, Bristol

On the Front Lines: Interview with Wladyslaw Bartoszewski
Former Minister for Foreign Affairs & Participant and Historian
of the Warsaw Uprising
September 1, 2004 The Warsaw Voice online

Polish Special Duties Flight no. 1586 and the Warsaw Uprising
by Michael A. Peszke
Summer 2006 Air Power History

Warsaw Uprising 1944
(Polish Home Army ex-Servicemen Association - Montreal Branch)

WARSAW UPRISING: The Forgotten Soldiers of World War II
CNN Classroom Edition - Educator Guide (Grades 7-12)

A GERMAN SOLDIER'S PERSPECTIVE OF THE WARSAW UPRISING 1944
by Wlodzimierz Nowak and Angelika Kuzniak  23-08-2004
(reprinted on Polish Greatness.com website)

Muzeum Powstania Warszawskiego

Remembering the Warsaw Uprising
by Maciej Siekierski
Military History On Line

The Warsaw Uprising
by Lukasz Pajewski
Info Poland - Poland in the Classroom

The Warsaw Uprising
Polish American Journal.com
Dedicated to the Preservation, Promotion, and Continuance
of Polish American Culture

The Kampinos Group
by Ezy.Ryder

Warsaw Uprising
by Polish Greatness.com (the website)

BOOKS ABOUT WARSAW UPRISING 1944



NOTHING BUT HONOUR
The Story of the Warsaw Uprising 1944
by Janusz Kazimierz Zawodny



THE WARSAW UPRISING OF 1944
by Wlodzimierz Borodziej and Barbara Harshav



That the Nightingale Return: Memoir of the Polish
Resistance, the Warsaw Uprising,
and German POW Camps
by Leokadia Rowinska



A Memoir of the Warsaw Uprising
by Miron Bialoszewski, and Madeline Levine



To Hope Or Die: From Warsaw Uprising
to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp and After, Memoirs of a Survivor
by Edmund Szybicki



Lack of Outside Support during the Warsaw Uprising
by Frederic P. Miller, Agnes F. Vandome, and John McBrewster



Military History of the Warsaw Uprising
by Frederic P. Miller, Agnes F. Vandome, and John McBrewster



Destroy Warsaw! Hitler's Punishment, Stalin's Revenge
by Andrew Borowiec



Airlift to Warsaw: The Rising of 1944
by Neil D. Orpen



Rising: The Battle for Warsaw
by Norman Davies



The Warsaw Rising of 1944
by Jan Ciechanowski



Poland Alone: Britain, SOE and the
 Collapse of the Polish Resistance 1944
by Jonathan Walker



Krystyna: The Tragedy of Polish Resistance
by Simon Wiesenthal



Women Heroes of World War II: 26 stories of Espionage,
Sabotage, Resistance and Rescue
By Kathryn J. Atwood



The Civilian Population and the Warsaw Uprising of 1944
by Joanna K. Hanson



When God Looked the Other Way: An Odyssey of War, Exile and Redemption
by Wesley Adamczyk

BEST FILM ABOUT WARSAW UPRISING

Kanał

Scene from film "Kanal"

REMEMBRANCE: FALL OF FRANCE

Polish battalion in France - 1939 - Polski batalion we Francji (0:40s)



Before the September Campaign had come to an end the Polish Army had already evacuated and escaped to Romania, and from there to France.  Under the Command of General Wladyslaw Sikorski, about 85,000 Polish troops regrouped into several infantry and air support divisions to defend France from the Nazi invasion.  However due to the inadequacies of French planning and logistics none of the Polish units were provided with the necessary equipment and supplies until May 1940. By then the Polish contingent had at the ready only two infantry divisions, two independent brigades, one air squadron with another two infantry divisions still in the process of formation.  Polish Command had plans to create two full corps as well as an armoured division and over fifteen squadrons. In addition, a Polish academy and cartographic institute were being formed.  Polish Command issued a document which would prove invaluable to the French government entitled "Most important conclusions and experiences from the September Campaign" ("Najważniejsze wnioski i doświadczenia z kampanii wrześniowej"). It was an in-depth analysis of the strategy of the German Blitzkrieg and included suggested countermeasures.  Unfortunately, the French government ignored it.




(11/12) Battlefield I: The Fall of France Episode 1 (GDH) (10:00min)




(12/12) Battlefield I: The Battle of France Episode 1 (GDH) (05:18min)




When the Nazis invaded France, the Polish armoured units were immediately deployed, but as soon as the Germans broke through the French front, the Poles were ordered to the front line.  None of the Polish units were completely equipped, in particular the 3rd and 4th Polish divisions which were still in the midst of organization.  Polish units fought in the southern perimeter of the front and continued to do battle despite Petain's call for an armistice on June 16, 1940.  Three days later,  General Sikorski broadcast a radio bulletin pledging that Poland would continue to fight as Ally of Great Britain and with his army of about 20,000 soldiers made their escape forthwith.

General Wladyslaw Sikorski

Over 16,000 Polish soldiers of the First Grenadier Division under the Command of Boleslaw Bronislaw Duch were based in Lorraine on June 9th, and stationed along the Maginot Line as part of the French 4th Army.  From June 14th the Division fought against the Nazi advance and were able to withstand assaults for two days but had to fall back near Lagarde. The Poles covered the retreat of the French 52nd Division which was taking heavy casualties.   Within a week, the French defences were at the point of collapse, and General Duch ordered the unit to disband.  Many including the General evacuated to the UK.

Memorial badge of the First Grenadier Division, featuring  Cross of Lorraine

Over 15,800 Polish soldiers of the Second Infantry Fusiliers Division under the command of Brigadier-General Bronislaw Prugar-Ketling were stationed at Parthenay in eastern France from December 1939 to May 1940. Their mission was to defend Belfort and Alsace. From June 17 to 19 the Polish units were engaged in heavy battle near the Doubs and Saone Rivers, and succeeded in stopping a German attack on the Clos-du-Doubs hills, but because a nearby French unit retreated, the Polish forces were quickly surrounded by the Germans. Nevertheless, the Polish units were able to break through to Switzerland on the 20th or 21st of June, 1940, but were interned upon arrival.


Over 1,000 Polish soldiers of the 10th Brigade of Armored Cavalry were under the command of General Stanislaw Maczek.  The brigade fought in the Champagne and Bourgogne regions, provided protection to the flank of the 4th and 6th French Armies near Champaubert, and on June 16 routed Germans near Montbard.  By then, the French units were either routed or in retreat leaving the Poles to fight alone. Two days later the Polish unit was out of fuel and ammunition and surrounded by the Germans.  Before withdrawing, they destroyed their equipment.  The unit would later regroup in Great Britain and be renamed the elite 1st Armoured Division.  General Maczek would earn the honour of being one of the best Polish commanders of the war.

1st Armoured Division

General Stanislaw Maczek

Over 5,000 soldiers of the Polish Independent Highland Brigade under the command of General Zygmunt Bohusz-Szyszko fought in the Battle of Narvik, in Norway from May 28 to June 4, 1940.  They returned to France to take part in the defence of Brittany.  When they disbanded, the General and some of the units evacuated to the UK and Egypt, while the remainder joined the French Resistance.



Four thousand soldiers of the Polish Independent Carpathian Brigade under the command of General Stanislaw Kopanski evacuated France refusing to support the Vichy regime, and joined British troops in Palestine.



The squadron GC 1/145 "Warsaw" of the Polish Air Force fought in the Battle of France, detached to French squadrons and carried out numerous flights of industry defence.  Over 130 Polish pilots participated in battles achieving 50 to 55 victories, and loss of 25 men.






Only about 55,000 of the 85,000 Polish troops fought in Battle of France. One thousand four hundred Polish soldiers died fighting to defend France, 4,000 were wounded, 16,000 taken prisoner, 13,000 interned in Switzerland.

^{Link:
Polish Greatness.com}