JANUARY 18 - DAILY CHRONICLES OF HISTORY

JANUARY 18

1919

Ignacy Jan Paderewski was the Prime Minister of Poland as well as Foreign Minister from January 18 to November 27, 1919 and represented Poland at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. He played an important role in meeting with President Woodrow Wilson and obtained the explicit inclusion of establishing an independent Poland as point 13 in Wilson's peace terms in 1918 (the Fourteen Points). Paderewski was also a renown Polish pianist and composer and fervent spokesman for Polish independence. He was a favorite of concert audiences around the world.

1940

Palmiry Massacre: 255 Jews in Warsaw were arrested at random by the Nazi Germans. Over the next week they would be taken to the Palmiry Forest outside the city and shot dead. (Note: Between December 1939 and July 1941 more than 1700 Poles and Jews – mostly the inmates of Pawiak prison – were executed by the SS and the Ordnungspolizei in the forest glade near Palmiry. The best documented of these massacres took place on 20–21 of June 1940, wherein 358 members of the Polish political, cultural and social elite were murdered in a single operation.)

1943

Warsaw Ghetto Uprising:  The Nazi Germans began their second deportation of the Jews, which set off a violent armed uprising by the Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto.  Jewish fighters of the ŻZW, joined by elements of the ŻOB, put up an armed resistance, engaging the Germans in direct exchanges of gunfire. Though the ŻZW and ŻOB suffered heavy losses (including some of their leaders), the Germans also took casualties, and within a few days the Germans halted the deportation. Only 5,000 Jews were removed, instead of the 8,000 planned by SS Globocnik. Hundreds of Jews in the Warsaw ghetto were ready to fight, adults and children, though sparsely armed with handguns, homemade molotov cocktails, and a few weapons that were smuggled into the Ghetto by the Polish underground. Many of the Jewish insurgents knew that their actions was a futile effort to save themselves, but that they fought the battle for the honour of the Jewish people, and a protest against the silence and apathy of its allies. The ZZW and ZOB were Jewish resistance organizations. The former had close ties to Armia Krajowa.

1945

The Germans ordered the evacuation of the remaining 60,000 inmates of Auschwitz concentration camp ahead of the advancing Soviets. Some were deported by rail while others were forced to march in freezing temperatures.


The Soviet-controlled Polish Committee of National Liberation moved from Lublin to Warsaw.


Soviet troops captured Krakow, Poland

JANUARY 5 - DAILY CHRONICLES OF HISTORY

JANUARY 5

1818

Ernest Adam Malinowski (dob) was a famous Polish engineer. He designed the worlds first highest railway, the Ferrocarril Central Andino in the Peruvian Andes in 1871–1876.   In 1868, the Peruvian Congress issued a new decree and announced a tender for the construction of a railway line.  A few days later, Henry Meiggs , an American entrepreneur was allowed to conduct preliminary studies of the railway line. He chose Ernest Malinowski to control the project and select his co-workers. On April 3, 1869, Malinowski gave Henry Meiggs a detailed report of the site studies and preliminary calculation of construction costs. Work began on January 1, 1870 and continued for four arduous years in very difficult terrain. In 1874 the financial collapse of the Peruvian economy put a temporary halt to funding, but construction continued through private funding, including Malinkowski's own contributions.  Upon completion the railway line was raised to almost 5000 m above sea level, which was a phenomenon of technology. It attracted interest from professional engineers around the world and Malinowski's accomplishment was written by all major technical magazines around the world.

1925

Gdansk Post Office:  Under Polish control, three post offices were established in the Port of Gdansk: the Maritime (Port), the Railway and the main Polish Post and Telegraph Office. ( Decreed by the Treaty of Versailles 1919)

1938

Nazi Nuremberg Law: The Nazis passed the Law on the Alteration of Family and Personal Names forbidding Jews from changing their names.

1942

The communist Polish Workers Party was founded in Warsaw by Marceli Nowotko, Pawel Finder and Boleslaw Molojec. The old Communist Party of Poland had been liquidated at Stalin's order in 1938-39.

1945

The Soviet Government officially recognized the Polish Committee of National Liberation, also called Lublin Committe (PKWN).  The PKWN was created by Stalin as the foundation of a puppet regime in Poland, under his full control. His objective was to discredit and remove power from the legitimate Polish Government in Exile in London. The allies were greatly disturbed by the outcome, since Stalin had accepted the Atlantic charter and promised to hold democratic elections in countries controlled by the Red Army.  Stalin appointed Nikolai Bulganin to provide support for the PKWN's administration and security apparatus. Bulganin was responsible for destroying any political and military associations representing the Polish Government in Exile. The PKWN claimed to be leftist and represent a broad democratic coalition, but it did not include any of the major Polish political parties. 

JANUARY 1 - DAILY CHRONICLES OF HISTORY

JANUARY 1

1860

The First Polish Stamp:  The first Polish stamp was issued for the Congress Kingdom on  January 1, 1860 as per the Gregorian calendar. (However, since the 1st fell on a Sunday, the stamp did not become available until the next day.) The engraving was done by Henryk Meyer, a Polish banker, based on drawings he found in the archives at St. Petersburg. The design was typical of Russian stamps, bearing the arms of the Congress of the Kingdom. The stamps were printed by the government printers in Warsaw, using a letterpress machine that printed in two colours, was capable of printing 1,000 sheets per hour, and had a counting device. The printing began without the prior knowledge or consent of the Russian postal service, but was approved a couple of months later. Restrictions on the use of the stamps meant that it could only be used within the Congress Kingdom and to Russia. Letters bound for other countries had to be paid for in cash and unstamped. About three million stamps had been printed before the authorities discontinued its use on April 1, 1865.  Subsequently 208,515 stamps were destroyed and Russian stamps were introduced from that day on. In 1915 the Congress Kingdom was occupied by the Central Powers. The Congress of the Kingdom (also known as the Kingdom of Poland, or Russian Poland) was established as a sovereign state in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna and connected the Russian part of the Russian Empire, under the Constitution of the Kingdom of Poland. By 1832, the Congress Kingdom gradually integrated into Russia, and by 1867 officially became part of the Russian Empire.   In 1915 the Congress Kingdom was occupied by the Central Powers. 

1928

Stalin's assistant defected to France:  Boris Bazhanov was the only assistant of Stalin's secretariat to have defected from the Soviet Union. From 1923 to 1924 he attended all the meetings of the Politburo, working in Stalin's Secretariat of the Central Committee and for the Politburo.   He had the responsibility to take notes of these meetings, putting him in the inner sanctum of the Russian regime. On October 26, 1923, Bazhanov took notes at a meeting attended by Stalin, Vladimir Lenin, and Leon Trotsky.  Lenin was very ill at the time, and it would be three months before he died. According to his notes, Lenin offered to appoint Trotsky as his "heir" but Trotsky turned the job down because he was Jewish, replying that "We should not give our enemies the opportunity to say that our country was being ruled by a Jew. ... It would be far better if there was not a single Jew in the first Soviet revolutionary government." Bazhanov defected from Russia because, as the story goes, he was "dissatisfied" working under Stalin. He escaped to Iran, and was granted asylum in France.  Stalin called him an "enemy of the state" and ordered a massive manhunt, which was led by Georges Agebekov, (chief Soviet spy ) who ironically also defected to France.  In October 1929, Stalin sent Yakov Blumkin, an assassin, to pursue and kill Bazhanov, and then to travel to Istanbul, Turkey to assassinate Leon Trotsky (who had been deported there by the Soviet Union, in February 1929). Blumkin, with the collaboration of his cousin and GPU informer Arkady Maximov, attempted to stage a car accident to kill Bazhanov, but the plot failed. Bazhanov published his memoirs in France in 1980, entitled 'Memoirs of a Secretary of Stalin's'. Bazhanov died in Paris in 1982.

1937

Polish Senate Passed Shechita Bill, in effect on January 1, 1937: The bill, introduced Deputy Janina Prystor, wife of the Senate’s president, originally provided for a complete ban on kosher slaughtering. However after warnings from the Government spokesmen that the complete ban would violate constitutional rights of religious practice, the Sejm added an amendment to permit sufficient kosher slaughtering to meet religious requirements under a system of Government concessions. Nevertheless, Jewish communities opposed the measure on the grounds that it would deprive Jewish communities of the revenue, and put thousands of persons engaged in slaughtering and retailing the kosher meat out of work. 

1945

Stalin's Polish Government:  The Soviet-controlled, Polish Committee of National Liberation became the Provisional Government of Republic of Poland. In London, the Polish Government-in-Exile protested and issued a declaration that the Soviet Union had "taken over the sovereign political rights of the Polish nation." The governments of Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt also issued formal protests, but they took no further action. 


Polish prisoners of Auschwitz:  100 male and 100 female Polish prisoners of the Gestapo from block 11 in Auschwitz I camp were transferred by SS doctor Fritz Klein to Erich Muhsfeldt, the chief of Auschwitz II-Birkenau Crematorium V. Muhsfeldt's men executed the prisoners by firing squad. (Note: Auschwitz I was first constructed to imprison Polish Christian political prisoners, who began to arrive in May 1940. The first extermination of prisoners took place in September 1941. (Recommended reading: The Forgotten Holocaust: The Poles Under German Occupation, 1939-1944 by Richard C. Lukas. A forward by Norman Davies stated as follows, " Dr. Richard Lukas has rendered a valuable service, by showing that no one can properly analyze the fate of one ethnic community in occupied Poland without referring to the fates of others. In this sense, The Forgotten Holocaust is a powerful corrective. )


US Troops Killed German POWs:  The Chenogne Massacre (in Belgium) was the killing of  Wehrmacht prisoners by American troops in retaliation for the Malmedy massacre on December 17, 1944, in which members of the Kampfgruppe Peiper (part of the 1st SS Panzer Division) executed 84 American prisoners of war. One American unit issued orders: "No SS troops or paratroopers will be taken prisoners but will be shot on sight." The events were covered up at the time and none of the American soldiers were punished. Post war historians believe the killings were ordered from top level senior commanders. Following the end of World War Two, the U.S. government stated that  "it is probable that Germans who attempted to surrender in the days immediately after the 17th ran a greater risk" of being killed than earlier in the year, nevertheless,  "there is no evidence... that American troops took advantage of orders, implicit or explicit, to kill their SS prisoners."


Britain refused to recognize the Polish Committee of National Liberation. (or Lublin Committee). The Polish Committee of National Liberation was a puppet government established by Stalin to control Polish territory that was seized from Nazi Germany. The objective was to discredit and eventually remove all power from the legitimate Polish Government in Exile in London. The pervasive development of the Soviet regime led to the tensions between the Soviet Union and the other members of the United Nations which would eventually lead to the Cold War.

Warsaw Uprising 1944: August 3 - Polish Prime Minister meets with Stalin

Polish Soldiers with home-made mortars

Polish insurgents launched a fierce offensive against German lines and have captured the City Centre and several other districts located on the left bank of the Vistula River. Despite these early victories the AK has not been able to capture the bridges and airports. In City Centre, the Second Lieutenant “Zdunin” captured Pocztowy Station on Zelazna Street and Blank Palace as well as Mostowski Palace.  As a result Teatralny Square has become the line of southern defense of Old Town sector. Meanwhile, the district of Wola was bombed today. Fighting in Ochota proves to be too powerful – only a few AK units have decided to remain and have taken positions in several buildings. German forces succeeded in surrounding and destroying one Soviet armoured Corps, in East of Warsaw today. The Soviet 3rd armoured corps had to withdraw to avoid encirclement.

In Ochota, Srodmiescie and Wola German forces are using Polish civilians as “living shields” to protect cover their tanks against insurgent fire. Houses in Wola, Mokotow and Ochota have been set on fire and civilians slaughtered. 



Despite the horrible onslaught, the insurgents strike back. In Srodmiescie, the Poles succeeded in capturing strategically important areas: the Postal Railway Station and Aleje Jerozolimskie (near Zelazna Street), the Dom Turystyczny hostel on Starynkiewicz Square and the German police station "Nordwache" at the juncture of Chlodna and Zelazna Streets. In southern Srodmiescie, the Poles also captured a considerable part of the Institute of Technology. Polish positions in the southern part Mokotow are strengthened. Polish fighting in Praga however has stopped due in insurmountable German fire power. The Commander of the Praga District Lt. Co. Antoni Zurawski "Bober" has redeployed his troops to underground work.

Germans strike hard from Poniatowski Bridge towards the Main Railway Station. By evening the Luftwaffe launch the first bombing raids of Warsaw beginning with Wola.

PKWN Manifesto of July 22, 1944

At 9:30 pm this evening, Polish Prime Minister Stanislaw Mikolajczyk met with Marshal Stalin in an effort to make arrangements for Mikolajczyk to travel to Warsaw and begin preparations for the establishment of a new Polish government there. Mikolajczyk added that he expected Warsaw to be free very soon to which Stalin replied, “Pray God!”   But the Soviet leader refused his request on the grounds that the Soviet Union has broken off diplomatic relations with Poland and does not recognize the legitimacy of the Polish Government in Exile. Furthermore Stalin explained that the Soviet government is already assisting the Polish Committee of National Liberation, or PKWN (also known as the Lublin Committee) with which diplomatic relations have already been established. The Lublin Committee was officially proclaimed in July 21, 1944 under the direction of the Soviet State National Council. On July 22, the Committee published a Manifesto announcing radical governmental reforms, the Soviet commitment to fight against Nazi Germany, nationalization of industries, and rejection of the Polish Government in Exile in London.

Stalin also met with the War Council to discuss among other things the future of Poland. He adamantly declared that "We Bolsheviks’ have from the first day of the Great Patriotic War seen the historic liberation mission of the Red Army. Now the moment has come to liberate the peoples of Europe from fascist enslavement. It is our internationalist duty to help the Polish people in the rebirth of a strong, independent, democratic Poland....I repeat, no other power should be recognized except the Polish Committee of National Liberation!"


(1/5) Timewatch Battle for Warsaw World War II (00:10:00m)

 

Jewish Fighers during Warsaw Ghetto Uprising 1943

  The leader of the Jewish Fighter’s Organization, Isaac Cukierman (pseudonym Antek) issued a proclamation today urging Polish Jews to join the ranks of the AK soldiers. He stated that “ We summon all surviving fighters of the ZOB (Jewish Fighter’s Organization) and all able-bodied Jewish young people to continue their resistance and fight; nobody should be allowed to stand aside. Join the ranks of insurgents! Through battle to victory, to a free, independent, strong, and just Poland!” His rallying cry was heard as about 1,000 Jews have enlisted in either the AK or the ZOB. The number may indeed be much higher as many Jews have been using false names and documents to evade German persecution. They were not only Polish Jews, but Jews from other parts of Europe who were arrested and deported to prison camps in Poland. Many of them were liberated by Polish insurgents. Despite the distrust between some of the Poles and Jews, the Jewish fighters are determined to arms themselves and fight the Nazi Germans. After two days of anxious waiting, the pilots of Polish Squadron No. 1586 are still unable to fly to Warsaw due to weather constraints. Their four planes have been dispatched to other missions over Italy.Originally they were called the 301 Squadron "Land of Pomerania" but have since adopted the name of "Defenders of Warsaw". They have participated extensively in bombing raids over France and Germany. Polish HQ decided to disband the squadron on April 7, 1943 due to lack of manpower. 

Polish airmen in front of Handley Halifax Plane (year unknown)

The remaining crews were attached to RAF Tempsford No.138 RAF Squadron flying Handley Halifax planes.   Amidst the fighting, Cadet Jozef Szczepanski “Ziutek” of the “Parasol” battalion wrote lyrics for the song “Pałacyk Michla”  which gained instant popularity and has spread quickly throughout besieged Warsaw. Ziutek was a member of the squad that attempted to assassinate Nazi official, Wilhelm Koppe. Szczepanski was a poet and a soldier of the 1st Platoon of the 1st Company Agat of the Batalion Parasol. On December 31, 1943 he publicly recited his first poem Dzis ide walczyc - mamo (Today, I am going fighting, Mother), in a house on 12 Swietojanska street in Warsaw. Shortly afterwards he became a bard of Parasol. During the Warsaw Uprising he was a squad leader in the Parasol Batalion (mostly composed of youths. Many of them joined from Szare Szeregi the underground scouting group). He took command of the entire unit after its previous commander was killed.    Pałacyk Michla - Chór Studentów Akademii Muzycznej im. Fryderyka Chopina w Warszawie (00:03:17M)