JULY 30 - DAILY CHRONICLES OF HISTORY

JULY 30

1941

The Sikorski-Mayski Pact was signed in London between Poland and the Soviet Union, the signatories being General Wladyslaw Sikorski and Soviet Ambassador to the UK, Ivan Mayski.  The pact re-opened diplomatic relations between Poland and Russia. A subsequent military pact signed between the two adversaries on August 14, 1941, resulted in the release of tens of thousands of Polish POWs held in Soviet camps. Stalin also agreed to nullify any pacts he had with Nazi Germany, invalidate the 1939 Soviet-German partition of Poland, and  granted "amnesty to many Polish citizens. (Many of the released POWs joined Anders Army, the 2nd Polish Corps)

1944

Polish Prime Minister met with Stalin:  Stalin, under pressure from Churchill and Roosevelt, finally agreed to meet with Polish Prime Minister Stanislaw Mikolajczyk in Moscow.  Mikolajczyk did not approve of Stalin's chicanery regarding the future of the Poland, and attempted to defend Polish interests, to no avail. Stalin did not recognize the legitimate Polish Government in Exile in London, and had already installed his own regime. (On July 22, 1944 Stalin set up the  ‘Polish Committee of National Liberation’ (PKWN) which was for all intents and purposes, a puppet-government controlled by Stalin.)

1945

USS Indianapolis sunk after delivery of "Little Boy": At 00:15 on July 30, the USS Indianapolis was hit on her starboard side by two Type 95 torpedoes, one in the bow and one amidships, from the Japanese submarine I-58. The Indianapolis sustained massive damage and took on a heavy list, settling by the bow. In a matter of twelve minutes, she completely rolled over, the stern rose into the air and she plunged beneath the waves. About 300 of the 1,196 crewmen went down with the ship. The ship did not have enough life jackets, and most of the crew were set adrift without life jackets.  On July 26, the USS Indianapolis had delivered the atomic weapon components to Tinian, which would later be assembled and dropped on Hiroshima. Then she was on the way to Guam, sailing toward Leyte, then onto Okinawa to join VADM Jesse B. Oldendorf's Task Force 95. (see July 16, 1945)

FEBRUARY 20 - DAILY CHRONICLES OF HISTORY

FEBRUARY 20

1846

Krakow Uprising began, led by Polish insurgents such as Jan Tyssowski and Edward Dembowski. Their objective was to incite an Uprising against the powers that partitioned Poland, in particular the  Austrian Empire.  The fighting lasted for about nine days, and ended with an Austrian victory.  The Austrians then briefly restored the feudal order but ultimately they abolished serfdom two years later. Karl Marx saw the uprising as a "deeply democratic movement that aimed at land reform and other pressing social questions." He and Friedrich Engels praised it for being "the first in Europe to plant the banner of social revolution".

1919

Adoption of the Small Constitution. The Small Constitution declared that Poland has a parliamentary system, although it didn't define Poland as a republic. Executive powers were held by the Chief of State. He could name the ministers (with the consent of the Sejm); he and the ministers were responsible before the Sejm. The Chief of State (previously the Provisional Chief of State) no longer had legislative initiative and could not dismiss the Sejm; all his acts required the signature of the relevant minister.

1943

"The Four Freedoms" refer to four 1943 oil paintings by the iconic American artist Norman Rockwell. The paintings were based on the themes of Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear as outlined by President Franklin D. Roosevelt's in his January 1941 Four Freedoms State of the Union address.  The themes were thereafter incorporated into the Atlantic Charter, and became part of the charter of the United Nations.  In 1941, Roosevelt expounded that the four freedoms should be observed "everywhere in the world"  with the "co-operation of free countries, working together in a friendly civilized society."  When Russia first became an ally, FDR eliminated the first two freedoms from the draft of the Atlantic charter, but the final version of the Charter contained all four freedoms.

FEBRUARY 7 - DAILY CHRONICLES OF HISTORY

FEBRUARY 7

1944

President Roosevelt asked Stalin not to allow the Polish border issue to undermine future international co-operation. Roosevelt proposed that the Polish Prime Minister Stanislaw Mikołajczk accept the desired territorial changes and then be allowed to alter the makeup of his government without any evidence of foreign pressure. (Note:  Winston Churchill also intensely pressured the Polish Prime Minister to resume talks with Stalin,, but Mikolajczk refused to comply due to several issues regarding the Katyn Massacre,  Poland's postwar borders, and most particularly opposition to Stalin's plan for a communist government in postwar Poland.


Telegram (no. 236) Feb 7, 1944 7pm:  From President Roosevelt to the Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars of the Soviet Union ( Stalin )  " I have followed with the closest attention the recent developments in your relations with Poland. I feel that I am fully aware of your views on the subject and am therefore taking this opportunity of communicating with you on the basis of our conversations at Tehran.  First of all, let me make it plain that I neither desire nor intend to attempt to suggest much less to advise you in any way as to where the interests of Russia lie in this matter since I realize to the full that the future security of your country is rightly your primary concern. The observations which I am about to make are prompted solely by the larger issues which affect the common goal towards which we are both working.       The overwhelming majority of our people and Congress, as you know, welcomed with enthusiasm the broad principles subscribed to at the Moscow and Tehran Conferences........ I am sure that a solution can be found which would fully protect the interests of Russia and satisfy your desire to see a friendly, independent Poland, and at the same time not adversely affect the cooperation so splendidly established at Moscow and Tehran......... I have given careful consideration to the views of your Government as outlined by Mr. Molotov to Mr. Harriman on January 18, regarding the impossibility from the Soviet point of view of having any dealings with the Polish Government-in-exile in its present form and Mr. Molotov’s suggestion that the Polish Government should be reconstituted by the inclusion of Polish elements at present in the United States, Great Britain and the Soviet Union. I fully appreciate your desire to deal only with a Polish Government......(that would) establish permanent friendly relations with the Soviet Union, but it is my earnest hope that while this problem remains unsolved neither party shall by hasty word or unilateral act transform this special question into one adversely affecting the larger issues of future international collaboration......... Prime Minister Churchill tells me that he is endeavoring to persuade the Polish Prime Minister to make a clean-cut acceptance as a basis for negotiation of the territorial changes which have been proposed by your Government. Is it not possible on that basis to arrive at some answer to the question of the composition of the Polish Government which would leave it to the Polish Prime Minister himself to make such changes in his Government as may be necessary without any evidence of pressure or dictation from a foreign country?   As a matter of timing it seems to me that the first consideration at this time should be that Polish guerillas should work with and not against your advancing troops. That is of current importance and some assurance on the part of all Poles would be of great advantage as a first step. "  Roosevelt

1979

The "Angel of Death" died.   Josef Mengele, the infamous Nazi doctor who performed medical experiments at the Auschwitz death camps, died of a stroke while swimming in Brazil, however, the death was not verified until 1985.  During World War II he was the physician in Auschwitz concentration camp and part of a team of doctors in charge of selecting prisoners to be killed in the gas chambers and for performing deadly human experiments on prisoners.  Arrivals who were deemed unfit for labor were immediately killed in the gas chambers. Mengele escaped Auschwitz on January 17, 1945, shortly before the arrival of the liberating Soviet troops. He fled to South America where he evaded capture for the rest of his life. Mengele's experiments with eyes included attempts to change eye color by injecting chemicals into the eyes of living subjects and killing people with heterochromatic eyes so that the eyes could be removed and sent to Berlin for study.  His experiments on dwarfs and people with physical abnormalities included taking physical measurements, drawing blood, extracting healthy teeth, and treatment with unnecessary drugs and X-rays. Many of the victims were sent to the gas chambers after about two weeks, and their skeletons were sent to Berlin for further study. Mengele sought out pregnant women, on whom he would perform experiments before sending them to the gas chambers. Witness Vera Alexander described how he sewed two Romani twins together back to back in an attempt to create conjoined twins. The children died of gangrene after several days of suffering.  (Note:  He is buried in Embu das Artes under the name "Wolfgang Gerhard", whose identification card he had been using since 1971.)

1990

The Central Committee of the Soviet Union’s Communist Party agreed to endorse President Mikhail Gorbachev’s recommendation that the party give up its 70-year long monopoly of political power.  The move signaled the imminent demise of the Soviet Union. The February Central Committee Plenum advocated multi-party elections; local elections held between February and March returned a large number of pro-independence candidates. The Congress of People's Deputies then amended the Soviet Constitution in March, removing Article 6, which guaranteed the monopoly of the CPSU.  One State Department official commented that, “The whole Soviet world is going down the drainpipe with astonishing speed. It’s mind-boggling.” Former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger commented that he was “personally gratified and astonished that anyone would have the chance to say such things in Moscow without being shot.”

FEBRUARY 4 - DAILY CHRONICLES OF HISTORY

FEBRUARY 4

1746

Tadeusz Kościuszko (dob) was a Polish-Lithuanian military engineer and a military leader who became a national hero in Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, and the United States. He fought in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth's uprisings against Russia and Prussia, and on the American side in the American Revolutionary War. As Supreme Commander of the Polish National Armed Forces, he led the 1794 Kościuszko Uprising. The Polish Military divisions have honored his memory by naming their units after him - the Kosciusko Squadron (which participated in the Battle of Britain during WW2),  a Polish Navy ship and a Polish infantry division. There are monuments to Kosciuszko around the world:  the Kosciuszko Mound at Krakow; the Thaddeus Kosciusko Bridge, near Albany, New York; Kosciuszko Bridge in New York City;  a statue of Kościuszko in Washington, D.C.'s Lafayette Square near the White House; Mount Kosciuszko, the tallest mountain in Australia; and numerous statutes of Kosciuszko in Poland, as well as in US cities such as Boston, Chicago, West Point, Philadelphia, Detroit, Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Washington, D.C.

1945

Yalta conference took place at the Livadia Palace near Yalta in Crimea, Soviet Union at which President Franklin Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Marshal Joseph Stalin presided.  Ideally, Yalta was meant to shape a post-war Europe based on peace and collective security, and self-determination for countries which had been liberated from Nazi occupation.  But Churchill and Roosevelt gave into Stalins' demands for the sake of peace and security.  Consequently, many European nations, including Poland fell under the yoke of Soviet domination and occupation.   The Allies won the war, but one of their greatest allies - Poland - was used as a bargaining chip to placate Stalin.

JANUARY 30 - DAILY CHRONICLES OF HISTORY

JANUARY 30

1018

The Holy Roman Empire and Poland concluded the Peace of Bautzen. It was a treaty between the Ottonian Holy Roman Emperor Henry II and the Piast duke of the Polans Bolesław I Chrobry which ended a series of Polish-German wars over the control of Lusatia and Upper Lusatia (Milzenerland or Milsko, the eastern part of the margraviate of Meissen (Miśnia)) as well as Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia.

1667

Treaty or Truce of Andrusovo was signed between Tsardom of Russia & Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

1909

Henryk Władysław Magnuski (dob) was a Polish telecommunications engineer who worked for Motorola in Chicago. He was the inventor of the first Walkie-Talkies and one of the authors of his company success in the fields of radio communication.

1933

President Paul von Hindenburg appointed Hitler as Chancellor of Germany.

1938

General Felicjan Slawoj-Skladkowski toured northeastern Poland – counties of Braslaw, Swieciany, Dzisna, and Postawy. concentrated his efforts on improving the state administration, especially police force and civil services. He frequently toured Poland, visiting schools, police stations, manufacturing plants and farm estates.

1939

Hitler made a speech to the Reichstag on the sixth anniversary of the Nazis' coming to power, warning that if "Jewish financiers" started a war, the result would be "the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe."

1945

On the twelfth anniversary of the Nazis coming to power, a speech by Adolf Hitler was broadcast wearily appealing once again for the German people to keep up a spirit of resistance. It was the last speech Hitler ever made.


While evacuating German civilians, Nazi officials and military personnel from Gdynia, the German military transport ship Wilhelm Gustloff was torpedoed and sunk by the Soviet submarine S-13. 9,400 people died, making it the largest loss of life in a single ship sinking in history.


President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met at Malta for four day discussions preparatory to next week's Yalta Conference.


The German historical film Kolberg premiered in Berlin. The film told the story of the Prussian city of Kolberg successfully holding out against a siege by the French during the Napoleonic Wars. It was intended as Nazi propaganda to encourage the German population to continue the fight against the Allies.

JANUARY 28 - DAILY CHRONICLES OF HISTORY

JANUARY 28

1573

Articles of Warsaw Confederation were signed, ushering in freedom of religion in Poland. It was an important development in the history of Poland and Lithuania that extended religious tolerance to nobility and free persons within the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and is considered the formal beginning of religious freedom in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. While it did not prevent all conflict based on religion, it did make the Commonwealth a much safer and more tolerant place than most of contemporaneous Europe, especially during the subsequent Thirty Years' War.

1937

Anti-Semitic riots at University of Warsaw and Warsaw University of Technology.

1944

Message from Churchill to Roosevelt:  " London, 28 January 1944  no. 557  "  After much thought and talk I have sent the following signal to U. J. (U.J. referred to Uncle Joe, nickname for Stalin)  (1) ....... I saw representatives of the Polish Government in London...(and)....informed them that the security of the Russian frontiers against Germany was a matter of high consequence...... and that we should certainly support the Soviet Union in all measures we considered necessary......  I said that although we had gone to war for the sake of Poland, we had not gone to war for any particular frontier line but for the existence of a strong free, independent Poland, which Marshal Stalin had also declared himself supporting. ....... (T)he liberation of Poland....is being achieved... by the enormous sacrifices and achievements of the Russian armies. Therefore Russia and her Allies had a right to ask that Poland should be guided....about the frontiers of the territory she would have.  (2) ........ I made it clear that the Polish Government would not be committed to the acceptance of the Curzon line as a basis of examination except as part of the arrangement which gave them the fine compensations to the North (East Prussia) and to the West (Oder Line) which I had mentioned.  (4) The Polish ministers were very far from rejecting the prospects...... but...they have asked a number of questions...... in particular they wish to be assured that Poland would be free and independent.....that she would receive the guarantee of the Great Powers against German revenge effectively..... that these Great Powers would also assist in expelling the Germans from the new territories to be assigned to Poland.... that in regions to be incorporated in Soviet Russia such Poles....would be assisted to depart from their new abodes......what (would) their position... be if a large part of Poland West of the Curzon line is soon occupied by the advancing Soviet armies.... Will they be allowed to go back and form a more broad based government in accordance with the popular wish and allowed to function administratively in the liberated areas in the same way as other governments who have been overrun? ......they are.....deeply concerned about relations between the Polish underground movement and the advancing Soviet forces,..... (7)........the Soviet Russia has the right to recognize or refuse recognition to any foreign government, (but) do you not agree that to advocate changes within a foreign government comes near to that interference with internal sovereignty to which you and I have expressed ourselves as opposed? .........(8). I now report this conversation which expresses the policy of His Majesty’s Government....to my friend and comrade, Marshal Stalin.........a good relationship will be absolutely necessary between .....Poland and the Soviet Union. The creation in Warsaw of another Polish government different from the one we have recognized up to the present, together with disturbances in Poland, would raise issues in Great Britain and the United States detrimental to that close accord between the Three Great Powers upon which the future of the world depends..... "

2006

Katowice Trade Hall roof collapsed at Chorzów, 65 killed. At 16:15 GMT (17:15 local time), the central section of the roof of the hall collapsed, possibly due to the weight of snow on the building. According to the police there were roughly 700 people in the hall at the time of the collapse. A further collapse occurred 90 minutes later during rescue operations. Polish government spokesman Krzysztof Mejer confirmed that there had been 65 dead as well as more than 170 injured, including 13 foreigners. There are confirmed deaths of ten foreign tourists – one from Belgium, one from Germany, three from Slovakia, one from the Netherlands, one from Hungary and three from the Czech Republic. . Poland was at that time experiencing very cold weather with heavy snow. This meant that the rescue operation was undertaken in sub-zero temperatures, putting the survivors inside the building at risk of exposure.

70th ANNIVERSARY OF THE WARSAW UPRISING: A TIME TO REFLECT

At precisely 5:00 pm on August 1st, 2014,  Warsaw stops and holds its breath for a minute.  It is the 70th Anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising.  As every year, the Polish people pay their respects to their fallen heroes.  It is also a time for reflection.

The Warsaw Uprising was one of the most brutal, vicious battles of World War Two. Though historians often refer to it as urban warfare, this definition is grossly understated. The Warsaw Uprising was all-out war.

The Polish Underground had been planning this offensive since the outbreak of World War Two, and desperately relied on their alliance with Britain and the United States for their military intervention and war materiel. Churchill and Roosevelt responded amicably with abundant smiles and promises, but delivered too little too late. In the end Britain and the US betrayed their most valuable ally, Poland. Political expediency was the motivating factor, rather than the defence of democracy, honour and justice. Stalin was a political mastermind, and skillfully played Churchill and Roosevelt into bending to his will. Yalta was proof of that. The decades which ensued plunged the world into the Cold War, with Poland and many other nations trapped behind the Iron Curtain. The Warsaw Uprising was a catastrophic battle which lasted 63 days.

Tens of thousands of Polish Home Army soldiers were killed as well as 200,000 civilians. Nazi German armies barraged Warsaw night and day, airdropping bombs, launching heavy artillery, torching buildings, until much of Warsaw was reduced to a pile of smoldering rubble and ashes. All the while, the Red Army stood poised across the Vistula casually watching the destruction and waiting until the Nazi Germans finished their rampage. Then finally, the Russians entered Warsaw claiming to have "liberated" her.  It was really a hostile occupation under the guise of "liberation" ! Despite the heavy toll on the lives of Polish people, the events of the Warsaw Uprising is a testament to their fervent desire to be a free nation and people, and to their courage to fight against all odds. The Polish Armia Krajowa (Home Army) endured 63 days of fighting against the full military might of the Nazi Wehrmacht, while possessing few weapons and military equipment of their own.


The West still cannot fathom the devastating effects of the Warsaw Uprising, nor understand it. But the Polish people have not forgotten.  Citizens gather every August 1st at the Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw to honour the memory of the brave men, women, and even children, who fought so courageously against the invaders. The Warsaw Uprising is still very much in the collective memory of the Polish people. So too is the realization that even after 70 years, the West still remains indifferent.

Warsaw after Warsaw uprising  (00:06:48m)    

   

Recommended Links:  

Virtual Tour of Powązki Cemetery (images from 64th Anniverary)

http://www.360cities.net/image/cemetery-powazki---64-anniversary-of-warsaw-uprising-warsaw  Website of the Warsaw Uprising Museum http://www.1944.pl/en/ Warsaw Uprising 1944 http://www.warsawuprising.com/  History of War in Pictures - (a Special 70th Anniversary Presentation of rare photos of the Warsaw Uprising)

 Presented by Polish Greatness.com http://historyofwarinpictures.blogspot.ca/  

 

STALIN'S COURTROOM: THE TRIAL OF THE 16 POLISH LEADERS

The Trial of the 16 was one of the most sinister crimes perpetrated by the Stalinist regime against the Polish nation. From June 18 to June 21, 1945 a series of staged trials were held in Moscow at which sixteen leaders of the Polish underground movement were accused of allegedly "drawing up plans for military action against the USSR." In the presence of international observers and journalists, the Soviet court brazenly ignored legal precepts, and sentenced innocent men to prison on trumped up charges. Even more shocking was the fact that the governments of the United States, and of Britain tacitly accepted the courts' rulings and made no attempt to intercede on behalf of the Polish leaders.

Before World War Two, Stalin had conducted many mock trials and purges to eliminate political opposition and consolidate his power. Those victims however were Russians - the old bolsheviks, heads of the Soviet secret police, members of the Politburo, diplomats, among others. Before the Great Purge which took place from 1937 to 1938, there were the Moscow Trials from 1936 to 1937 which consisted of three major trials. the Trial of the Sixteen, as well as the Trial of the Anti-Soviet Trotskyist Center; and the Trial of the Twenty-One. In every case, the modus operandi was the same. The Russian defendants, or rather, the victims were allegedly charged with the crimes of plotting to assassinate Stalin, overthrow the Soviet regime, and conspire with the western governments to destroy communism, dismember the Soviet Union, and restore capitalism to the masses. The Russian defendants were all sentenced to death, and shot. They had confessed to the crimes under torture.

(1943) Polish bodies exhumed - Katyn

The Stalinist regime made similar accusations against the Polish leaders in the 1945 Trial of the 16. But this trial was just one scenario of a much larger conspiracy. From the very inception of the war it was Stalin's mission (as well as that of Hitler's) to erase every vestige of Polish leadership and authority - the belief that a headless Polish state could more easily be conquered and repressed. Among the Soviet crimes against the Poles were the infamous Katyn Massacres in which over 16,000 Polish officers were arrested by the Soviet NKVD, deported to Russia and systematically executed. Over a million Polish civilians including members of the intelligentsia, had been deported to Russian gulags and either executed or worked to death. This was genocide - the calculated destruction of the Polish people, their culture, and their leadership.

Prisoners in Russian Gulag

Typical of Soviet chicanery, Colonel Pimenov of the Soviet NKVD, on behalf of General Ivanov, sent cordial invitations to the Polish leaders to attend a conference in the city of Pruszkow, Poland and, giving his "word of honour", guaranteed their personal safety. Incidentally, that the Soviets chose Armii Krajowej Street as the location for the conference could not have been a coincidence, I believe, but rather a devious means to lull the Polish leaders into a false sense of security. These gestures led the Polish leaders to believe that they were being called upon to form a Polish Provisional Government. In reality the future of Poland had already been decided by Stalin. It was fait accompli. At the Yalta Conference in February 1945, the Big Three (Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill) agreed upon a Polish Provisional Government which would hold "free and unfettered elections", as soon as possible. But it was a ruse. Just a month earlier the Polish Provisional Government had been taken over by the Soviet-backed Polish Committee of National Liberation (or PKWN). The Polish Government in Exile was outraged and issued a statement protesting the actions of the Soviet Union as having "taken over the sovereign rights of the Polish nation.

Churchill-Roosevelt-Stalin at Yalta Conference February 1945

On March 26 and 27, 1945, the Soviet NKVD captured and arrested the sixteen Polish leaders and deported them to Moscow where they were imprisoned in the infamous Lubyanka prison and subjected to months of brutal torture. The Polish leaders were accused of numerous crimes: such as having collaborated with Nazi Germany; acts of sabotage and terrorism against the Red Army; creating propaganda against the Soviet Union; planning a military alliance with Nazi Germany; owning a radio transmitter, printing machines and weapons; and membership in the Polish underground.

Immediately after the arrest, the Polish Government in Exile sent a message of protest to Washington and London calling for the immediate release of the sixteen Polish leaders. But it fell on deaf ears. Stalin attempted to deflect scrutiny by declaring that the whole episode was merely a ploy concocted by the so-called "Fascist Polish Government", in their effort to discredit the Soviets, and that it was nothing more than fabrication. Even when the truth finally came out on May 5th, Stalin shrugged it off, saying that, "there is no point in linking the case of the Trial of the Sixteen with the support for the Soviet-backed government of Poland because the sentences will not be high." Apparently, the American and British governments agreed hence no action was taken to intervene.

Soviet accusations against the Polish leaders were a complete sham, in particular allegations of collaboration with Nazi Germany. The fact is that the Polish Underground had fought ferociously against Nazi German occupation for the entire six years of the war, culminating in the heroic Warsaw Uprising in 1944. Neither did the Poles engage in any sabotage or terrorist activities against the Red Army. There is an abundance of historical documentation which attests to the fact that the Polish Home Army made many and frantic efforts to solicit the participation of and assistance by the Soviet Red Army in fighting against the Nazi Germans. The Poles fought alone. In a tragic and shocking turn of events, the Red Army advanced as far as the opposite bank of the Vistula, and then stopped short. The Soviet plan was to allow the Nazi Germans to slaughter as many Polish insurgents as possible before advancing on Warsaw and thus (so-called) "liberating" the Poles.

Okulicki defending himself in Russian court June 1945

In the Trial of the 16, the Soviet Union was guilty of countless violations of international law; of kidnapping and detaining citizens of a foreign country, of charging them with alleged crimes committed on foreign soil, of depriving the Polish prisoners of basic human rights, and subjecting them to torture. Moreover, General Okulicki's witnesses were expressly prohibited from even entering the court, and none of the Polish defendants were permitted to plead in their defense. Initially the judge conceded only three witnesses (though Okulicki requested six). But later the judge announced that the three witnesses could not attend the trial due to "bad atmospheric conditions." What's more, the prosecution was unable to provide evidence to support their claims against the Polish defendants. It was a travesty of justice doled out to absurd proportions.

On June 21, 1945, after only three days, the Soviet court delivered its verdicts. Of the sixteen Polish defendants, only one was not forced by the Soviets to admit to alleged crimes, while the others pleaded guilty. By 1951 only two survived. The United States and Britain remained tacit throughout the trial, and to add insult to injury, on July 6, 1945, formally withdrew their support from the legitimate Polish Government in Exile. For the ensuing twenty years, Soviet and Polish communists conducted large-scale man-hunts for former members of the Secret Polish State, and the Home Army (Armia Krajowa). The war had ended in 1945 - but not for the enslaved Polish nation.

POLISH LEADERS ON TRIAL

LEOPOLD OKULICKI (Niedźwiadek)

Commander in Chief of the Armia Krajowa

Okulicki was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He died on Christmas Eve 1946.
The cause of death was attributed to complications brought about by a hunger strike, but speculation indicates that Okulicki may have been murdered.

JAN STANISLAW JANKOWSKI

Deputy Prime Minister of Poland and the Government Delegate

Jankowski was sentenced to 8 years in prison. He died in prison March 13, 1953 just two weeks before the end of his sentence.  Suspicions abound that he was murdered.

ADAM BIEN

MINISTER OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS

Bien was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment.

STANISLAW JASIUKOWICZ

Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs

Jasiukowicz was sentenced to 5 years in prison.

 

 KAZIMERZ PUZAK

Head of the Council of National Unity, and

PPS-WRN Socialist Party

Puzak was sentenced to 1.5 years in prison and released in November 1945.

He returned to Poland and refused to emigrate.  In 1947 he was arrested again by the infamous secret police, Urzad Bezpieczenstwa and sentenced to 10 years in prison.  Puzak died April 30 1950.

ALEKSANDER ZWIERZYNSKI

Deputy Head of the Council of National Unity and

Head of the Labor Party

Zwierzynski was sentenced to 8 months in prison.

KAZIMERZ BAGINSKI

Member of the Council of National Unity

Baginski was sentenced to 1 year in prison after which he was released. 

He was forced to emigrate to the United States.

EUGENIUSZ CZARNOWSKI

Member of the Council of National Unity

Head of Ziednoczenie Demokratyczne

Czanowski was sentenced to 6 months in prison.

JOZEF CHACINSKI

Member of the Council of National Unity

Head of the Labor Party

Chacinski was sentenced to 4 months in prison.

STANISLAW MIERZWA

Member of the Council of National Unity

Mierzwa was sentenced to 4 months in prison.

ZBIGNIEW STYPULKOWSKI

Member of the Council of National Unity.

Stypulskowski was sentenced to 4 months in prison. 

Upon his release he was forced to emigrate to the United Kingdom.

FRANCISZEK URBANSKI

Member of the Council of National Unity

Urbanski was sentenced to 4 months in prison.

STANISLAW MICHALOWSKI

Member of the Council of National Unity

Michalowski was acquitted of all charges.

KAZIMERZ KOBYLANSKI

Member of the Council of National Unity

Kobylanski was acquitted of all charges.

JOZEF STEMLER

Member of the Council of National Unity 

(interpreter for the group of 16)

Stemler was acquitted of all charges.

ANTONI PAJDAK

Deputy Government Delegate

Pajdak was subjected to a secret trial, and sentenced to 5 years in prison in November 1945.

He was not released until 1955.

The soul of Poland is indestructible. She will rise again like a rock which may for a spell be submerged by a tidal wave 
but which remains a rock.
Winston Churchill.

Suggested Links:
You Tube video footage Moscow Show Trial 1938
Trial of the 16 - June 1945 (in Polish only)
Moscow Trial of the 16 Polish Leaders - June 1945 (in English only)

Warsaw Uprising 1944: September 4 German Troops Unleash Fury As Poles Wait For Allied Help

Polish Insurgent Murdered by Germans

The power plant in Powisle which had been supplying electricity to Warsaw since the start of the Uprising has been completely destroyed by German bombing. Since morning German troops have been pounding the area with heavy artillery fire and air raids as well as in northern part of Srodmiescie and Mokotow.


German troops are attempting to cut off the insurgents in Powisle from Srodmiescie North and have launched a continuous barrage of attacks from Karowa Street along three parallel streets: Wybrzeze, Kociuszkowskie, Dobra and Browarna. However by noon the Poles succeeded in pushing the Germans back to the line at Karowa Street. Polish casualties were severe. Two hours later, German troops launched a second attack and were able to seize the Waterworks Head Office on Lipowa Street. Fighting is very heavy and has continued into the evening. Many parts of the city are ablaze making it difficult for insurgents to organize defensive positions. Captain 'Krybar' ordered the immediate evacuation of civilians from the area to Northern City Centre. Polish troops of the Armia Krajowa have redeployed to Upper Czerniakow.

Civilians who sought refuge in Srodmiescie have all been killed under heavy German artillery fire. Houses located between Nowy Swiat Street and Napoleon Square have crumbled under massive bombardment. Neighborhoods of Twarda, Panska, Sliska and Sienna Streets have been methodically destroyed one by one. The printing house of the Home Army Military Publishers that was once on Szpitalna Street has been obliterated, as well as the PKO Bank building on the corner of Jasna and Swietokrzyska Streets.

 
Despite the overwhelming assault Polish insurgents continue to fight off enemy attacks and succeeded in driving the Germans back: from Krakowskie Przedmiescie to Nowy Swiat Street ; from Malachowski Square to Mazowiecka Street; and from Chlodna to Grzybowska Street. Meanwhile a company under the command of Lt. Andrzej Romocki "Morro" has taken up positions inside the printing house of Michal Arct's famous publishing house located at 225 Czerniakowska Street.


German troops unleashed their fury against the insurgents. They desecrated a Polish memorial by running their tanks over the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, crushing the slab beneath their tracks. Hitler had ordered not only the destruction of Warsaw, but that it also be pacified. The rampant unbridled destruction has only intensified the Polish will to fight.


Also destroyed by German bombs was Zamek Krolewskie, the famous Royal Castle, located at the entrance of Old Town Warsaw. It has been the residence of Polish royalty for centuries. It was burnt after the Germans bombed it during the blitzkrieg invasion of Poland in September 1939. Now the Royal Castle has been razed to the ground. After all was done, the only thing left was the ground floor, the lowest part of the Grodzka Tower and remnants of the Royal Library and Kubricki's Arcades. During the five year occupation by the Germans the Castle was plundered for its priceless treasures. Renowned German scholars including Professor Dagobert Frey and Dr. Joseph Muhlmann actively participated in its destruction. The National Museum was permitted to keep just a few pieces of equipment necessary to describe the losses, but secret photographs were taken to document its destruction. Early in 1940 Hitler had issued orders that the Castle was to be blown up. A bomb unit began making the preparations by drilling holes for dynamite, but it was not carried out until after the Uprising.  

Royal Castle in Warsaw Destroyed

Royal Castle as it looked in early 20th century

Prime Minister Churchill and War Cabinet

As Polish blood flows in the streets of Warsaw, political rhetoric flows in the British House of Commons. In a special emergency meeting the War Cabinet unanimously agreed that it was of the utmost importance that everything possible should be done to help the Poles. The general consensus was that the only viable means of resolving the crisis is to have Churchill invite Roosevelt to reconsider the matter of authorizing the USAAF to carry out air operations for dropping supplies on Warsaw, and if necessary, to land on Russian airfields without receiving prior authorization. British leaders are acutely aware of public reaction to the sufferings of the people of Warsaw but are very concerned with the "shock to public opinion" if the allies allowed Warsaw to be overwhelmed by German forces without so much as providing material assistance to Polish troops. It is only now becoming publicly known that the Russians have refused access to their airfields. In a last ditch effort to sway Stalin's position, a telegram was dispatched to him in the name of the War Cabinet, warning him of the dire consequences to Anglo-Russian relations should he refuse to comply. Churchill immediately sent a message to Roosevelt proposing that they participate in a joint air operation to Warsaw, and also sent a message to Stalin. Lt.John Ward, a British soldier and member of the Armia Krajowa has dispatched an urgent message to London describing the desperate situation of civilians and insurgents and pleaded for help for Warsaw.  

  Today is the 35th day of the battle for the Polish capital – a city with a population of 1,300,000 people. During those 35 days there has been no communication with the provinces. Therefore no food has reached Warsaw. Rations are already very short, in many places people are starving. The greatest tragedy is for the small children who receive no milk or special nourishment that they need. The people here hear with hungry envy of the liberation of Paris after four days of fighting. They heard that the British Army rushed thousands of tons of food and medical supplies to the French population. Warsaw during the first few days of the uprising received some much needed help in form of ammunition dropped by the R.A.F., but for the past two or three weeks has received no relief whatever. Poland is our oldest ally in this war. Despite all she has suffered at the hands of the German invaders, she has remained always an active power against the enemy. Polish troops fought in France in 1940; later Polish pilots took part in the battle of Britain, her troops fought at Tobruk, and are still fighting in Italy and France. The Home Army in Poland itself has now risen and is also fighting openly as it has fought under cover during the whole war. Poland is a country which I, as an Englishman, am proud to call an ally. She produced no government to co-operate with the Germans. The only government she has acknowledged is the one in exile in London. To end I would like to make an appeal to the British Nation. It is short: HELP FOR WARSAW.

Political leaders of Warsaw sent an urgent telegram to Prime Minister Mikolajczyk in London describing the overwhelming suffering among civilians and insurgents and asked for an immediate resolution to the battle, stating that “the catastrophic decrease in the amount of territory in our possession, lack of foodstuffs, water, and the compete exhaustion of the population (require that) immediate attention (be given to) the problem of stopping the fighting in Warsaw, particularly in view of the absence of immediate and effective assistance. We are awaiting an immediate reply." However, the response from British officials was indecisive and obscure. The battle continues.  
 

Warsaw Uprising 1944: September 3 Polish Suffer Enormous Casualties

German troops went on the offensive in districts of Powisle and Northern City Centre supported by heavy artillery fire. Insurgents in the area are fighting desperately. Reinforcements have arrived today from units which had evacuated Old Town just days ago. In a radio message General Bor praised the troops for their heroism in defending Old Town. He added that they will all become a legend, and each deserves to receive the Cross of Valour.&

Sources indicate that during the past two weeks total Polish casualties amounted to a staggering 77 %. Of a total of 9,807 troops, 51% were killed and 2,500 wounded (26%). However casualty figures differ - Colonel Wachnowski has reported that 33% were killed and over 20% gravely wounded.

After 33 days of fighting there remained only 4,800 insurgents, 1,500 of whom evacuated to Centre City sector and an undetermined number to Zoliborz sector. Left behind in Old Town were 2,500 gravely wounded soldiers who were murdered by German troops. About 200 insurgents have not been accounted for.

German units numbered approximately 8,000 in Old Town. By the end of August, their casualties were 91 officers and 3,770 rank and file. In the space of only five days, from August 29 to September 2, the Germans lost an additional 400 to 400 troops.

The Battle for Old Town was the fiercest and bloodiest battle that the Germans had yet encountered that surpassed that of the battle for Stalingrad. Although German losses were about 54%, Polish insurgents and civilians suffered the highest casualties.

German StuG III Ausf G assault gun
fighting near Sanguszki n Konwiktorska Street August 28,1944

Churchill and Eden considered sending a message to Roosevelt suggesting that he join them in issuing a joint message to Stalin in protesting his attitude towards the Poles, and to inform him of their intention to halt the next convoy to Russia. However, they abandoned this idea.

Corpse of one of over 350 Poles Executed on August 8-9,1944 near Polish National Opera House

Polish victims of Wola Massacre being burned by German Verbrennungskommando

One of many Polish victims burned by Nebelwerfer Rocket by German forces in Warsaw

Nebelwerfer is a German rocket launcher whose name roughly translated means "smoke-screen" (so-named in an attempt to supply misinformation to enemy spies). High explosive shells are launched, ranging in size from 15 to 32 centimetres (5.9 to 13 inches). The Germans have adapted one of their rockets for air-to-air use against Allied bombers. Operational risks are so great that German troops are required to take cover at a distance of 10 to 15 metres (11 to 16 yards) from the rocket to avoid the exhaust fumes. The rockets are fired using an electric switch. The destruction is devastating.

Warsaw Uprising 1944: August 24 - Roosevelt Turns His Back On Poland

Child Praying at Grave

The Old Town Sector of Warsaw has been the target of numerous German attacks especially around the barricades of its southern perimeter. Insurgents are battling the Germans ferociously and have managed to dislodge them from Radziwillow Palace on Bielanska Street. In City Centre, the grouping Belt has succeded in recapturing the area between Marszalkowska and Poznanska Streets.  However the Germans managed to seize a part of the ruins of Jan Bozy Hospital.

The Germans have seized a part of the ruined buildings of Jan Bozy Hospital on Bonifraterska Street, a school on Rybaki Street, and an apartment house on the premises of the State Securities Plant. After heavy fighting, the insurgents succeeded in keeping control of the ruins of the Simonsa passage on Dluga Street. They have set up defensive positionts in the ruins at 27/29 Dluga Street, calling it the “Heavenly Mother’s Redoubt”. Polish units are defending the Old Town and are fighting back enemy attacks from the south while retaining outposts on Miodowa, Podwale and Piwna Streets. Polish forces from the east maintain control of Brzozowa Street.

In Srodmiescie German forces have launched methodical attacks on insurgent outposts on Kredytowa, Krolewska, Towarowa, Chmielna and Zelazna Streets. Insurgents on Krucza, Wspolna, Hoza, Wilcza and Koszykowa Streets are under constant heavy enemy fire. The Germans have attempted to take over some houses on Króoewska Street near the Saski Gardens and on Grzybowska Street and have launched fierce attacks at the Railway Hostel and the Postal Railway Station, as well as insurgent positions along Towarowa Street. Meanwhile in southern Srodmiescie, after a fierce struggle, insurgent troops managed to seize a German outpost on Zulinskiego Street and take over the quarter between Poznanska, Żulinskiego, Marszalkowska and Nowogrodzka Streets.

AK Machine Gunner

Polish Sniper

The AK has issued another radio broadcast pleading for help from Warsaw citizens for infants and children who are hit the hardest in the Uprising. The battles have taken a heaavy toll on the morale on Varsavians,– constant bombardment from German bombers and artillery fire, overwhelming casualties, the wounded,  dwindling food and water supplies. The devastation to the city and its people is unimaginable. The citizens of Warsaw are desperately struggling to survive and are beginning to blame the AK for their misery.

Polish children orphans

Wounded Polish Insurgents in Hospital (location unknown)

Throughout the German occupation, the residents of Warsaw have turned to their faith. Polish tradition adheres strongly to the Roman Catholic Church, and identifies it with the freedom and independence of their homeland. Holy Mary is deeply revered as the “Queen of Poland”. Everywhere there are pictures of Holy Mary and Jesus Christ. Churches are full of worshipers, and where churches no longer exist, Mass is celebrated in its ruins. There are also makeshift altars in bombed out apartment buildings where people gather to pray together in the evening. Throughout the Uprising, Holy Mass has had a special meaning to the Poles. It has drawn the community together and strengthened their faith, hope and the search for inner strength to overcome the enormity of human suffering in this place that the world forgot.


President Roosevelt sent a radio message to Churchill today stating that there is nothing that he or Churchill could do to convince the Soviet government to allow Allied planes access to Soviet airfields in order to conduct airdrops to Poland. By all intents and purposes, America has given up on Poland. He stated “I do not see that we can take any additional steps at the present time that promise results....Stalin’s reply...to our joint message...is far from encouraging to our wishes to assist.”  


A unique radio message was transmitted to the Polish Government in Exile in London from Warsaw “Lightning” Station, in which a poem was recited, and one that had become widely known during the Uprising. Here is a translation:

 

Why do you sing a mourning chorale in London,

While here we have long awaited a time to rejoice?

At the sides of their lovers, girls are fighting here,

And small children join them, and their blood flows proudly.

Hello....Here is the heart of Poland!...Hear Warsaw speaking!

Throw the dirges out of your broadcasts;

Our spirit is so strong it will support even you!

We don`t need your applause!

We demand ammunition!!! 

Churchill and Stalin

Warsaws secret radio station "Lightning" has been broadcasting since the early days of the Uprising.  Here is a special segment of yesterdays report. (in English)  To listen, please click on the following link. The audio is often inaudible due to static, morse code, and gun shots in the background but parts of the message can still be heard clearly. 

 "This is Warsaw Calling. This is Warsaw Calling. This is Warsaw Calling All the Free Nations...."   The voice of the announcer is that of Lt. John Ward broadcasting messages from the secret AK radio station, Blystawicka. He is the only British soldier who is a member of the Armia Krajowa. He has been dispatching messages to London since the first week of the Uprising demanding allied assistance and reporting on the details of daily events.

Amid great fanfare, Polish underground radio broadcast an ecstatic and joyful message to the French Resistance (FFI - Forces francaises de l'interieur) for their great victory against German occupaton. The Uprising began just five days ago on August 19, 1944 by the French Resistance, quickly followed by military backup from the Free French Army of Liberation and the U.S. 4th Infantry Division. The French Resistance has put up a formidable fight attacking and have captured enemy fuel trucks, destroyed road signs, sabotaged German vehicles, cut communication lines, bombed gasoline depots, attacked isolated pockets of Germans, and liberated a Nazi prison (on the outskirts of Paris). By the end of the Uprising the FFI had control of most of Paris while German units held most of the main monuments and strong points. Skirmishes reached its peak two days ago when some German units tried to leave their strongposts. 

 

FFI uprising on 19 August, one insurgent wearing an Adrian helmet

Yesterday at 09:00 hours Choltitz ordered that the Grand Palais, an FFI stronghold be burned to the ground and German tanks launched a barrage of fire against the barricades. Hitler had given an order to inflict the maximum amount of damage on the city. In this battle lasting mere days, about 1,000 French Resistance fighters were killed and another 1,500 wounded This morning huge crowds of Parisians are in the streets in joyous celebration and are welcoming the 2nd French Armoured Division which had swept the western area of Paris including the Arc de Triomphe and Champs Elysee. The Americans cleared the eastern part.  Warsaw citizens are elated of the news of Paris' liberation; their spirits are lifted that at any moment their much needed help will arrive.  They continue to fight with renewed strength.

 

LIBERATION OF PARIS