a

THE

TRUTH

ABOUT

POLAND





>^4 61

THE TRUTH ABOUT POLAND





GENERAL INFORMATION

1 . Poland*s Place in the Sun

Poland is the sixth country in Europe

both as regards area (150,470 square

miles) and population (35,500,000).

Among all the nations of the world,

Poland ranks eleventh in population

and twenty-sixth in area.

Poland’s frontier is 2,250 miles long.

Of this only forty-five miles is Baltic

sea-coast. This 2% gateway to the

world is totally inadequate for Po-

land’s needs, compared to Germany’s

21%, France’s 60%, Spain’s 65%,

America’s 71%, Great Britain’s 100%.

In the 15th Century, Poland was the

largest state in Europe, as the follow-

ing table shows:

In the 11th Cent., Po-

land’s area was 130,888 s.m.

In the 15th Cent., Po-

land’s area was 430,502

In the 18th Cent., before

the 1st partition 392,664

In the 18th Cent., before

the 2nd partition. . . . 200,772
”

Contemporary Poland . . 150,470
"

2. Poland, a Democracy

After regaining her independence in

1918, Poland adopted a parliamentary

form of Government. The first par-

liament of reborn Poland, elected by

universal suffrage of both sexes, estab-

lished the Constitution in 1921. This

Constitution made the Government

and the President of the Republic re-

sponsible to parliament as the pre-

dominant power. In 1935, the Con-

stitution of Poland was amended by a

small majority, the power of the

executive strengthened, that of parlia-

ment restricted. Even so the President

of Poland had far less power than the

President of the United States. Free-

dom of Religion, of Press and Speech

was granted and even in the days of

greatest State interference with indi-

vidual initiative, more than half the

Polish press openly criticised the Pol-

ish Government, shoving that consti-

tutional rights were not impaired.

Universal suffrage gave men and

women over 21 the right to -vote in

secret ballot irrespective of race and

creed.

5. Government of Poland

After the invasion of Poland by

Germany and Russia, President Mos-

cicki, in accordance with the Consti-

tution, transmitted his powers to

Wladyslaw Raczkiewicz, then in Paris.

In September, 1939, President Racz-

kiewicz took the oath of ofiice at the

Polish Embassy there, and appointed

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The Truth About Poland

General Sikorski to be Prime Minister

and Commander-in-Chief. In Decem-

ber 1939, the Polish National Council,

an advisory body acting in the absence

of an elected parliament, was appointed

and Ignacy Paderewski elected as its

chairman. When France collapsed in

1940, the Polish Government was

transferred from Angers to London.

The following year the Polish National

Council was expanded to include repre-

sentatives of all Polish political parties.

The Government submits its budget to

the National Council and consults it on

all major policies. The National Coun-

cil has the right to make representa-

tions to the Government on all matters

affecting the welfare of the Polish

nation.

4, Composition of the Polish

Government

After General Sikorski’s tragic death

on July 4th, 1943 President Raczkie-

wicz called upon Stanislaw Mikolajczyk,

who had been acting as Prime Minister

in General Sikorski’s absence, to form a

Government. Prime Minister Mikola-

jczyk’s cabinet consists of Jan Kwapin-

ski, deputy Prime Minister and Minister

of Industry, Commerce and Shipping;

Tadeusz Romer, Minister of Foreign

Affairs; General Marian Kukiel, Minis-

ter of National Defense; Wladyslaw

Banaczyk, Minister of Home Affairs;

Stanislaw Kot, Minister of Information;

Ludwik Grosfeld, Minister of Finance;

Jan Stanczyk, Minister of Labor and

Social Welfare; Waclaw Komarnicki,

Minister of Justice; Marian Seyda,

Minister of State (Peace Conference

Planning)
;
Karol Popiel, Minister of

State (Polish Administrative Plan-

ning)
;
the Rev. Zygmunt Kaczynski,

Minister of Education; Henryk Stras-

burger, Polish Minister in the Middle

East.

The Peasant and Labor parties each

have one more member in this Gov-

ernment than they had in that of Gen-

eral Sikorski. The Peasant Party is

represented by three members. Miko-

lajczyk, Banaczyk and Kot; the Polish

Labor Party by three members: Kwa-

pinski, Stanczyk and Grosfeld; the

National Liberal Party by two members

:

Kaczynski and Popiel; the National

Democratic Party by two members:

Komarnicki and Seyda; three members

belong to no party: Romer, Kukiel and

Strasburger.

Of the thirteen members of the Gov-

ernment, two are peasants, two are

labor men, three are teachers, three are

newspapermen; one is a lawyer, one is

a soldier and one is a career diplomat

as follows:

Two Peasants:

Prime Minister Mikolajczyk, the son

of a small farmer, organizer of rural

co-operatives and a prominent leader

of agricultural labor; Minister of the

Interior Banaczyk, a small farmer.

Two Labor Men:

Deputy Prime Minister Kwapinski,

Minister of Industry, Commerce and

Shipping, an agricultural laborer who

fought the Czar and was exiled to

Siberia; Minister of Labor and Social

Welfare Stanczyk, a miner and labor

leader.

Three Teachers:

Minister of Information Kot, pro-

fessor of the history of Polish civiliza-

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The Truth About Poland

tion; Minister of Justice Komarnicki,

son of a farmer, Professor of Law;

Minister of Polish Affairs in the Mid-

dle East Strasburger, Professor of Eco-

nomics, and protagonist of parliamen-

tary union with Czechoslovakia.

Three Newspapermen:

Minister of State Popiel, son of a

working man; Minister of State Seyda,

son of a storekeeper, fought German

imperialism for forty years and was

exiled by Germany before the last war;

Minister of Education, Rev. Kaczynski,

head of the Polish Catholic Press

Agency, very active in the Polish under-

ground movement in 1939-1940.

One Lawyer:

Minister of Finance Grosfeld, coun-

sel and financial adviser to Polish labor

unions.

One Soldier:

Minister of National Defense Gen-

eral Kukiel, Professor of Military

History.

One Diplomat:

Minister of Foreign Affairs Romer,

career diplomat, former Ambassador to

Japan and Russia.

5.

Poland*s Vitality

From 1920 to 1937, the average

increase of Poland’s population was

14.9 per thousand, the total increase

26.9 per cent. During the same period

the population of Germany increased

by 13.0 per cent. But for the war the

population of Poland would have ex-

ceeded that of France before 1950

and that of Germany about 1970.

6.

Language and Religion in Poland

Language

Polish 68.3%

Poland’s Ukrainians 14.1%

Yiddish and Hebrew 8.16%

White Ruthenian 3.9%

German 2.3%

Russian 0.4%

Other and not given 3.2%

Religion

Roman Catholic 64.8%

Eastern-Orthodox 11.8%

Greek-Catholic 10.4%

Hebrew 9.8%

Protestant 2.6%

Others 0.6%

After 191 8, in independent Poland,

political and civil rights were granted

to all national minorities. They had

their own representatives in parliament

and in local-government, their own

educational system and full freedom of

cultural and religious development. In

1939 there were in Poland 3,000

Ukrainian schools maintained by the

Government. Polish Ukrainians differ

greatly as regards religion and lan-

guage from the Ukrainians in Soviet

Russia. Among the White Ruthenians,

national development is slow. Polish

efforts to raise the national culture of

White Ruthenians were successful only

in part. For instance, a certain num-

ber of high schools, organized by Poles

for White Ruthenians, had to be closed

for lack of pupils.

7.

Population of Polish Cities

Warsaw 1,289,000

Lodz 672,000

Lwow 318,000

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The Truth About Poland

Poznan 272,000

Krakow 259,000

Wilno 200,000

Bydgoszcz 141,000

Czestochowa 138,000

Katowice 134,000

Sosnowiec 130,000

Lublin 122,000

Gdynia 120,000

Chorzow 110,000

Bialystok 107,000

8, Density of Rural Population

In Poland the density of gainfully

occupied rural population per 100

acres of farmland compared as follows

with other countries:

Persons per

1,000 acres of

Year Country farmland

1931 Poland 154

1931 Yugoslavia 146

1933 Germany 132

1930 Czechoslovakia 129

1930 Hungary 120

1931 France 89

1931 Great Britain 26

P. Poles Abroad

Some nine million Poles and people

of Polish descent are living abroad:

In the United States (ap-

proximately) 4,500,000

In Germany (mostly in Si-

lesia and East Prussia) . . 1,450,000

In Soviet Russia (approxi-

mately — not including

1,500,000

Polish citizens

deported to Russia in

1939-1941) 1,000,000

In France 600,000

In Brazil (some two-thirds in

the State of Parana) .... 300,000

In Lithuania (mostly around

Kovno) 200,000

In Canada 150,000

In Rumania 80,000

In Latvia 75,000

In Argentine 70,000

In Paraguay 18,000

10. How the Poles Voted

In Poland the number of voters had

increased from 12,989,000 in 1922 to

14.907.000 in 1925. Then it rose to

15.791.000 out of a population of

35,500,000. This represents an elector-

ate of 44.5%. In the United States

with a population of 131,669,275 the

vote cast in the last presidential elec-

tion was 49,815,312 or 37.8% of the

total population. The most striking

thing about the Polish electorate was

the very small number of extremists.

The extreme right and communists

combined, never amounted to more

than 4% of the total votes cast in

any election. Nearly half the votes

(46.4%) were cast for liberal and

progressive candidates. The Center,

made up of middle-class democrats,

polled 28.6% of the votes and the

minorities (Jews, Ukrainian, White

Ruthenians, etc.) 21%. In the last

election under Marshal Pilsudski’s

administration the opposition parties

polled 53% of the votes, but were so

divided among themselves that they

never had a working majority in the

parliament.

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The Truth About Poland

POLISH HISTORY

11. First Two Dates in Polish

History

Recorded Polish history began with

two dates:

963
,
when German hordes, under

Margrave Gero, invaded Poland:

—

Germany’s first attempt to get "Lebens-

raum” by aggression;

966
,
when Mieszko I, together with

his people, adopted Christianity.

12. Poland—Defender of
Christianity

At Lignica in 1241, Polish troops

under Duke Henry the Pious stopped

the invasion of Western Europe by

Tartar hord^. Henry the Pious was

killed. In this battle the Tartars used

choking vapors that had the same effect

as poison gas.

13. Grunwald

In 1410 the united armies of Poland

and Lithuania defeated the Teutonic

Order of the Knights of the Cross in

the Battle of Grunwald. Victory was

so complete that the "Drang nach Os-

ten” was stopped and Poland had four

hundred years of peace. The lesson

should not be forgotten: partial or un-

exploited victories over the Germans,

give only short-lived and precarious

peace.

14. Polish-Lithuanian Union and

the Polish Commonwealth

In 1413, at Horodlo, Poland united

with her eastern neighbor, Lithuania.

The Act of Union concluded at Ho-

rodlo, proclaimed:

"Let those be united to us by love

and made equal, who are bound to us

by common faith and identical laws

and privileges. We pledge our im-
mutable and solemn word never to

desert them.”

In 1569 the complete union of Po-

land and Lithuania was achieved by

the Act of Lublin, and the Common-

wealth of Poland came into being. In

this Act the union of Poland with

Ukraine, Ruthenia, Podolia and Voly-

nia was also achieved. The principles

of this union were virtually those of

the United States. Under an elected

King and one Parliament, local state

government existed. Moreover, Poland

and Lithuania kept separate armies

under separate Commanders-in-Chief.

Other provinces of the Polish Common-

wealth were—East Prussia, Livonia,
Courland. They enjoyed wide auto-

nomy. The Ruthenian and Lithuanian

upper classes had the same rights as

the Polish gentry.

15.

Cracow University

Cracow University was founded in

1364 and became the great intellectual

center of Central-Eastern Europe. It

opened the Golden Age of Polish cul-

ture and Polish literature, an era made

famous by the father of modern astron-

omy, Mikolaj Kopernik, by the poet Jan

Kochanowski, by the educator Gor-

nicki, the brilliant orator Skarga, and

many other great men.

[ 7 }



The Truth About Poland

16. Polish Habeas Corpus”

200 years before the English "Ha-

beas Corpus” Act, Poland guaranteed

liberty of the person by the "Neminem

Captivabimus” Act of 1430, as well as

personal property rights. No one could

be arrested without a warrant from

legal authority.

17. The Confederation of Warsaw

In 1573, by the Confederation of

Warsaw, Poland established freedom

of conscience and worship at a time

when religious persecution was rife.

Ever since, Poland has been the refuge

in Europe of oppressed religious mi-

norities. Already in 1264 the Statute

of Kalisz had been granted to the

Jews in Poland by Boleslaus the Pious.

The only document of its kind in all

Europe giving them cultural autonomy

and their own coinage. From the

15th Century onward, Jewish religious

schools flourished and won world-wide

recognition. Rabinical publications in

Wilno and Cracow were eagerly read

by Jews in the United States.

18. Poland Saves Europe From

Islam

In 1683, the Polish King, Jan So-

bieski, ran the risk of Russian aggres-

sion to go to the assistance of Vienna,

besieged by the Turks. By his victory,

one of the world’s decisive battles,

Poland saved Europe for Christianity.

A ”Te Deum” was sung in the Cathe-

dral of St. Stephen in Vienna, and

these words were uttered from the

pulpit: "There was a man sent from

God whose name was John.” Later,

Poland signed a pact of perpetual

friendship with Turkey, the only State

that never recognized the partitions of

Poland, keeping an empty seat at all

diplomatic receptions for the "tempo-

rarily absent” Polish ambassador. This

absence lasted for 122 years.

19. Partitions of Poland

In 1772 occurred the first partition

of Poland, by her three neighbors,

Russia, Prussia and Austria: absolute

monarchies unwilling to have on their

frontiers a free and democratic Poland.

In 1793, Russia and Prussia carried out

a second, and in 1795, together with

Austria, a third partition of Poland,

which for 122 years disappeared from

the map of Europe. Jefferson called the

partitions of Poland "a crime”; Wilson,

"one of the great crimes of history.”

It was also condemned spontaneously

by the "Peoples Commissars” of the

communist regime in 1919 in Mos-

cow. They termed it: "contemptible

imperialism.”

20. Constitution of the Third of

May

On the Third of May, 1791, after

the first partition, the Polish Parlia-

ment passed a Constitution inspired by

the ideals of the American Declara-

tion of Independence and the French

Declaration of the Rights of Men. It

was the first written democratic Con-

stitution in Europe establishing the

rights of the middle classes and of

the peasants had also established

[ 8 ]



The Truth About Poland

the first Ministry of Education in

Europe. The absolute rulers of Prussia,

Austria and Russia regarded this Con-

stitution as a threat to their Divine

Right to rule, and hastened to stifle

Poland’s new born democracy. The par-

titions of 1793 and 1795 resulted.

Thaddeus Kosciuszko, on his return

from America in 1794, led the first

Polish insurrection which preceded the

third partition. He was wounded and

captured. Thanks to the rights granted

by the Third of May Constitution to

Polish peasants, they formed a large

proportion of the insurgents.

21.

122-Year Struggle for Freedom

Poland had 12 million inhabitants

at the time of the third partition. The

country was devastated, the people ter-

rorized by armies of occupation, repre-

senting three empires with a total

population of 85 million. Despite this

enormous disproportion of strength, the

Poles time and again rose in arms

against their oppressors. Risings took

place in 1794, 1830, 1848, 1863, 1905.

Through all the 122 years of partition,

Poles fought on the battlefront of Lib-

erty all over the world for the freedom

of other peoples. In the United States,

in Belgium, Italy, Greece, Hungary,

Latvia, the Argentine, Bolivia, Peru

Poles fought for the cause of human

freedom under their war cry "For Your

Freedom and For Ours." When Polish

patriots put "your” liberty before

"ours,” it was no mere gesture, but a

forceful expression of their conviction

that the only guarantee of freedom foi

any nation is the freedom of all nations.

22. Restoration of Independent

Poland in 1918

After the first world war Poland’s in-

dependence was restored by the Treaty

of Versailles, which defined only the

western and southern boundaries of

Poland.

23. ^Eighteenth Decisive Battle of

the World”

In 1920, Russian Red armies attacked

Poland and marched as far as the

suburbs of Warsaw. Polish armies,

without any assistance from the west-

ern powers, defeated the Red armies

and single handed saved Western Eu-

rope from communism. The importance

of that victory was emphasized by Lord

D’Abernon, who called the battle of

Warsaw "The Eighteenth Decisive Bat-

tle of the World.” The Polish-Russian

war was ended by the Treaty of Riga,

signed on March 17, 1921. This treaty

definitely established Poland’s eastern

boundaries. The Treaty of Riga was a

compromise between Poland’s past and

her present. OfiPered even more terri-

tory by Lenin, Poland exercised a

statesmanlike restraint and Lenin, the

dictator of Russia, called the Treaty of

Riga "a voluntary and just agreement

to stand for all time.” Victorious Po-

land gave up to Russia nearly two-

thirds of the pre-partition territories

in the east. The frontier included the

cities of Wilno (94% of Poles) and

Lwow (87.8% of Poles) but nowhere

did it extend to the frontiers of the

18th Century, not to speak of the l4th

or l6th Centuries. 1,500,000 Poles

were left in Russia and 135,000 Rus-

sians were left in Poland. Poland’s

eastern frontiers are the boundary of

[ 9 ]



The Truth About Poland

Western civilization, as witnessed by

architectural styles, peasant costumes,

folklore, music, dances, decorative art

and literary taste.
24,

What Is the Curzon Line?

Some of Poland’s enemies claim that

ethnographically the so-called "Curzon

line” really constitutes Poland’s east-

ern frontier. This line was proposed

in 1920 by Lord Curzon, British Sec-

retary of State for Foreign Affairs, as

an armistice line in the war with the

Russians. When in 1939, the Germans

and Russians divided Poland, the fron-

tier established by the two invaders,

followed the Curzon line, more or

less. The claim that ethnographically

this line is Poland’s eastern frontier is

absurd. The territories between the

so-called "Curzon line” and the east-

ern frontier of Poland are inhabited

by 6,396,000 Poles, 4,530,000 Ukrain-

ians, 1,122,000 White Ruthenians,

135,000 Russians, 89,000 Germans

and 84,000 Lithuanians.

POLAND’S ECONOMIC PROGRESS

25.

After the First World War

Poland was devastated during the

first world war. The total number of

buildings destroyed in Poland by all

sorts of invaders was 1,785,305, in-

cluding 6,586 schools, 1,969 churches,

40^ of all the railway bridges and

stations were destroyed. After the war

Poland received very little financial

assistance from abroad. (About 15 cts.

per inhabitant p.a., Germany received

$1.10 per inhabitant p.a.) yet during

the twenty years between the two wars,

she achieved significant progress. Take

the soil, a basic factor: 11,362,000

acres of fallow land were brought

under cultivation, and 8,027,500 acres

of large estates were parcelled into

small farms. In 1918, Poland had 1,750

locomotives, 3,043 passenger cars and

30,000 freight cars. In 1939 she had

well over 5,500 locomotives, 11,350

passenger cars and 164,000 freight

cars. 1,250 miles of new railroad track

had been laid. In the same time the

length of Polish highways had been

increased by 30%. In 1918 Poland

did not possess a single ship, in 1939

she had more than 500 merchant and

passenger vessels sailing the seven seas.

26,

Education in Poland

Between 1918 and 1937 there were

opened in Poland 23,604 new primary

schools for children from seven to four-

teen years of age. All these schools

had libraries as well as assembly rooms,

lecture and recreation halls. In 1938-9,

5,402,300 children—ninety-one out of
every hundred—attended school. Uni-
versal and compulsory education had

brought illiteracy in the lower age

brackets down to a fraction of one per

cent. Just before the war, Poland had

27 Universities and other academic in-

stitutions, 74 teachers training colleges,

2,230 High Schools, 103 technical

training schools, 28,722 primary

schools and 1,651 kindergartens.

[ 10 ]



The Truth About Poland

27. Poland, a Land of Small

Holdings

A. Ownership of land in Poland.

According to the census of 1931 the

entire area of cultivated land, orchards

and gardens, meadows and pastures

was 63,232,145 acres, of which 11,-

411,281 acres or 18.04^ were larger

holdings of 123.6 acres (50 hectares)

each and more, and 48,198,207 acres

or 16 .22^0 were small holdings of less

than 123.6 acres; the remaining 3,585,-

238 acres or were owned by

state and local government. Peasant

ownership of farm land in 1931 con-

stituted three-fourths of the whole util-

ized area. However between 1931 and

1938, 1,799,095 acres of large holdings

were parcelled, thus increasing the pea-

sant holdings to 50,007,303 acres, or

79.07% of all utilized land in Poland,

and decreasing large holdings to

15.21%. In other words five-sixths of

all agricultural holdings in Poland are

in the hands of peasants and only one-

sixth in the hands of large landowners.

So Poland is predominantly a land of

small and not of large holdings. In

Great Britain, for instance, large es-

tates of more than 123.6 acres (50ha.)

constitute about 68%, and small es-

tates of less than 123.6 acres only

about 31% of the utilized land. By

1948 all large estates would have been

parcelled.

B. Ownership of livestock by large

and small holdings (1937) in thou-

sands of heads:

Horses % Cattle % Pigs %
Sheep and

Goats %

Large holdings 396 10.69 736 7.20 436 5.96 435 12.49

Small holdings 3,309 89.31 9.491 92.80 6,983 94.04 3,048 87.51

Total 3,705 100 10,227 100 7,419 100 3,483 100

25. Poland*s Share in World Agricultural Production

Rye and wheat

(millions

of tons)

Great Britain 1,5

United States 21,5

Poland 8,5

Germany 12,5

France 9,

29. Poland's Industrial Progress

Despite the world economic crisis

Poland’s industrial progress was far

from negligible. Between 1925 and

1938 the number of electric plants in-

creased almost threefold; the installed

power was doubled. Poland occupied

Potatoes Sugar

(millions (thousands Cattle

of tons) of tons

)

(millions)

5, 550 8,6

9,5 1,174 60,8

31, 500 10,2

45, 1,500 20,

15, 800 15,7

7th place in world coal output and 4th

place in world coal exports. In zinc

Poland held the 5th place in the world.

For her 2,638,000 spindles and 69,000

looms Poland imported 128,000,000

lbs. of cotton and 68,000,000 lbs. of

wool yearly. She exported textiles to

[ 11 ]



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The Truth About Poland

more than 30 countries. Among Po-

land’s main industrial exports were:

weaving and spinning machinery, wool-

en, linen, cotton textiles, plywood,

wood articles, furniture, pianos, glass

and china, leather and leather goods,

gloves, electric appliances, chemicals,

drugs, perfumery, canned meats, seed,

medical herbs, liquors, etc. Some of

these articles were exported to 42

countries.

30,

Labor and Health in Poland

Assuming per capita production in

1928 as 100, the output rose to 129

in 1937. Polish labor was organized in

298 trade unions which in 1937 con-

cluded 727 collective working agree-

ments with employers. Polish labor

managed to maintain the real value of

wages, despite the economic crisis. Al-

though in 1937 nominal wages dropped

34% from 1933 levels, the same period

saw a decrease in industrial wholesale

prices of 39%, and in agricultural

prices of 46%. The general purchas-

ing power of wages rose 6%. The

Polish system of social security was

based upon compulsory insurance of

all working people. Health insurance

covered 2,171,000 persons; accident

insurance 2,183,000 persons; disability

and old age pensions 2,523,000 per-

sons; unemployment insurance 1,690,-

000 persons. Social insurance provided

hospitals, child care, rest—maternity

—

anti-tubercular centers in every city,

health control centers, etc. Social leg-

islation restricted the employment of

women and minors, and controlled the

prevention of accidents, provided paid

holidays for workers, etc. This social

security legislation was one of the first

steps taken by reborn Poland and labor

unions were recognized by act of Par-

liament in 1919 . Some of the social

measures adopted by the First Polish

Parliament in 1921, were voted by the

French Parliament in 1935 during the

period of social reconstruction under

the Premiership of Leon Blum.

Finally the Polish death-rate was

steadily decreasing, from 16.7 per 1,000

inhabitants in 1925, it fell to 15.5 in

1930
,
and to 14.0 in 1937.

31 , Poland*s Occupational Structure

Manual and skilled wage earners

constitute 28.6% and white collar

workers 4.3% of the total population.

In the various occupation groups the

percentage of non-salaried “independ-

ents” is as follows: agriculture, 85.2%;

industry 32.7%; commerce 72.8%;

communications 15%; other occupa-

tions 8.3%. This proves that Poland

was a land of small and medium

individual enterprise, an essential char-

acteristic of liberal economy.

32, Poland*s Cooperative System

Poland had 11,720 cooperative so-

cieties with more than 3,000,000 mem-

bers, divided into Agricultural, Con-

sumers and Credit Unions. During

the 20 years of Poland’s independent

existence the number of cooperatives

trebled. In 1928 for instance 24% of

cheese exports was handled through

cooperatives, in 1938 this percentage

had risen to 99.4%.

33, Polish Access to Sea

Poland’s most striking achievement

was the construction and development

of the port of Gdynia on the Baltic

[ 14 ]



The Truth About Poland

Sea. In 1924, the number of incoming

and outgoing vessels was 58 with a

total tonnage of 10,167. In 1938, it

was 12,990 with a total tonnage of

9,174,000 tons. Together with Danzig,

which was smaller, the total tonnage

exceeded 17,800,000, constituting the

5th port in Europe and the largest on

the Baltic. The shift of exports and

imports by land to exports and imports

by sea is most significant. The value

of Polish imports by sea increased from

27.4% in 1928 to 65.5% in 1937;

similarly the value of Polish exports

by sea rose from 25.2% in 1928 to

66.27% in 1937. This was due to the

establishment of maritime connections

with more than forty countries. Polish

merchant vessels called at more than

200 ports.

POLISH CULTURE

34. Poland*s Contribution to World

Culture and Civilization

Some idea of Poland’s contribution

to world culture and civilization may

be gathered from this much too brief

list of famous Poles:

Science: Mikolaj Kopernik (Coper-

nicus) (1456-1543), the discoverer

of the solar system, of earth’s rotation

about the sun and father of modern

relativity; Jan Sniadecki (1756-1830),

astronomer and famous mathematician

who worked with Oxford University;

Jozef Hoene-Wronski (1778-1853),

philosopher and famous mathemati-

cian, discoverer of differential equa-

tions; Zygmunt Wroblewski (1845-

1888) and Karol Olszewski (1846-

1915), scientists who first liquefied air;

Jan Lukasiewicz (b. 1878), philoso-

pher and mathematician, inventor of the

petroleum lamp; Stefan Kopec (mur-

dered by the Nazis), discovered the

hormone of insects; Maria Sklodowska-

Curie (1867-1934), Nobel prize win-

ner, discovered radium and polonium;

R. Waigiel, discovered anti-typhoid

serum; Dr. Kazimierz Funk (b. 1884),

first introduced the term "Vitamin”

(his book on the subject published in

New York is a recognized authority)

;

Dr. L. Zamenhof (1859-1917), created

Esperanto.

35. Painters

Piotr Michalowski (1802-1855) and

Aleksander Orlowski (1777-1832), ex-

cellent painters and draughtsmen; Jan

Matejko (1839-1893), creator of a

series of monumental visions of Po-

land’s glorious past; Artur Grottger

(1837-1867), painter of tragic insur-

rection of 1863 and the Siberian de-

portees; Juliusz Kossak (1824-1899),

famous ballet painter; Josef Chelmon-

ski (1850-1914), realist painter; Jacek

Malczewski (1855-1929), the Polish

Rubens; Stanislaw Wyspianski (1869-

1907), leading painter of "Young

Poland”;
J.

Mehoffer (b.l869), fam-

ous painter of stained glass windows;

Wladyslaw Skoczylas (b.l883), illus-

trator of Polish folklore. School of

St. Luke, eleven painters under a mod-

ernized spell of El Grecco. Jan Rosen

[ 15 ]



The Truth About Poland

(b.l891), the painter of frescos in

Poland, Italy and U. S. A., Artur

Szyk, famous miniaturist, Feliks Topol-

ski, the Rembrandtian draughtsman.

36. Sculptors

Wit Stwosz (1438-1533), great mas-

ter of the XV century, who carved the
altar in St. Mary’s Church, Cracow,

removed by the Germans to Nurem-

berg; Ksawery Dunikowski (b. 1876)

and Edward Witting, whose monuments

to aviators stand in Warsaw and Paris;

Stanislaw Ostrowski (b.l878), sculp-

tor of the equestrian statue of King

Jagiello before his victory over the

Prussians at Grunwald, at the World’s

Fair in New York, 1939.

37. Composers and Musicians

Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849), one

of the greatest composers, whose

music is essentially Polish; Stanislaw

Moniuszko (1819-1872), the father of

the Polish opera; Ignacy Paderewski

(1860-1941), who earned fame as a

pianist before he rose to symbolize

Polish patriotism and Statesmanship;

Flenryk Wieniawski (1835-1880), and

Karol Szymanowski (1883-1937), dis-

tinguished composers of modern sym-

phonies. Barcewicz, Bronislaw Huber-

man, Pawel Kochanski, Wanda Lan-

dowska, Artur Rubinstein, Jozef Hoff-

man and Jozef Sliwinski are Polish

performers whose names are familiar to

music-lovers in Europe and America.

Emil Mlynarski and Artur Rodzinski

are well-known Polish conductors,

while the de Reszke brothers, Adam

Didur, Jan Kiepura, Ada Sari and Sem-

brich-Kochanska are well-known Po-

lish singers of international repute.

38. Literature

Mikola
j
Rey (1505-1569), founder

of Poland’s national literature; Jan

Kochanowski (1530-1584), the great

Polish lyrical poet; A. Frycz Modrzew-

ski (1503-1572), political thinker and

social reformer; L. Gornicki (1527-

l603), distinguished writer and edu-

cator; PiotrSkarga (1536-1612), Jesuit

writer and greatest Polish orator; Ig-

nacy Krasicki (1735-1801), distin-

guished fabulist; Aleksander Fredro

(1793-1876), greatest Polish dramat-

ist; Adam Mickiewicz (1799-1855),

Juliusz Slowacki (1809-1849) and

Zygmunt Krasinski, Polish national

bards; Henryk Sienkiewicz (1846-

1916), Poland’s great historical novel-

•St, Nobel prize winner; Boleslaw Prus

(1847-1912), distinguished novelist;

Stanislaw Wyspianski (1869-1902),

poet, dramatist, painter; Stefan Zerom-

ski (1864-1925), modern novelist on

social problems; Wladyslaw Reymont

(1868-1925), author of "The Pea-

sants,” a monumental rural epic, Nobel

prize winner; Karol Hubert Rostwo-

rowski (1877-1937), dramatist and

poet; Zofia Kossak-Szczucka (b.l890),

famous historical novelist. Among con-

cemporary Polish poets mention should

be made of Stanislaw Balinski, Jan

Lechon, Kazimierz Wierzynski, Julian

Tuwim and Antoni Slonimski.

39. The Theatre

Modern Polish dramatic art dates

from 1765, when the actor-manager

Boguslawski founded the first national

theatre in Warsaw. The most popular

plays of the Polish stage are those by

Adam Mickiewicz, Juliusz Slowacki,

Zygmunt Krasinski, Stanislaw Wyspi-

C 16]



The Truth About Poland

anski, Aleksander Fredro, Stefan Ze-

romski. Contemporary writers are

Adolf Nowaczynski, Waclaw Grubin-

ski, Zygmunt Nowakowski, Antoni

Cwojdzinski, Hubert Rostworowski.

The plays of Shakespeare, Shaw, Sheriff

and Chesterton are also popular in

Poland. During the 20 years of Polish

independence there were no less than

652 performances of Shakespeare’s

tragedies and comedies. G. B. Shaw

was acted 569 times and three of his

plays were produced in Poland before

being acted in Great Britain. "Pygma-

lion” beats all records, running for

179 performances.

40,

Architecture

Architecture in old Poland developed

under Gothic influences, the Polish

style being known as Vistula Gothic.

In the 17th century. Renaissance, and

later a sedate Baroque style predomin-

ated. Modern Polish architecture was

moulded by national reconstruction and

urban and industrial planning. The

schools of architecture in Warsaw and

Lwow became centres of progressive

architectural thought, based on the na-

tional style evolved during the later

half of the 19th century. In the plan-

ning of new and the modernizing of

old urban areas, special regard was had

for the rest and recreation of children,

and an effort was made to preserve

natural beauties and buildings of his-

toric interest. Thus the old Market

Place of Warsaw was rennovated and

repainted in its original pattern of

color. The Renaissance town of Za-

mosc was rebuilt around its beautiful

Town Hall, not unlike Williamsburg,

Va., in U. S. A. A score of other

medieval towns were thus restored, in-

cluding three most beautiful and dear

to all the Poles; Cracow, Wilno and

Lwow, where Polish culture was born

and whence it radiated.

HOW THE WAR CAME TO POLAND

41.

Why Hitler Attacked Poland?

From 1934 to 1939 Hitler repeat-

edly urged Poland to join Germany in

an attack on Soviet Russia, promising

her large territorial gains in Eastern

Europe. Poland rejected all of Hit-

ler’s proposals. Furthermore, Poland’s

vitality and the decline of the German

population made it obvious that by

1975 the Poles would have become

equal to the Germans and that time

was working against German suprem-

acy. Indeed 1939 was the year in

which the strength of the German man-

power in relation to the Polish man-

power was at its maximum. That year

was chosen long before for aggression

against Poland.

42. September 1, 1939

At dawn on September 1, 1939,

German land and air armies attacked

Poland without any declaration of war,

crossing the frontier at 14 points from

East Prussia, West Prussia, Silesia, Mo-

ravia and Slovakia. Germany bombed

all Polish airfields and 61 towns within

the first few hours.

43. Unequal Forces

The relative strength of Polish and

German forces in September, 1939,

was as follows:

[ 17 ]



The Truth About Poland

Poland Germany

Infantry 31 divisions 70 divisions

Panzer units 1 division 14 divisions

Planes ‘ 443 4320

Fire power ratio 1 72

44, 35 Days of Polish-German War

The German-Polish war lasted 35

days, from September 1 to October 5,

1939. At Kock the last of the major

engagements of the war was fought

on October 5th. The siege of Warsaw,

capital of Poland, lasted 19 days in

spite of heavy air and artillery bom-

bardment. Warsaw surrendered on

September 27, when the armies had

exhausted all ammunition, the water

supply was cut, and 200 large fires

were raging in the city.

45. Sept. 17y 1939—the Critical Day
September 17, 1939, was the most

critical day of the German-Polish war.

On September 14, German panzer units

had been stopped thanks to the resist-

ance of the Polish armies and to the

extension of German supply lines. The

Poles began to organize effective re-

sistance along the marshes of Polesie

and in Galicia. But at dawn on Sep-

tember 17, without any declaration of

war, Soviet Russia despite her non-

aggression treaty with Poland attacked

on the rear of the Polish armies fight-

ing Germany. On September 28, Ger-

many and Russia signed an agreement

dividing Poland bet\sTen themselves

for "all times," along the Ribbentrop-

Molotov hne.

POLISH ARMY IN EXILE

46. Polish Army in France

Very shortly after the cessation of

organized fighting by Polish forces

against the German invaders, a Polish

army was formed in France by General

Sikorski. This army consisted of 4^
infantry divisions, an armored brigade

and the Carpanthian brigade, some

100,000 men in all. The first and sec-

ond divisions took part in the battle of

France; the Carpathian Brigade fought

in Norway and was the first to enter

Narvik.

47. Polish Army in England

After the collapse of France, Gen-

eral Sikorski succeeded in evacuating

a large part of the Polish troops to

England, where Poland now has an

army corps including an armored divi-

sion, a rifle brigade, a parachute brig-

ade and other units.

48.

Polish Army in the Middle East

When the Polish-Russian Treaty

was signed in July, 1941, a number of

Polish prisoners of war in Russia were

released, and a new army was organ-

ized on Russian soil under General

Anders. Before having been equipped

it was transferred to the Middle East

at the request of the Soviet Govern-

ment. With the Carpathian Brigade

now expanded to a Division, it forms

[ 18 ]



The Truth About Poland

a separate army corps. Polish ground

forces in the Middle East number some75,000

men, fully trained and equipped

with the most modern American and

British armament.
49,

Polish Air Force

After the fall of Poland, Polish

fighter squadrons were set up in

France, while bomber crews were train-

ing in Britain. When Hitler attacked

in the West, 133 Polish fighter pilots,

fighting with the British and French

Air Forces faced his air armada. They

won 55 victories, losing 15 men. Yet

the most glorious achievement of the

tiny Polish Air Force was in the Battle

of Britain, when it destroyed 195

enemy machines out of the total of

2,366 brought down by the Royal Air

Force. Since then, Polish fighter and

bomber squadrons have been continu-

ally engaged and up to March, 1943,

had destroyed more than 526 enemy

aircraft, 7 U-boats and dropped more

than 6,000 tons of bombs on 42 targets

in Germany and German occupied ter-

ritories. In Tunisia, Polish airmen

brought down 79 enemy planes as

compared with 527 downed by the

American air forces. Since 1939 Polish

pilots have shot down more than

1.000 German planes. A considerable

number of Polish airmen also serve as

pilots in the Allied armies. The Polish

Air Force now numbers more than

12.000 men.

50.

The Polish Navy

The Polish Navy has been fighting

for 3% years alongside of the British

Royal Navy. Polish sailors have taken

part in many important naval actions,

including the evacuation of Dunkirk,

the spirited attack on the "Bismarck,"

the landing at Dieppe, and the recent

operations off the North African coast.

They have played their full part in the

Battle of the Atlantic and carry on an

unceasing vigil with the fleets of the

United Nations in the Atlantic and

the Mediterranean. Thus the destroyer

"Garland” fought a 6-day battle against

Nazi planes and U-boats in convoying

American and British munitions to

Russia. The officers and crew of this

"Very Gallant Ship” were saluted by

the officers and crew of the flagship of

the convoy and received high British

and Polish decorations.

POLAND FIGHTS ON

51.

German Reign of Terror

In his message to Poland, broadcast

on May 3, 1941, Prime Minister

Churchill said:

"Every day Hitler’s firing parties are

busy in a dozen lands. Monday he

shoots Dutchmen, Tuesday Norwe-

gians, Wednesday French and Belgians

stand against the wall, Thursday it is

the Czechs who must suffer, and now

there are the Serbs and the Greeks to

fill his repulsive bill of execution. But

always, all of the days, there are the

Poles.”

[ 19 }



The Truth About Poland

52. 8,000,000 Poles Sacrificed for

Freedom

The struggle of the Polish Nation

for freedom and integrity of Poland

cost the Nation 8,000,000 victims.

During that time:

2.500.000 Poles were murdered by tlie

Germans.
500,000

Poles were starved to death

by the Germans.

2,000,000 Poles were sent to forced

labor in Germany.

1.600.000 Poles were deported from

Western Poland to the Gov-

ernment General.

1.500.000 Poles were deported by Sov-

iets to Russia.

348 villages have been burned to

the ground and ploughed under like

Lidice, 1,080 have been evacuated and

all the inhabitants either killed or de-

ported.

53. Directorate of Cirilian Resistance

Underground resistance on the Po-

lish Home Front is directed by the

Polish Government in London, through

its representatives in Poland who con-

veys its instructions to the Directorate of

Civilian Resistance responsible for the

organization of sabotage, the trial and

execution of German criminals.

54. Religious and Cultural Persecu-

tion in Poland

Seven Polish dioceses have been

suppressed: Poznan, Gniezno, Wloc-

lawek, Plock, Pelplin, Lodz, Katowice;

seven Bishops deported dr imprisoned,

ninety per cent of the clergy thrown

into concentration camps. A large
number of priests have been executed

by the Gestapo. In Oswiencim alone

1,500 priests have died of maltreat-

ment; churches are closed and many

millions of Catholics are entirely de-

prived of religious services, in a coun-

try where more than 70% of the peo-

ple are Catholics. Polish Universities,

professional and technical institutions,

high schools and all private schools

are closed. Libraries, museums, scien-

tific collections and laboratory equip-

ments have been looted and taken to

Germany. All books dealing with

Polish culture were burned. German

specialists, mostly university professors,

who had been received in Poland as

cherished guests, supervised the looting

of Polish universities, academies, re-

search institutes and museums. The

Germans consider that Poles do not

require learning . . . Governor Gen-

eral Frank said: "The Poles do not

need universities or secondary schools,

the Polish territories are to be trans-

formed into an intellectual desert.”

Foerster, Gauleiter of the "Warthe-

land,” the western provinces of Poland

illegally incorporated in the Reich, said:

"I promise you that in ten years from

now not so much as a single sheaf of

wheat will grow on Polish soil.” Wer-

ner Best, in "Zeitschrift fuer Politik”

of June 2nd, 1942, wrote: "Historical

experience has shown that the destruc-

tion and elimination of a foreign na-

tionality is not in the least against the

laws of life, provided that destruction

and elimination are complete.”

55.

Economic Pillage

The confiscation of public and pri-

vate property in Poland has been com-

[ 20 ]



The Truth About Poland

plete. The Germans not only took all

real estate away from the Poles, they

confiscated all stores and workshops,

even household furniture and personal

effects, furs, jewelry, clothing, etc.

The eviction of the small farmers is

continuing apace. Poles are replaced

by German colonists, imported from

Russia and the Baltic States. The Poles,

who are only used as slave labor, are

exploited by the Germans; they receive

less pay and the "Polenabzug,” a flat

15% on their gross earning is de-

ducted in addition to taxes, social in-

surance, dues and contributions to the

Arbeitsfront, from which they derive

no benefits. Their pay on the average

is half of what Germans get for the

same work, but their hours are longer

and no holidays are allowed. Food ra-

tions are less than half the German

rations and no fuel is sold to Poles.

When slow-downs—an essential fea-
ture of underground resistance—occur
ration cards are withdrawn. Workers,

whose output falls to 60% of the nor-

mal German production, receive no

ration cards and must starve with their

families. Workers whose output is

68% receive ]/3 of the concentration

camp ration; those whose production

is 80% receive 50% of the German

ration.

56.

More Than 110 Underground

Newspapers

Although the publication, circulation

and possession of a secret newspaper

is punishable by death, more than 110

underground newspapers are read by

at least 3,000,000 people. Some have

four editions daily, and news broad-

casts from London and New York are

printed within an hour. Even photo-

graphs are smuggled into Poland and

published in the secret press. In spite

of the danger most of the distribution

is done by women and children.

57. Resistance and Sabotage

Pending the opening of an allied

offensive in Europe, the home front in

Poland keeps up a continuous warfare.

In the course of a single month in

1943
,
100 locomotives were damaged,

17 trains derailed, 340 trucks destroyed,

7 oil wells rendered useless, 18 mili-

tary transports attacked, more than

500 Germans killed, including Wil-

helm Krueger, the Polish Heydrich.

Poland also maintains two under-

ground universities and several hun-

dred schools.

58, Secret Courts in Poland

Poland, the only occupied nation

that has no Quisling, Hacha or Vlas-

sov, administers justice under enemy

occupation by secret courts. A recent

communication of the Directorate of

Civilian Resistance printed in No. 464

of the underground daily Information

Bulletin, announces the execution of

59 sentences on German Gestapo of-

ficers in the single month of May,

1943.

[ 21 }



The Truth About Poland

POLAND’S POST-WAR PLANS

59. General Principles

The present war is a struggle for

Christian civilization. The people of

Poland believe that the postwar or-

ganization of the world should be

based on Christian morality, interna-

tional democracy, and political and

economic collaboration. This order

should be established and enforced

throughout the world by international

institutions and an international force,

and cannot be the prerogative of a few

powerful nations. Poland, the first

real democracy in Europe, is deeply

attached to her parliamentary system,

based on broad democratic representa-

tion of the people. Recognition will

be given to private property and free

enterprise, but "jungle” economy will

not be tolerated. The "average man”

will be at home in Poland. Poland

will be a land of the middle class, of

workers and farmers, an average man’s

approximation to the ideal of the Four

Freedoms. Racial minorities will be

given full liberty of cultural develop-

ment and will exercise the equality of

rights and of obligations.

60. Central and Eastern European

Federation

Poland expects the Nations of Cen-

tral and Eastern Europe to form a

commonwealth sufficiently strong to

withstand German aggression, which

has plagued it for centuries. Such a

commonwealth would facilitate the

economic development of Central and

Eastern Europe and promote neighborly

trade-exchanges with Russia. It would

be a potent factor of Russia’s security

in the west. The Governments of

Poland, Czechoslovakia, Jugoslavia and

Greece have formed a Central-Eastern

European Planning Board, the nucleus

of cooperation along these lines. The

Board has various committees working

on the agricultural, industrial, financial,

educational and social problems en-

volved. Other committees will be or-

ganized as need arises to deal with

every aspect of the mutual advantages

to be derived from the close collabora-

tion of 110 million people, who will

become a first class power in the

World Council. This power will be

used solely for the preservation of

peace and raising of the standard of

living of its peoples. It will ser\’e

European culture and Christian civili-

zation for which that culture stands.

It is democratic and in the terms of

the Polish-Czech declaration of No-

vember 11, 1940, the Constitution of

the individual States included in the

Confederation will guarantee to citizens

of those States the following rights:

a. Religious Freedom.

b. Personal Liberty.

c. Freedom of Learning.

d. Freedom of Speech and of the

Press.

e. Freedom of Organization and As-

sociation.

f. Equality of all citizens before the

Law.

g. Free admission of all citizens to

all State functions.

[ 22 ]



The Truth About Poland

h. Independence of courts of law,

control of government by repre-

sentative national bodies elected

by means of free elections.

There are 1 5 million Americans who

are descendents of the peoples consti-

tuting the proposed commonwealth.

They will link the Eastern European

Commonwealth to the United States

in a bond of mutual understanding and

identical ideology.

Printed in U.S.A.

Published by the Polish Information Center, 745 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y.