By almost every measure the fate of the inhabitants of Poland was the terrible of any group in the Second World War. Following the destruction of its armed forces in the autumn of 1939, the Republic of Poland was partitioned between Nazi and Soviet forces. This title tells the story of Poland and the Poles in the Second World War.
Across the whole of Nazi-ruled Europe the experience of occupation was sharply varied. Some countries - such as Denmark - were allowed to run themselves within tight limits. Others - such as France - were constrained not only by military occupation but by open collaboration. In a historical moment when Nazi victory seemed permanent and irreversible, the question 'why resist?' was therefore augmented by 'who was the enemy?'. Resistance is an extraordinarily powerful, humane and haunting account of how and why all across Nazi-occupied Europe some people decided to resist the Third Reich. This could range from open partisan warfare in the occupied Soviet Union to dangerous acts of insurrection in the Netherlands or Norway. Some of these resistance movements were entirely home-grown, others supported by the Allies. Like no other book, Resistance shows the reader just how difficult such actions were. How could small bands of individuals undertake tasks which could lead not just to their own deaths but those of their families and their entire communities? Filled with powerful and often little-known stories, Halik Kochanski's major new book is a fascinating examination of the convoluted challenges faced by those prepared to resist the Germans, ordinary people who carried out exceptional acts of defiance.
The Second World War profoundly impacted Poland, which faced invasions from both Germany and the Soviet Union, enduring foreign occupation throughout the conflict. Polish forces fought on multiple fronts, while the architects of the Final Solution established a network of extermination camps on Polish soil, resulting in the tragic loss of millions, including three million Polish Jews. Halik Kochanski presents a comprehensive account of Poland's wartime experience, highlighting the diverse and deep narratives of those who lived through its horrors. Unlike typical histories that emphasize the Allies' efforts to liberate Europe, this perspective reveals a starkly different reality for Poles in cities like Lodz and Krakow compared to London or Washington, D.C. After the war, Poland found itself behind the Iron Curtain, with true freedom remaining elusive for nearly fifty years. Kochanski meticulously rescues the stories of the deceased, the disappeared, the fighters, and the escapees, capturing the complexities of wartime Poland—from collaboration and resistance to expulsion and exile, spanning locations from Warsaw to Treblinka. This work offers a singular, in-depth exploration of one of modern history's most harrowing epochs.