Polish-Jewish Relations: 1,300 Keyword-Phrase-Indexed Book Reviews (by Jan Peczkis)

Zeszyty Do Historii Narodowych Sil Zbrojnych II, by Tadeusz Boguszewski (ed.) 1962. Narodowe Sily Zbrojne, Chicago

NSZ Intelligence Gathering and Guerrilla Warfare. Prewar NSZ Political Roots

NOTEBOOKS CONCERNING THE HISTORY OF THE NATIONAL ARMED FORCES is the title of this unpublished Polish-language notebook. It is the second of a series of notebooks published by NSZ veterans, in Chicago, in the early 1960’s. Let us begin with WWII guerrilla warfare by the NSZ.

THE NSZ IN ACTION

High priority was placed on intelligence gathering. Some German technical drawings were found and transmitted to London. They turned out to be those of torpedo launchers that were installed on the coasts. (Second Lieutenant Wolf-Zoska, p. 52).

The procuring of weaponry was also emphasized. Weapons were bought, at ammunition dumps, from (corrupt) German contacts, and from professional smugglers. (Second Lieutenant Wolf-Zoska, p. 52).

Part of the NSZ fought alongside the A. K. (Home Army) in the Warsaw Uprising, and specific involved NSZ units are named. (Tadeusz Boguszewski, p. 28). The NSZ soldiers were scattered among the Warsaw Insurgents so that the Soviets, had they taken Warsaw, been unable to find and murder them. (ibid, p. 31).

IN THE TALONS OF THE NAZIS

Many Polish Underground members fell into the hands of the Gestapo, and such was the fate of Captain Zapora. He had earlier warned his wife and children to flee in the event of such an occurrence, so that the Gestapo could not torture them, in front of Zapora, in order to force information out of him. (Captain Zapora, pp. 68-70).

One of the Gestapo men gave a backhanded compliment to the Polish Underground by stating that “every home in Warsaw is a hive of Underground activity.” (Zapora, p. 68). A Gestapo man mentioned Katyn, asked Zapora if he was anti-Soviet, and tried to get Zapora to form a Polish unit that would fight alongside the Germans against the Soviets. (Zapora, pp. 68-69). Zapora was asked to “think about it.” He refused, and ended up at the Nazi German concentration camp at Gross Rosen. (Zapora, p. 70.). So much for the myth that the Germans thought the Poles too beneath them to seek collaborators among them!

THE NAZI GERMAN TERROR

Lieutenant Infulat points out that the Germans were doing extermination of not only the Jews, but also of the entire Polish nation. They conducted lapanki (kidnappings), mass population relocations, deportations for forced labor, etc. The Germans closed schools at all levels, churches, printers, radio, libraries, etc., and forbade the possession of Polish books–under the threat of a concentration camp or outright death penalty. (p. 46).

Since the intelligentsia was being exterminated, many Polish teachers changed their names and their domiciles, and took up other lines of work. (Infulat, p. 48).

SECRET SCHOOLING

The Poles set up a secret educational system. Top teachers were recruited, and they, in turn, taught a network of tutors, who taught the children. The Dalton plan was used. Both the teachers and the students were very dedicated and sacrificial. (Infulat, pp. 48-49).

AN IRONY TO THE NSZ AND ACCUSATIONS OF ANTISEMITISM

Tadeusz Boguszewski points out that, in 1939-1947, and throughout the Zwiazek Jaszczurczy and the Narodowe Sily Zbrojne (NSZ), any manifestation of anti-semitism was condemned. (pp. 39-40). Sympathy for the Jews persecuted in what is now called the Holocaust, as well as fears of giving ammunition to Communist accusations, guaranteed that the NSZ was kept far from any anti-Jewish act. (p. 40).

NSZ members aided fugitive Jews. This was true, for example, of 3-5 Jews that lived with Waclaw Zagorski, a member of the NSZ staff. Each knew who the other was, yet there was no fear. (pp. 40-41). This is a further debunking to the myth that the Poles, or at least the Polish right, was indifferent to the fate of the Jews.

Especially in the spring of 1945, the Communists began a massive propaganda campaign (complete with lurid photos) accusing the NSZ of hunting and killing fugitive Jews, notably in the Kielce area. The NSZ was also accused of killing Poles (something claimed by some lewaks (leftists) today). (p. 41).

—

I now focus on some political developments that occurred before WWII.

ELIMINATING THE OLD FACTIONALISM BETWEEN THE FOLLOWERS OF DMOWSKI AND THE FOLLOWERS OF PILSUDSKI

The hostility between the two camps was definitely there. The SN (Stronnictwo Narodowe) accused the Sanacja of being Germanophiles. The Sanacja, for its part, accused Dmowski of being a tool of the Russian tsar.

NSZ Captain Zapora transcends this factionalism. He praises Pilsudski for founding the Riflemen in the struggle for Poland’s independence. He is open to the possibility of Pilsudski’s goal [as manifested by the Pilsudski-Petlura (Petliura) alliance], of a buffer state between the USSR and Poland, being a good idea. He realizes that Dmowski was in no sense pro-Russian: He simply treated the Germans as the main enemy, exactly as the NSZ did until 1943. Zapora regrets that Pilsudski and Dmowski, whom he recognizes as Polish patriotic titans, did not work as a team. (p. 60).

Some factionalism remains. Tadeusz Boguszewski criticizes Operation Burza (Tempest), and the Warsaw Uprising, as acts that played into the hands of the Soviets (p. 23). However, this was a choiceless choice: Had these not taken place, this could also have played into the hands of the Soviets. The USSR could triumphantly proclaim that non-Communist Poles won’t fight the Nazis, and are irrelevant to Poland’s future.

THE ONR (OBOZ NARODOWO RADYKALNY)

Captain Zapora recounts his membership in the ONR. He comments (translating): “ONR captivated us, the young, with its dynamism and social radicalism, which was manifested by its healthy and clear-headed approach to the Nation. Service to Poland and only to Poland was our slogan. We avoided intra-party hatreds…We agreed with Pilsudski that ‘Poland is destined for greatness’. And to be independent, Poland must be strong.” (p. 61).

Zapora added that the ONR’s enmity towards the Sanacja was not because of any old grudge of Pilsudski once opposing Dmowski. It owed to the Sanacja containing politicians which the ONR could not respect, such as Moscicki. (p. 61).

DO NOT MIX PIASECKI WITH THE ONR

Tadeusz Boguszewski rejects any juxtaposition of Boleslaw Piasecki with the ONR. He points out that Piasecki did not fit into the ONR to begin with, and had to leave this organization. He openly supported fascism, and followed the cult of the leader (with him being the fuhrer). (p. 35). Instead of combating Jewish economic dominance, Piasecki fought the Jews as a nation.

Piasecki was arrested by the Nazi invaders, but was freed thanks to the intervention of Italian intelligence. The Communists used him as a tool against the Church, as through (not mentioned) the PAX organization. (p. 35).

THE KIELCE POGROM

The Communist Security Forces (Bezpieka), and certainly not some kind of “Polish fascists”, was behind the murders of Jews at Kielce. (Boguszewski, p. 37). For years, most of the world bought the lie that “Polish fascists” did it. To a large extent, they still do.