The following is the text of Rafał Marszałek’s address during the international conference on "The Warsaw Uprising in the Context of Polish-German Relations" (Warsaw, 30 March – 1 April, 2007). Marszałek argues that there is no room for an "absolute enemy" in the selected works by Andrzej Wajda, Kazimierz Kutz and Andrzej Munk of the so-called "Polish Film School" and that the films are free of the hatred to the Germans as invaders and occupiers. What emerge from the films are a toothless enemy and then a bodiless enemy. The thesis is exemplified in "Canal" – the death of the Warsaw insurgents is portrayed in a symbolic language; in "Ostinato lugubre", the second part of "Eroica", in which the Germans (as enemy) are not the demonic personification of oppression; in "The Dog" (part of "Cross of Valor") – the hero saves the life of the dog guarding inmates at an Auschwitz death camp; in "Speed", one of few war films in the history of cinema that does without the character of a (German) enemy. Marszałek points out that the "dematerialization" of the enemy flows from the special (both psychological and moral) instinct of self-preservation rather than forgiveness.
The text is a review of a collective work devoted, as the title indicates, to the extermination and suffering of Polish children during World War II. The content of the chapters focuses on the fate of Polish children in the General Government and East Prussia of the Third Reich as well as in the territory of Germany after 1945. The individual chapters contain documented crimes against Polish children not only in concentration camps but also in places of residence (Łódź, Zamojszczyzna, CONFIDENTIAL: FOR PEER REVIEW ONLY Białystok, and others). The book includes 12 chapters presenting the effects of the policy of the occupant towards the youngest generation in the period indicated by the caesura, and 2 chapters devoted to the fate of Polish children, who the end of the war found in Germany. The publication of this monograph in English enables the dissemination of knowledge about the fate of Polish children during World War II among a wide range of English-speaking readers. It also fosters reflection on the long-term consequences of wars and the paradox of the 20th century as the “Centenary of the Child” that was announced by Ellen Key
Armia Krajowa była największą konspiracyjną organizacją zbrojną na ziemiach polskich, która podczas drugiej wojny światowej prowadziła walki dywersyjne i sabotażowe przeciwko okupantom, a w 1944 r. podjęła akcję „Burza”, mającą na celu wyzwolenie kraju i przywrócenie mu niepodległości. Do szczególnie zaciętych walk doszło wówczas na Kielecczyźnie. Patriotyzm tamtejszej ludności oraz dogodne warunki terenowe sprawiły, że powstały tam największe oddziały partyzanckie, które już w 1943 r. wykonywały szeroko zakrojone działania zbrojne. W ich toku wielu żołnierzy odniosło ciężkie rany i obrażenia. W trudnych leśnych warunkach życia wielu partyzantów chorowało. Dla niesienia im pomocy medycznej Okręg Radomsko-Kielecki AK zorganizował własną konspiracyjną służbę zdrowia. Jej liczny personel w trudnych warunkach pracował niezwykle ofiarnie i z ogromnym poświęceniem. W artykule omówiono powstanie tej służby, jej rozwój organizacyjny, formy i metody ratowania rannych, leczenia oraz opieki nad nimi. Przedstawiono także sylwetki ludzi ją tworzących. Wielu z nich zostało zamordowanych przez niemieckich okupantów.
EN
The Home Army was the biggest resistance agency in Poland, which during the Second World War carried out sabotage operations against the occupier, and in 1944 engaged in operation “Burza”, to liberate and restore independence in Poland. In the Kielce district, there were very stiff battles. The patriotism of the local people and favourable terrain led to the creation of the biggest partisan units, which in 1943 carried out widespread armed operations. In field conditions a lot of them became ill. The Radomsko-Kielecki Region of the Home Army organized its own underground healthcare especially for partisans. Its numerous personnel in tough conditions performed outstanding work with great dedication. The article discusses the creation of that organization, how it developed, the forms and methods of treating and caring for the wounded. It also presents the people who created the healthcare, many of whom were murdered by the German occupier.
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