An interesting first-hand account of the occupation of Poland and of the Polish resistance during the second world war. At times the author can come across as a little pompous but on the whole the book reads well. ( )

Powerful account of Karski's work in the Polish underground including his capture and torture by the Gestapo and (the two most terrifying chapters on) the Warsaw ghetto and Belzec death camp. (2019-09-30) ( )

IF YOU are looking for a story with many murders, incredible escapes, a mysterious girl, much intrigue and heroism, full of political meaning and describing the underground fight against nazi tyranny, Jan Karski's 'Story of a Secret State' fits the bill.

So reads a book review from 1944. Story of a Secret State remains a just as gripping today and one of the earliest testaments of the Holocaust, unusually a first-hand account while it was still on-going. This is a primary source that is compelling and authoritative, unburdened by cultural tropes (particularly the power of images from movies), or changes of perspective and memory over time. ( )

I grabbed this book from the library when I was there with time on my hands to read, and none of the books I was currently reading with me. This book quickly became my go-to book and I was up late 3 nights running to finish it. The author's powers of observation and recollection of events is amazing, considering the detail with which he writes. I believe it was originally published in 1944, so the events of WWII about which he writes would have been very recent for him.

The author is a Polish soldier whose front-line career was over before it really even got started. After being a PoW for a relatively short period he manages to escape whilst taking part in a prisoner exchange between Russia and Germany. He slinks back to his home town and after a visit to a former acquaintance, he finds he has become part of the fledgling Polish underground movement. And so begins the incredible story of Jan Karski. He describes with chilling detail the events and sights he is involved with, and gives a fantastic insight into how the underground was able to operate so efficiently and effectively. Even though his reports went directly to the UK and American leaders, change wasn't to come quickly enough for the thousands and thousands of Jewish people who were the victims of the most horrific cruelty and degradation at the hands of the German gestapo.

Aside from the extremely upsetting account of his clandestine visit to an extermination camp (which is illuminating in the most awful way), this book makes for excellent, exciting and informative reading on WWII. ( )

It’s quite rare for an LT recommendation to prompt me to buy a book straight away; it’s also unusual for me to read a book very shortly after purchasing it (as illogical, as that may sound!). However, labfs39’s comments about Story of a Secret State have had me do both those things.

Jan Karski (born Jan Kozielewski) was a young officer in the Polish Army at the start of the Second World War, but was captured by Soviet forces just a few days into the war. He managed to engineer his inclusion in an exchange of prisoners that saw him handed over to the Germans, before escaping and making his way back to Warsaw. On looking up an old university friend, he was invited to join the Polish underground. In this memoir, originally published in 1944 and expanded in 1999, he not only describes his work as a courier, propagandist and liaison officer, including his capture by and escape from the Gestapo, but also reveals to us the structure and organisation of the Polish underground state, as well as describing the conditions in occupied Poland for both Jews and non-Jews.

Much of this book reads like a thriller, although there is no danger of forgetting that the events described were all too real, but the sections concerning the workings of the underground state, operating under the authority of and in close communication with the Polish government-in-exile, were also fascinating. In spite of knowing that Poland would go on to suffer for another 50+ years after its “liberation”, I was greatly impressed, and moved, to read of the authorities’ efforts to maintain a fully-functioning representative state that would be ready to take over following the Allies’ victory, in which Poland continued to believe. The wholesale non-recognition of the Nazi occupation and refusal by the Polish people to collaborate in any way is awe-inspiring. These firm principles and this self-belief and strong sense of nationhood help to explain how Poland was able to make such a successful transition to democracy after 1989 and why it is the strong and stable country it is today.

By far the most painful sections to read are those towards the end of the book detailing Karski’s observations during a visit to the Warsaw Ghetto and to a Nazi extermination camp, and his subsequent, unsuccessful, pleas to the highest authorities in the UK and US to do something to stop the sickening mass murder of the Jewish people.

This is a highly important book and I am so glad I have read it.

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