Diary from the Years of Occupation 1939-44 - Hardcover

Zygmunt Klukowski

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0252019601 ISBN 13: 9780252019609

Publisher: University of Illinois Press, 1993

Synopsis

Zygmunt Klukowski was a physician, surgeon, and supervisor at Zamosc County Hospital in Szczebrzeszyn, Poland, when the Germans occupied his country. A veteran of World War I, the Russian Civil War, and the Polish-Russian War of 1920-21, he also was respected as a historian. From 1939 to 1944 he kept a detailed secret journal, making entries daily at first and then, near the end of the occupation, even more frequently. His observations range from matter-of-fact anticipation of war in 1939 to information about his own and other Poles' underground activities. As a whole, the entries reveal his growing recognition that the Nazis intended to destroy Polish culture and all those who had been its bearers.
When originally published in Polish, the diary won a major award and soon went into a second edition. Now translated by his son and edited by his grandchildren, Klukowski's diary provides a rare picture of how noncombatants coped with life in German-occupied eastern Poland.
Klukowski chronicled births, deaths, deportations, liquidations, partisan actions, and much more. His devotion to detail resulted in an amazingly long list of victims who fell to the German Occupation forces.

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Reviews

Klukowski's journal entry for May 30, 1943, reads: "We are still afraid of the Germans, but now the Germans are afraid of us." For diarist and reader alike, that observation posits the first realistic hope that the enemy ultimately will be routed. Because of his post as superintendent of a county hospital in southeastern Poland, Klukowski (1885-1959), unlike the Jews and others among his fellow Christians, was not transported to a concentration camp. Near war's end, his virtually depopulated city was already resettled by Germans. A doctor by profession, a writer, historian and book collector by avocation, Klukowski determined to record daily life under the occupation, unflinchingly noting the actions of informers, looters and collaborators, along with the small and large heroisms he witnessed. No matter how familiar the brutality of the Nazis, readers will respond anew to Klukowski's rendering of the round-ups of Jews, of the transports of gentiles to labor camps, of the reprisal killings for sabotage, of the scarcity of food, heat and medicine. The diary is unusual in its depiction of a region's population at large, gentiles as well as Jews, making this a document of historical value. Originally published in Poland in 1958, the book is translated by the author's late son and edited by his American grandchildren. Photos not seen by PW .
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

One hopes that Klukowski's Diary will serve as a lasting testament to both human courage and dignity under totalitarian rule. Klukowski was a doctor in the town of Szcebrezezyn, in the southeastern corner of Poland, who saw brief service in the military in 1939. After the defeat by the Nazis, he returned home, where, through untiring perseverance and dedication, he kept the local hospital in operation during the entire war. He maintained his diary despite constant harassment by the Nazis, crafting each entry with a balance and care that is quietly moving and historically invaluable. His entries regarding the treatment of Jews in Szcebrezezyn are of special interest, as are his general descriptions of German policies. This fine memoir is recommended for all libraries with European collections.
- Joseph W. Constance Jr., St. Anselm Coll. Lib., Manchester, N.H.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Illinois Press
• Publication date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0252019601
• ISBN 13: 9780252019609
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 371