Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Community

75 Years Ago, Brave Poles Documented Nazi Atrocities

As we search for leaders of integrity and bravery, we would do very well to remember the actions of some outstanding and honourable Poles during World War II.

Readers may be unaware that December 10 is the 75th Anniversary of an extraordinary but sad historical document, “The Mass Extermination of Jews in German Occupied Poland,” a report published in 1942 by the London-based Polish Government in Exile under the name of Count Edward Raczynski, Minister of Foreign Affairs. It is remarkable for documenting a range of atrocities against the Jews in multiple Polish cities, detailing specific incidents and mentioned killing by the use of gas. It was published well in advance of the Auschwitz Protocols, a collection of three eyewitness reports from 1943-44.

This report was based on exceptional feats of bravery by multiple people. First and foremost was Witold Pilecki, who as the member of a Polish resistance operation, purposely engineered his incarceration in Auschwitz to gather intelligence for two and a half years. In 1948 he was executed by the Soviets. Jan Karski, in November 1942 at the age of 28, carried information to London and then to Washington D.C. He met Anthony Eden, President Roosevelt, Felix Frankfurter and others. Jan Nowak, known as the Courier from Warsaw, was involved at a later stage and also traveled to meet Allied leaders. Importantly, he provided confirmation of Karski’s activities and meetings. Their individual stories are remarkable and should be read.

This document appealed to the Governments of the United Nations, and the Poles also made three specific demands at the Allied Council to aid the Jewish population. In summary and tragically, it had no influence and did not alter the Holocaust’s horrific outcome.

Nonetheless, it is very important for us to remember, recognize and then salute these enormously brave people who, among others, attempted to alert the world to the horrors of Nazism through their fine leaders at such a relatively early time.

Michael Norwich

New York, NY

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.