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RESURRECTION by JOSEPH P. JUNOSZA N the course of her tragic and heroic history, Poland By their valor three Polish armies—one underground in has time and again been compared to Christ who Poland and ttvo others outside of Poland—are giving Iivas crucified between two thieves and died for man­ proof of their indomitable will to fight. The heroism of kind but arose again from the dead after three days to Polish troops in 1939 won the respect of their very enemy, save those who had crucified him. Poland has also been as shown by German reports that the Polish campaign was compared to Christ who on his Way of the Cross fell the hardest of all in the present war. The deeds of Polish thrice, only to rise as many times, just as Poland torn divisions in France, the storming of Narvik, the defense asunder by three partitions, rose up in three insurrections of Tobruk, the affair at El G azala, the Battle of Britain, on her way of martyr­ the Battle of the At­ dom to the cross of lantic, the fighting now her fourth partition by Polish divisions in from which she shall Italy have spread the be resurrected, to live fame of Poland’s ar­ forever free and inde­ mies throughout the pendent! world. Christ’s resurrection And what of Poland combined tvith the idea under German occupa­ of Poland’s messianic tion? A score of Ger­ destiny gave birth to man divisions and many legends which 50,000 Gestapo have ÏÏtesnnrrtiiris went a long way to­ been unable to subdue ward keeping alive the the unbending people. faith of the Poles in The underground army 3j^hen the blood which Thy wounds shall spill the immortality and in Poland wages all- e hopes the world deems idle dreams, the mission of the Po­ out war by armed at­ Oh! make them real,— Sanctifies Thy thought, that thought will lish nation. tack on German con­ Draw the light of God’s judgment strong For centuries the voys going to the bi justice, faith,— On the impious throng. Poles had stood guard Eastern front, by in­ To see and je el; Troops and bayonets are -vain, over Western civiliza­ dustrial sabotage, by Kings, lies, corruption,—aught; tion and Christianity, executing death sen­ Which, like a probe that deeply darts, and had championed tences on ruthless Ger- No people shall attain Sinks in men’s hearts. the idea of freedom m an murderers, b y Power against that thought. the world over. For heroically defending their love of liberty the ghettos of War­ they paid with their saw and Bialystok, by the third day shall dawn own bondage, parti­ operations of armed tioned as they were be- guerilla bands in O’er Thy agony, on ttueen three alien, woods and mountain Thy martyrdom’s white tomb,— autocratic powers. For hide-outs, by an un­ At last the boon shall bloom their love of liberty derground press, by To r natio ns,—unde filed,— and their unwilling­ secret propaganda, by JUSTICE,—God’s own fair child. ness to compromise Resurrection. Woodcut by K. Wiszniewski. passive resistance on with the enemy they the part of the entire are now paying with the lives of millions murdered by the population of Poland. —Zygmunt Krasiński (1812-1859). Germans, and of hundreds of thousands dying in the icy Millions of Poles dispersed throughout the world, are wastelands of the North. united in spirit with their mother country and with the Prolonged servitude and their unswerving struggling other nations fighting for their own freedom and for the against the foe, bred in the Poles a deep aversion to com­ freedom of the world. promise. Despite repeated German efforts, not a single This year’s Feast of the Resurrection, the fifth consecu­ Pole has been found in Poland to play the ignominious tive Easter under German terror, kindles our hopes in jMay Ihr IRpsurrertton nf (ijhtr fautor part of a Hacha, a Quisling, or a Laval. A pitifully small group of opportunists, utterly unknown in Poland and God’s justice on earth, gives us faith in the sanctity of strangers to her spirit, now cooperating with Eastern im­ pacts and the inviolability of treaties. lHeralô Jfalairô ’s SLehirttr perialism, constitutes an exception that proves the rule. Poland, first of the United Nations to take up arms The Poles have fought, are fighting now and will con­ to resist aggression will be the last to leave the field of tinue to fight to the last breath against foreign aggression. battle. 2 3 “ E A S T E R —I N B L O O D AND TO IL” by Z Y G M U NT N A R S K I HE fifth Easter of war. For Calmly I set my sight on the enemy. A moment longer and then Can’t you stand on your feet, you landlubber ?” Wacek Poland the fifth year of my machine guns spit a long series into the steel grey hull. German terror. For Poles a laughed when he noticed that Jurek was not hurt. T A second, then the first white trail of smoke appeared from The ship was turning slowly. Then a command barked fifth Easter in German concentra­ the enemy plane and soon the whole ship was exuding a tion camps, in unswerving resist­ down. heavy black screen. I lost sight of him in the clouds. A “Full speed, and hurry !” ance on the home front, in fight­ second Messerschmitt was approaching me. Looking around ing the enemy in the Under­ I found I was alone. I he best bet was to dive into the clouds Sinewy muscles bulged and strained, bodies bent. Black­ ground Army, and with Allied and try to reach the French coast. ened hands gripped wheels as the motor shot into a crescendo. armed forces abroad. Near B., I noticed an enemy airdrome directly below with Sweat began to pour freely as the tension grew. The whole On the day of Christ’s resur­ a number of planes on the ground. The temptation was too ship shook as the guns fired and depth charges were launched. rection, the entire Polish nation great, I dove at full speed and pulled up close to the ground, Jurek had a big bump on his forehead. unites in prayers for peace, for firing the remainder of my ammunition into the open doors “Nice Easter egg you’ve got there. Want me to paint it? the rebirth of a free and indepen­ of the hangar. As I was leaving the coast, the shore batteries We could share it tomorrow with the crew.” Wacek shouted dent Poland. For that Polish fired at me. They did not hit me, I was traveling too fast. above the clatter of the engines. fliers, seamen and soldiers fight It really was a close shave. “Cut down revs to—” the tube blared. More detonations and die, for that the Polish Un­ Getting out of the ack ack, I set a course for England. of close explosions shook the ship. Water pounded on the deck. derground stints no sacrifice, for Upon landing, the mechanics rushed out to take the plane The smooth hum of the wheels, the gunfire, the explosion of that the prisoners of war and over. charges, the rumble of the water above, fused into a sym­ civilians withstand the torments “Well, how was hunting today?” phony of sounds. The electric bulbs, the shining machinery, of German frightfulness. Here In answer I raised my thumb, “I probably got one.” the glistening bodies worked in plastic and colorful harmony. are three thumbnail sketches of “Not bad.” 1 he ship shook, dipped and shot up, the voice from the how Poles celebrate war time lhe mechanics then began to work on my plane. Within bridge blared down : “Speed to—revolutions—Give her more Easter in the Polish navy, in the a few minutes my Spitfire stood ready for the next flight. juice—hold tight—we’re gettinG close !” Then “We’ve got air force and in prisoner-of-war In the meanwhile the rest of the planes landed. Our squad­ one. Good work there below. No slow down, the fog is get­ camps. ron had shot down seven Messerschmitts, one of which was ting denser.” ♦ * ♦ mine. But we also lost one of our pilots. He was shot down These phrases linked us with the upper deck. The whole over Germany. It was then I thought of the egg. I felt for ship worked like the beautiful piece of machinery it was, as At a Polish Air Force it in my pocket, it was intact. below deck commands were translated into action. Station : Regimental Commander sharing an Easter egg with his soldiers. Next morning I shared it with my friends. Our one wish So far our convoy had been unusually lucky, but luck can- It was noisy and gay in our was that Poland be free again and that we could in some (Please turn to page 18) pilots’ barracks on the Saturday before Easter. I had received into a patched carpet. London, obscured by fog, looked like measure contribute to bringinG a beautifully colored egg from my family in London, in view a huge black mushroom. her back to freedom and indepen­ of rationing a great sacrifice on their part. It was a beautiful dence. Soon the French coast appeared below us. We went into * * * azure blue, my favorite color. Memories of Poland crowded battle formation, opening the gun safety locks and preparing on me, but this was war and no time for sentiment.

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