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. The job for action. The weather was fine, with only a few low must be done first. Easter for Polish Seamen in clouds hanging below us. We crossed the coast below B. the North Atlantic: As I sat in the mess room staring dreamily at my boot, and turned left into the interior of France. A sharp look­ our commander entered. His face was set and we guessed out was kept for the enemy. We must not let them surprise “Subs to port—all hands on that an important task awaited us. He placed the map of us, that is the first rule for all fighters. deck !” The ship became alive Northern F rance on the table and gave us the necessary in­ Almost simultaneously we saw tiny objects moving in our with scuffling feet. There below structions. A raid. I quickly placed my Easter egg inside my direction. They grew larger and soon we could identify them in the engine room, the voice jacket and walked up to the as Messerschmitts. They evident­ boomed above the smooth and group forming around the Squad­ ly thought we had not noticed rhythmical revolutions of the ma­ ron Commander. them, because they were maneu­ chine cogs. We were to fly at 22,000 feet. vering to attack us from the sun. “Stand by down below : Subs The second squadron above us, “Hello, wasps!” the com­ to port!” and the third higher still. The mander’s voice came over the ra­ No commotion here. The ma­ French coast was to be crossed dio. “Hello, wasps, we attack on chinery purred smoothly, sooth­ five miles south of B., after which the right and downward !” ing our nerves. Soon gunfire was heard. We were shooting. The we would make a semi-circle to Our planes made a quick turn the East. Enemy craft to be at­ ship rose as the waters surged up and dove at the Germans. The under the impact of depth tacked and destroyed. Messerschmitts broke formation “Start in 15 minutes,” were his charges. There were no more but too late. We were already on commands from above, evidently final words. their necks. After he finished the hum of the U-boats were keeping their My Messerschmitt took a right distance. voices rose again. In fifteen min­ turn and was escaping deep into utes we were in our planes. “Cut speed !” Half naked bod­ France. He was heading for the ies turned knobs, pushed levers, Every pilot was checking up his clouds. Near him flew another instruments, radio and other ap­ and the motors began to turn Messerschmitt. This one was shot slower and lower. Suddenly the paratus. At a signal from the com­ down by my neighbor, and I fol­ mander our planes moved up to ship shot up, and at the same lowed my quarry at full speed. I time a boom tore the entrails of the start. Another signal, we had to get him before he reached stepped on the gas and in a min­ the ocean. safety in the cloud. My speedom­ “Hold tight, Jurek !” Wacek ute we were in the air. eter was well above 400 miles, and Our course was due South. The shouted. Too late. Jurek had Easter worship of Polish fliers at an altar improvised the Messerschmitt grew larger and already been hurled to the floor. scenery became indistinct, fading in a hangar. larger, as I came closer and closer. “What’s the matter with you. "We shall have a Polish Easter—with eggsl"

4 5 MAUNDY T H U R S D AY IN WARSAW 150 YEARS AGO

subversive about it, he granted his Halleluiah! Halleluiah ! Halleluiah ! permission. The play’s author, Easter bells rang out and human hearts, fired fry victory, Boguslawski, toying with human sang and with them sang all nature fulfilled of signs and won­ passions and as fine a patriot as ders. Easter zvas as a gate, through which Princess Spring he is an actor, revealed his great entered into the world, clad in solar rays and girdled with talent in the play and even more green. The sunny miracle of resurrection was becoming real. so in his acting. It is a mixture A new reign was proclaiming itself over the world. The golden censer of the sun sowed radiance, fragrance and might. The of drama, vaudeville and ballet, sky spread out in a gleaming tent of cornflowers, zvafted by a very ingeniously knitted into a sweet, caressing wind. The trees sang hymns with clouds of whole. Stirring music consists fresh verdure. The birds twittered their joy. Warsaw thrilled partly of national songs and part­ zvith happiness. All voices were lifted up in gladness. The ly of selections from the better streets were thronged and bustling. Every living soul went out foreign operas. One would be in­ into the city, wished to see for himself the scene of fighting, sensitive not to be carried away wished to fill his heart with the echoes of victory and to honor the heroes. by the universal ardor. I myself Signs of battle could be seen at every step: Blood spattered saw two performances and I must walls, smoking houses, smashed windows, falling walls, shat­ confess that never did a play tered weapons and large patches over which yellow sand had make a deeper or stronger im­ been thrown—all told of murderous combat. pression upon me. The play is But the enemy was defeated! The Insurrection had tri­ not a political one—but it is umphed! Warsaw was free! Thus reassured himself more patriotic. Some of the actors had than one of the thousands who zvith their swords, their rifles an understanding, because at a slung over their shoulders, girdled with cartridge belts, and given applause they sang variants wearing fantastic feathered headgear, zvith a wife and children that soon displaced the real text by their side, swarmed from early morning over the city, point­ and were repeated with great en­ By Aleksander Orlowski ing proudly to the sites of their ascendancy. thusiasm. These new versions Multitudinous and pious pilgrimages took place to the ruins of Igelstrom’s Palace, to the arsenal, to homes at the corner spread among the people like bi of Miodowa Street and to Holy Cross Church. For hours the wildfire so that in no time the Cracow wedding was sung all insurgents- resolutely attacked Russian detachments and washiwto* .ÄThÄÄÄS crowds pressed there in prayerful concentration and silence over Warsaw. Even Russian bands played the favorite arias buildings occupied by them. TSV--.1S— devout. from this operetta. Finally the Ambassador realized what was “Dusk w’as falling, night was on its way—writes Seume —Wladyslaw Reymont in “The Year 1794.” going on and issued an order immediately forbidding further —and the shooting showed no sign of abating. The nearby performances. But the play had been performed three times and distant thunder of the cannon, resounding in the streets, already, which had sufficed to move minds. At first an omi­ the racket of the accompanying rifle fire, the dismal rolling patriotism. Just before the uprising, the beloved actor and nous murmur was heard among the public and later pasqui­ of the drums, the tolling of the bells calling on the people to Mural from the Cycle "Heroes of the American Revolution" dramatist Boguslawski, presented a play that has ever since nades and even threats began to be circulated.” attack, the whistling of bullets, the howling of dogs, the at the New York World's Fair, 1939-1940. been linked with the Warsaw rising: “Krakowiacy i Górale” Igelstrom, Catherine Il’s plenipotentiary in Warsaw, had clash of swords, the wild “Hurrahs” of the insurgents, the (The Cracovians and the Highlanders). Here is an eyewitness conceived the plan of having Russian soldiers surround the quiet groans of the wounded and dying—such is the horrible HE routing of the Russians by Kościuszko and his account by a foreigner who worked in the Russian chancellery churches on Holy Saturday, at the moment of the Resurrec­ picture of that bright and awful night.” peasant troops at Racławice on April 4, 1794, changed (Seume) describing the effect produced by this play: tion Service, of disarming what was left of the Polish army in On Good Friday, Igelstrom with a handful of soldiers suc­ Tthe Polish insurrection from a local uprising into a “At this dangerous time the presenting of a play entitled the town, and taking over the arsenal. However, the secret ceeded in forcing his way to the Prussians outside the city, general national upheaval and gained the support of the whole “Krakowiacy i Górale” fired even more the already inflamed was let out by a Russian officer and Jan Kiliński, a Warsaw while part of the Russian garrison retreated in the opposite Polish army. The echo of the battle evoked enthusiasm in minds. It is a ntaional play, composed with great talent and shoemaker and ardent patriot who was very popular among direction. More than 3.000 Russians survived but at least Warsaw among the soldiers and the civil population, as mani­ skill, having as its theme a quarrel between Cracow peasants. the townsmen, led the Polish populace in an armed rising 4,400 were killed or made prisoner. The insurgents took 28 fested in a revolutionary outbreak on April 17 and 18. The Russian ambassador objected to its presentation, but against the Russians at daybreak of Maundy Thursday. Two pieces of cannon, losing 1,000 soldiers, killed or wounded, and For weeks the preparation for the rising in Warsaw had When Marshal Moszyński assured him there was nothing days of terrible street fight­ some 2,000 civilians. been stealthily carried forward. The Warsaw con­ ing ensued, in which Ki­ When the morning of spiracy, crushed at the beginning of March, had been liński was seen at every Holy Saturday broke, the revived—at the end of the same month by a young law­ spot where the fire was Russians were out of the yer, Thomas Maruszewski, the son of a townsman. hottest. Literally every capital of Poland, and all When the welcome news of Kosciuszko’s victory inch of ground became a the Easter bells in War­ reached Warsaw, the Russian garrison there numbered battlefield and blood saw pealed forth the tid­ 7,500, with an additional 1,650 Prussians stationed flowed freely on Warsaw’s ings of what proved to be nearby. The Polish garrison had only 3,500 soldiers. pavements. For two days the greatest Polish victory But Warsaw, having at that time a normal population the Poles fought the Rus­ of the Insurrection of 1794. of 100,000, had for two years been flooded with new­ sians for the arsenal and On the same day the citi­ comers ejected from their homes by the war or deprived the Prussians for the pow­ zens of Warsaw signed the of normal means of livelihood. The town was crowded der magazine ; they also Act of the Rising and took with a boisterous mass of artisans, many independent attacked the Embassy, the oath of allegiance to workmen and a large element of minor gentry, poor but where Igelstrom had sev­ Kościuszko. On Easter exuberant. To these were added discharged Polish eral battalions, and tried Sunday the Cathedral rang soldiers. Economic ruin contributed to a revolutionary to destroy the Russian de­ to the strains of the Te atmosphere. tachments that had been Deum. in the presence of This was heightened by placards put up mysteriously cut off. The townsfolk, the Polish King. Stanislaw on the walls of Warsaw, calling upon the Poles to rise. numbering some 10,000 August. The news was Patriotic writings were scattered broadcast, patriotic fighters, caused heavy brought to Kosciuszko’s articles printed in Polish papers in spite of the rigorous losses to the Russians by camp in hot haste and a Russian censorship. In the theatres plays were acted rifle fire from windows Contemporary drawing solemn Mass of Thanks­ whose double meanings, inaccessible to the many Rus­ By J. P. Norblin and roofs while swarms of Igelstrom’s headquarters destroyed by Polish insurgents, 1794. giving was celebrated. sians in the audience, were fiery appeals to Polish Street Fighting in Warsaw, 1794. 7 6 TRADITIONAL POLISH EASTER by FRANCES MORREL

N the affections of the Judas with sticks and wooden swords. They then placed many natural born artists, rarely were any two eggs exactly Polish people, Easter rcka, meaning hand, and doubtless referring to the fact that the effigy in a wheelbarrow, took it to the parish house and alike. Some were merely dyed in solid color—malowanki, the funeral mound was built by hand. People from all walks is rivalled only by the manor, raining blows upon Judas all the way. Finally kraszanski, or byczki. Others after being colored had out­ Ithe Christmas season. of life participate in this curious rite—the casting into space the villain was drowned in a river or burned at the stake. lines of birds, flowers and animals scratched on their surface of bread, apples, painted eggs, toys, balloons, etc. The cere­ Originally a pagan holi­ Although Poles eat nothing except roast potatoes and un­ —skrobanki or rysowanki. Still others were batiked, etched day celebrating the pass­ mony probably has some connection with the idea of reborn buttered bread from Good Friday to Easter Sunday, there in artistic design and then dipped in coloring fluids—pisan­ nature, for the pagan Slavs observed their All Souls Day ing of winter and the ar­ is plenty of baking and cooking going on. For the Świecone ki. Easter eggs are shared with friends and best wishes are rival of spring, it be­ in the spring and held feasts on their funeral mounds leaving or hallow-fare must be ready by Saturday to take to church exchanged, much as the unleavened wafer is shared at Christ­ the scraps to the poor and the souls of the departed. came, with the advent of for blessing or be laid out on a large table covered with mas time. In some sections the custom is still preserved of village Christianity, a fascinat­ snow white linen to await the visit of the priest. Easter Sunday is not a day of visiting. The entire family ing combination of pagan boys or girls going through the village singing and carrying Tradition decrees that the hallow-fare must include certain partakes of the hallow-fare upon the gaik, maik, or new spring— and Christian symbolism. symbolic foods. In the center stands the Agnus Dei, or Lamb its return from the joyous Resur­ For, in the pageantry of a beribboned green branch adorn­ of God, fashioned from butter or sugar, Poland’s red and rection Service and remains at ed with flowers, apples, gold and Easter are welded the white flag waving at its side. Arranged around it and deco­ home. commemoration of the silver braid and sometimes bird rated with colored paper cut-outs and festoons of green are But no such restrictions apply feathers. Often a rag doll or two Lord’s Resurrection elaborate Easter pastry, cheese, coils of sausage, hams, suck­ to Easter Monday, a holiday no marking the victory of —once a symbol of the dead—are ling pigs and piles of painted hard-boiled eggs. less festive than Easter Sunday. added to the decorations. spirit over matter, and On that day a round of visiting The Easter feast is as sumptuous as the family purse per­ Easter week is also a time for the celebration of the tri­ mits. for Poles will go to great lengths to prepare the right begins that does not properly umph of life-giving come to an end until the follow­ spring excursions into the coun­ kind of hallow-fare. Their imaginations are stirred by the try. The freshly turned earth and spring over sleeping ing Sunday, called Przewodnia, descriptions of Easter feasts in old Poland that read like a budding trees are hard to resist winter. page out of the “Arabian Nights.” Here is a particularly or leading out of the holiday. For five years now the Poles have not been wishing each Easter Monday is popularly and as every Pole is at heart a famous contemporary report of the Easter feast given in lover of the soil, it is not difficult other “Happy Alleluia” as was their wont before tragedy Dereczyn in 1630 by Voivode Prince Sapieha: known as dyngus or smigus. On befell their land. If ever any nation has become identified in for him to find an excuse for his “In the center of the board, was a lamb, the Agnus Dei, this day the young men in the first long hike. its suffering with the Lord’s Passion, that nation is Poland. made wholly with pistachios, with a banner. This delicacy was villages throw water at any girl Poland is an agricultural coun­ As yet, Poland is still crucified. But she is looking to her given only to the ladies, senators, dignitaries and clergy. At foolhardy enough to venture out­ resurrection and to the time when she may again be free the corners stood four huge boars, one for each season. These side. The extent of the wetting try. Thus, the Polish peasant, to observe her traditional Easter customs. boars were stuffed with pork meat, hams, sausages and suck­ depends on the village. It ranges whose life is so closely bound to Polish Easter customs are many and often vary from one ling pigs. The chef gave proof of his high skill in roasting from a mere sprinkling to a the soil and nature, has stored up region to another. In all Poland, however, the first thought the boars so that they and their contents were perfectly drenching or even ducking in a a stock of rules and superstitions of Easter occurs on Ash Wednesday, which marks the begin­ cooked. Then there were twelve deer, also roasted whole, stream. In the cities water is for guidance in sowing, planting ning of Lent. On that day young willow twigs are cut and with gilded antlers, much admired. They were stuffed with frequently replaced by perfume, and harvesting. Because the peo­ placed in water so that they may sprout “pussies” on Palm game, hare, black-cock, bustard and grouse. These deer stood sprayed on a girl at an unex­ ple of the soil are poets at heart, or Willow Sunday. During the weeks of long wintry for the 12 months. All around, 52 very long cakes, one for each pected moment. Scholars dis­ they have expressed their com­ evenings, followed by mild fasting and absence of merry­ week in the year, was very wonderful Easter pastry, adorned agree as to the origin of this mon sense prescriptions in succint making, many are the semi-pagan, semi-religious Easter with candied fruits from the Orient. Then 365 babas, as unique custom. Some claim it proverb form—usually a rhymed dates hack to the 10th century legends, tales and stories told by the old folks to the family many as there are days in the year. Each was adorned with couplet. There are hundreds of gathered round a stove or crackling fire. Latin maxims that many a guest only read, and could not when Poland adopted Christian­ ity and mass christenings in a such couplets bearing on all sea­ At long last, it is Palm Sunday. The faithful take their bring himself to eat. To wash down this generous fare, four sons of the year. Easter, too, “palms” to be blessed and Holy Week has begun. The blessed golden goblets pictured the four seasons of the year. They lake or river were practiced, others believe it is a reminder of comes in for its share, because pussy willows are regarded as a symbol of happiness, pros­ were filled with wine, 100 years old. Twelve silver pitchers coinciding as it does with the perity and health. They have always been so regarded. The with wine 80 years old, symbolized the months. Fifty-two the days when the early Chris­ 16th century poet, Mikołaj Rey, declared that “who does not kegs, also of silver, honored the 52 weeks. They contained tians gathered in the streets of resurrection of nature, it is an important period in farming. swallow a ‘pussy’ on Palm Sunday, will not achieve salva­ wine from Cyprus, Spain and Italy. And in addition, 365 Jerusalem to discuss the Resur­ 15tk century collection, National Museum in Cracow rection, and Jews tried to dis­ tion.” In some localities it is customary to visit neighbors jugs with Hungarian wine, one for each day in the year. In old Poland on Palm Sunday a figure of Christ on an ass Here are examples of the dis­ and playfully strike them with unblessed willow twigs, say­ The attendants at the feast were not forgotten. For them perse the crowds by throwing was led through the village. tilled wisdom of generations of ing, were provided 8,760 quarts of honey-mead, as many as there water at them. Still others feel Polish peasant fanners : are hours in a year.” the custom may have come from India where the sacred “Who sows on Good Friday, laughs at harvest time.” “A “The willow strikes you—I do not. No Polish Easter would be complete without the gaily waters of the Ganges have long been a public shrine. fair Easter day helps the beans grow.” “If Good Friday In a week—the great week. decorated Easter eggs. The egg, symbol of life in embryo, Another Easter Monday custom prevalent in some parts comes with dew, be generous in sowing millet. And if Good In six days—Easter Day.” was a favorite offering in pagan days to the souls of the de­ of Poland is walking around with the kurek or cock. Kid­ Friday comes with frost, place the parted and to the forces of nature. Christianity gave the egg napping a fine live specimen of the rooster persuasion, or millet in the granary.” “Fair The week between Palm Sunday and Easter is a busy one new meaning—a symbol of faith in the hereafter and of the fashioning one out of wood, clay or rags, village boys place weather on Easter Sunday augurs a indeed. It is a time of spring house-cleaning, church-going, resurrection of the body. him in a brightly colored two-wheel cart and go from home plentiful harvest.” “In the days of fasting and general preparations for Wielkanoc, or the Great to home singing songs at the end of which they ask for a the Cross. God did suffer, refrain Popular legend has devised countless explanations for the dyngus or donation. This is usually an egg or two, and a Night, as Easter is called in Polish. origin of colored eggs. One version has it that an angel if you can from sowing wheat.” In all Polish churches, a replica of the Body of Christ is tasty piece of Easter cake. The custom is probably a relic “Warm showers in April augur a appeared to Mary Magdalen at Christ’s grave and told her of the days when the cock was held to be a bird dedicated to laid in the sepulchre and covered with flowers on Maundy she need no longer weep as Christ had risen from the dead. fair autumn.” Thursday. People come to worship at His tomb. They are the gods or the evil spirits and was in some way linked with Overjoyed, she ran home and found the eggs in her room sun and moon mythology. However, in the original Polish not summoned by church bells for these remain silent until had turned lovely colors. Whereupon, she went into the these proverbs are in reality little the day of Resurrection. Just outside Cracow is a tremendous earthen mound erect­ street and presented them to the Apostles, in whose hands ed by the people of that city in honor of the legendary savior poems like the following : Not so long ago in some sections of Poland boys dressed the eggs became birds. of Cracow, Prince Krak. A ceremony takes place on its as soldiers would drape black cloth around a straw effigy of During the days preceding Holy Saturday, Polish peasants summit every Easter Monday with little change in all the “If the Sunday of his Passion Judas and carry it to church. After the service they would vied with one another in the artistic decoration of hard-boiled centuries it has been practiced. The greatest Easter attraction Comes to us with rain. go to the cemetery, where amid shouts and laughter they beat eggs. As there were so many different techniques and so in Cracow, it is called the Rękawka, derived from the word Will fail to get his grain.”

8 9 POLISH STAINED GLASS IN ALL ITS S PLENDOR by DR. IRENA PIOTROWSKA ing for all ornamental and TAINED glass A great blow was dealt to Polish stained glass by the decorative values in art, and reached the height particularly with deep love of its perfection extensive architectural ac­ S tivity of the 17th and 18th for rich, glowing colors? It during the early Gothic was toward the close of the period in France. From centuries in Poland. Ba­ roque architects had even 19th century that Polish there the art came to artists re-discovered the Poland directly and in­ less liking for stained glass than architects of the pre­ beauty of Polish peasant directly, mainly through folk-art, that combined a Bohemia. But the many ceding Renaissance period. When restoring old Gothic love of deep vivid colors wars Poland had to with an unconscious but all fight caused more rav­ churches in Baroque dis­ guise, they never failed to the fuller realization that a ages in Poland than in true work of art must be any other Western remove the priceless stained glass and to replace it by conceived in relation to the country and few sam­ material used, that works of ples of Polish stained plain panes that allowed light to enter the churches art and craft should be de­ glass of the Middle termined by the properties Ages have been pre­ in full strength. They did almost as much harm to of the medium employed. served. One of the early enthu­ The most important Polish stained glass as did foreign invaders. siasts of Polish folk art at stained glass in Poland the end of the 19th century are three windows in In Poland, as in all Europe, an attempt was was that most versatile of the Church of Our Polish artists, Stanislaw Coronation of the Virgin. Stained glass. made to revive stained glass Lady in Cracow7, dating Wyspiański (1869- 1907). Church of Our Lady in Cracow. Second half from the second half of for church windows in the of 14th century. He was the creator of the the 14th century. They 19th century, when a new­ born enthusiasm for old most beautiful of modern consist of various scenes from the Old and New7 Testaments stained glass windows in in medallion-like compositions of which one hundred and Gothic architecture led to the erection of many imita- Poland, matched only by fifteen were in existence before the war. Each presenting the splendor of those cre­ some holy scene, set in a Gothic ornament, forms a separate tion-Gothic churches. But the early 19th century glass ated by Jozef Mehoffer, glass composition being a transparent mosaic of small pieces born in the same year of of colored glass held together by lead. Painting on glass is painters, who made the win­ dows for these neo-Gothic 1869, but who lived to see used with extreme restraint and applied only in cistre brown the rebirth of Poland and to to bring out details of faces and hands and certain shadings. churches, had no feeling for the true beauty of the old adorn her churches with This use of brown paint, although necessary, is unimportant many masterpieces. and does not affect the artistic beauty of the stained glass. stained glass. They used cheap, mass-produced uni­ While Wyspiański was The wonderful deep glow of the colored glass, its harmony creative in many fields of and rhythm, its contrasts and repetition, the grouping of colored glass sheets and painted on them scenes from plastic art, his talent ex­ the medallions and the decorative effect of the lead outlines pressed itself best in deco­ are truly remarkable. the Holy Bible in the me­ dieval style; they produced rative art of monumental Other stained glass preserved in Poland, is in the same character. Doubtless this style, the best known being the windows of the Dominican neither the deep refulgent glow of the old windows was to some extent due to Church and the Church of Corpus Christi in Cracow. his admiration for Matejko. The art of stained glass began to decline during the Ren­ nor their spiritual appeal. It was not until 1870 that As a pupil of that great ar­ aissance, which had no understanding of the mysticism of tist, together with Jozef shaded Gothic interiors produced by the refracted light of the medieval technique of assembling small pieces of Mehoffer and others, he medieval glass windows. With the lack of feeling for the aided Matejko to decorate spiritual qualities of stained glass, came a lack of interest in vari-colored glass and hold­ ing them together by lead the vaults and walls of the its complicated technique. More and more plain glass panes famous old Gothic Church were used in the windows, and when colored windows were came into use again. And it was another two decades of Our Lady in Cracow. At desired, artists were employed merely to paint holy scenes the time, both he and Me­ and ornamental patterns on the uncolored glass. 1 hese paint­ before the artists working in stained glass found their hoffer had occasion to make ed windows lack the beauty and the glow of stained glass. a close study of the medie­ In Poland painted glass from the Renaissance period has own modern ways of ex­ pressing themselves in this val stained glass windows Queen of Heaven. Stained glass window at Fribourg Cathedral, come down to us mostly in the form of small medallions, set to which reference has al­ Switzerland. By Jozef Mehoffer. here and there in windows of plain glass, especially in the reborn technique. More­ over, as elsewhere in ready been made. But it is form of cabinet panels, decorating the windows of castles, significant that Matejko 1895-1897. These windows are devoted to St. Francis of palaces, and wealthier city houses. These often bore the Europe, so in Poland, glass <4ssisi, St. Salomea, God the Father, and the Four Elements. works began to produce used certain floral motifs coats-of-arms of the owners. These same 16th-century glass peculiar to peasant art. Later, in 1900-1901, he worked on stained glass windows for painters who painted these panels, distinguished themselves stained glass especially for the Wawel Cathedral. But these were never executed. We church windows, so-called These motifs triumph in the as painters of drinking glasses, described by this writer in church polychromies and know them from sketches and three cartoons, i.e. drawings an article on the “Beauty in Polish Glassware,” The Polish antique glass resembling of the actual size of the windows on which the lead frame that used in the Middle above all the magnificent Review, Vol. Ill, No. 6. Stained glass windows in the Franciscan Church at Cracow. By Stanislaw Wyspiański (1895). stained glass windows pro­ lines that determine the form of the stained glass and the Cabinet panels with coats-of-arms to decorate private resi­ Ages. colors are indicated. These three cartoons represent King Is it surprising that in duced by Wyspiański and dences were also popular in Poland during the late Gothic Mehoffer at the time of their artistic maturity. Kazimierz the Great, King Henryk the Pious of the first period, but then they were not painted on glass, but composed this renascence of true stained glass, Poland should have taken a leading part ? It was only natural that stained glass Stanislaw Wyspianski’s best stained glass was created for Piast dynasty, and St. Stanislaw. of small stained glass pieces, executed in the same way as the Franciscan Church in Cracow, on which he worked from (Please turn to page 12) were the stained glass windows of the churches. should appeal to Polish artists, endowed with an innate feel­ 11 10 POLISH STAINED GLASS IN ALL ITS SPLENDOR

{Continued, from page 11) land. Forty projects were submitted from windows by Jozef Mehoffer ; the Polish Of great interest are also two earlier car­ ■■ all over the world—and the first prize was Pavilion at the recent New York World’s toons by Wyspiański, stained glass windows awarded to the 25-year-old Polish artist. Fair by a stained glass window designed by designed in 1894 for the Cathedral in Lwow. Since then Mehoffer spent thirty years in Mieczysław Jurgielewicz, a young Polish One of them, Polonia, gives a vision of Po­ realizing his projects. Nobody knew better decorative designer and graphic artist. This land fainting and the despair of her sons. than he did how to apply the knowledge window, now in the museum of the Polish This cartoon, although expressive and beau­ gained from the study of medieval stained Catholic Union in Chicago, represents a tiful, is still conceived as a mural and not as glass, to creating new forms. He under­ feminine figure as symbol of Poland. The a stained glass window. But all the creations stood the medium he was working in better White Eagle is under her feet, the image of of Stanislaw Wyspiański in his mature years even than Wyspiański. The glass fragments the Miraculous Madonna of Ostra Brama in are distinguished by a deep feeling for the in his works are smaller, the network of lead Wilno above her. The stained glass border art of stained glass. Already when at work lines more dense, the colors richer and of this window carries representations of the on the Franciscan Church, Wyspiański fully warmer. As background, in addition to flow­ various Polish crafts. realized that the compositions of the win­ ers, he introduced new decorative elements, Polish stained glass has not been killed dows and their coloring must be determined displaying unusual inventiveness and a great even by the German invasion of Poland. It by the transparency of the material and by sense of the picturesque. He took ornamen­ is being continued abroad by Polish artists the lead framing. In a truly masterful man­ tal motifs from the treasure-house of the now with the Polish Armed Forces. A year ner he knew how to combine the style of Polish peasant’s folk art, the peasant’s ago, one of the Polish Army units donated stained glass with modern trends in painting, costumes, paper-cutouts, embroideries, and to the Catholic Church at Galashiels in and in addition to impart to it a genuine painted chests, and adapted them to his Scotland, a stained glass rosette window Polish character. The background for his needs. Polish peasant patterns are distinctly representing our Lady of Czcnstochowa figure scenes became a most important recognizable in the decorative stars and the with the inscription Regina Poloniac ora pro problem. The artist’s intention was to select wide colored wings of the angels in Mehof- nobis. This stained glass window was de­ a background that would answer to the deco­ fer’s stained glass windows, as in the star signed by a Polish army officer, well known Adoration. Cartoon for stained glass window. By Kazimierz Sichulski. rative demands of stained glass, i.e. that above the manger in the Adoration of the in Poland as painter and dramatic author. could easily be divided into small pieces of Magi, one of Mehoffer’s stained glass crea­ Another Polish artist, now in the Polish Army, under th'1 the last depicts St. Casimir presenting to Our Lady, the torn color. Furthermore, this background of tions for Fribourg Cathedral. The star of nom de plume of Andrzej Wart, recently executed a set of Polish flag brought from Poland. small pieces of stained glass must present a Bethlehem has grown in the artist’s hands to cartoons for four stained glass windows on Poland’s Martyr­ While these cartoons, interesting and well designed as surface that could not be confused with the the size of the human figures and is an im­ dom. The first represents the Polish Calvary; the second- they are, cannot stand comparison with the elaborate and figures of the scene represented. Wyspiań­ portant element in the entire composition. shows angels taking the banner of the White Eagle from the magnificent creations of Wyspiański or Mehoffer, they bear ski hit upon an ingenious idea. On many of It is made up of a score of colors, and is hands of a dying soldier in Poland and giving it to a soldier witness to the talent of the young Polish generation, which his compositions he surrounded the person­ surrounded by clusters of smaller stars. It of the Polish army in France; the third displays the new if given the opportunity to work in peace will again raise ages with backgrounds of flowers. Flowers brings to mind the vivid colors and or­ banner in the hands of a Polish soldier in Great Britain ; and Polish stained glass to its former perfection and splendor. with their minute and strongly colored petals namental beauty of the Christmas stars that and leaves are marvelously adapted to repro­ the peasant carolers fashion out of card­ duction in stained glass. Thus in place of board and translucent colored paper with AN EXILE’S YEARNING FOR POLAND the architectural and highly stylized patterns lights inside. And Mehoffer’s holy per­ From "The Lighthouse-Keeper” by Henryk Sienkiewicz — Translated by Monica Gardner encountered on Gothic stained glass win­ sonages are no less Polish in type than those dows, Wyspiański used vivid, glowing, of Wyspiański ; but of all of them the most “The Lighthouse-Keeper” is the talc of an old Polish exile who, windows, the dikes, the mill, the two ponds lying over against variegated flowers, which had played such a attractive are the angels, Polish boys and after years of wandering in Europe and America, made his way to each other, and ringing all night with choirs of frogs. Once, preponderant part in Polish folk art for cen­ girls dressed in fanciful, gorgeous, heavenly lonely Aspinwall near Panama and became its lighthouse-keeper. One day he received a book through the mails. But it was no ordi­ in that village of his, he was on sentry duty at night. That turies. These flowers gave Wyspiański attire. nary book. It was a volume of verse by Poland’s greatest patriot­ past now suddenly rose before him in a series of visions. greater freedom of design in place of the After Mehoffer had finished his work for poet, Adam Mickiewicz. Having left his native country forty years He is again a lancer on guard. The tavern is looking out more rigid Gothic symmetry. the Fribourg Cathedral, he began his long earlier, he was stirred to the bottom of his soul by the opening words from the distance with streaming eyes, and ringing and sing­ Wyspiański could also touch upon reli­ of the book, and when he read : and indefatigable labors for his reborn “So 7 hou shall grant us to return by a miracle to our land. ing and roaring in the stillness of the night with the stamping gious subjects, without losing his Polish native land. Till then carry my yearning soul of feet, with the voices of the fiddles and double-basses. style. His Madonnas and saints are like his Along with Mehoffer, many younger ar­ Unto those wooded hills, those meadows green.” ‘U-ha! U-ha!’ The lancers are dancing till their ironshod kings, native Polish types. All of his com­ tists were working in independent Poland on he burst into a passionate weeping that “was simply his entreaty for heels send out sparks, while he is bored out there alone on positions are characterized by unusual dram­ stained glass. Kazimierz Sichulski (1879- forgiveness from that loved, distant country, because he had grown his horse. The hours drag on slowly. At last the lights go atic force, the dominating feature of his so old, lived so intimately with a solitary rock, and forgotten so much, 1943) of Lwow, a painter, book illustrator, that even the homesickness of his soul had begun to wear away.” out. Now as far as the eye can see is mist, impenetrable mist. dramatic work. The expressive contours, caricaturist, deserves chief attention as crea­ Here is Sienkiewicz’s description of the lighthouse-keeper’s vision It must be the damp rising from the meadows, and folding typical of his painting and drawing in gen­ tor of monumental projects for mosaics and of Poland, evoked by his reading : the whole world in a grey-white cloud. You would think it eral, were especially well suited to stained cartoons for stained glass windows. In the was the ocean : but it is the meadows that are there. Wait a glass, and lent a soul-stirring quality to his latter he introduced the expressive line of WILIGHT had blotted out the letters on little, and you will hear the corncrake calling in the darkness windows. Wyspiański and Mehoffer, and like those the white page. The old man leant his and bitterns booming in the reeds. The night is calm and Jozef Mehoffer, who outlived Wyspiański artists filled his backgrounds with flowers, head on the rock and closed his eyes. cool, a real Polish night. In the distance the pine forest mur­ considerably, continued his work. He had a particularly Polish field flowers. In contrast And then, ‘She who guards bright murs without wind—like the waves of the sea. Soon the real feeling for the decorative, was an ex­ to Mehoffer, however, he dressed the holy Czenstochowa’ took to herself his soul, dawn will whiten the east ; yes, the cocks are crowing already cellent draughtsman and colorist. He painted $ and bore it ‘to those fields painted with behind the hedges. Each takes up the other’s voice, one after personages, the Madonna not excluded, in portraits, landscapes, created murals, but be­ simple peasant costumes. many-colored grains.’ The pine woods the other from cottage to cottage ; suddenly the cranes, too, came best known as one of the world’s lead­ roared in his ears, his native rivers gur­ cry from high up in the sky. A feeling of life and health sweeps Through their great beauty, decorative gled. He saw it all as it used to be. It ing modern stained glass artists. In his youth and color values, and many native features, over the lancer. They were saying something over yonder about Mehoffer studied long in Paris and he visit­ St. Salomea. Cartoon for stained glass. all asked him: ‘Do you remember?’ Did he remember! tomorrow’s battle. Ha ! He’ll be going too like the others modern Polish stained glass creations have Besides, he saw ;—wide fields, green unploughed strips divid­ ed France’s many medieval cathedrals, ad­ By Stanislaw Wyspiański. become an inseparable part of modern Polish with a shout and fluttering of flags. His young blood plays miring their splendid Gothic stained glass, ing them, meadows, woods, and hamlets. His old head was like a trumpet, although the night breeze has chilled it. But art. Few Polish art exhibitions in reborn bowed on his breast, and he was dreaming. He did not see the and learning the essentials of that great craft. Poland failed to display Polish stained glass. The beautiful now it is dawn, dawn ! The night is waning. The forests, the In 1894 an international competition was held for stained house where he had been born because war had wiped it out ; thickets, the row of cottages, the mill, the poplars, steal out Polish Pavilion at the International Exhibition of the Decora­ he did not see his father or mother, because they had died glass windows for the old Cathedral in Fribourg, Switzer­ tive Arts in Paris 1925, was decorated with stained glass of the shadows. The well-sticks creak like the tin flag on when he was a child ; but he saw his village as though he had the tower. That dear country, beautiful in the rosy light of left it yesterday; the row of cottages with faint lights in their 12 dawn ! Oh. beloved, beloved land !’’ 13 UNDERGROUND PROOF OF POLAND’S WILL TO RESIST

POLISH GUNNERS IN ACTION ON 8TH ARMY FRONT IN ITALY

By their pitched battles with German troops, the guerrilla warfare and sabotage activities, soldiers of the Polish Home Army have shown that they are a powerful force and one to be reckoned with.

Manning 25 pounders.

Polish troops take part in the joint offensive on the Italian front.

SONG ABOVE DEATH The “New York Times’’ reports that so many poems were contributed to a contest conducted secretly by the In 1941 the Germans executed Mieczysław Niedział­ kowski—a prominent Socialist leader and ardent Polish underground monthly, “Culture of Tomorrow,” for the best verses on Warsaw, that two prizes had to be Polish patriot. But they could not kill his memory. awarded. Honorable mention went posthumously to a young girl who flung her manuscript to the crowd as she Under the very eyes of the Gestapo, braving the was led to execution. death penalty that awaited them if caught, soldiers of the Polish Underground Army paid tribute to Cut out a nation’s tongue, it yet shall speak! Raze ruthlessly; a shard of wall still points their fallen comrade by naming a Warsaw street Maim, blind, lash, guillotine and burn— With witness fingers. Warsaw falls in his honor. This picture, smuggled out of Poland, Yet shall the dying sing, their voices weak, But not Parnassus, for the Muse annoints shows how Wronia Street became Niedziałkowski Street. The Germans tore the new sign down, but But deathless. Even vultures turn: Her poets: unslain song appalls to Warsaw residents the thoroughfare will remain The flesh of executioners is not sweet. The murderer with breath of hell’s foul heat. Niedziałkowski Street. Let bright young blood flow, starve and liquidate, You cannot stop a river’s source, Trampling with boots of mad and mudded hate. Scatter the bones with frenzied force: A new-born race once sprang at Cadmus’ feet. —JAMES EDWARD TOBIN, Head of Department of English, Fordham University Graduate School.

14 15 by MARION MOORE COLEMAN

S Krakow, with Learning that the Russians planned to strike on Holy Sat­ its tombs of urday, Kiliński and his followers fixed on Holy Thursday, A kings, is the Ro­ two days earlier, for joining battle. On that day, April 17th, yal City of Poland, soat 4:30 in the morning, the alarm was sounded. The populace Warsaw is the People’s led by Kiliński, took a large part in the fighting and it was City, and no figure due to them that many a wavering appeaser among the aris­ more truly symbolizes and embodies the pop­ tocrats was brought into line and won over to the national ular nature of Warsaw's cause. tradition than Jan Kil­ Kiliński was the heart and soul of the popular uprising, iński. and in commemoration of his spirit as well as of his deeds, That is why, when in a monument was later erected to him in the Old Town. This 1942 the Germans car­ was one of the half dozen or so statues in Warsaw which the ried off the statue of Jan Kiliński to be “ex­ people really loved. Kiliński meant something to them. So ecuted”, the people of long as he stood there in stone, his eyes blazing, his right Warsaw felt that the hand raised as if to beckon the people forward, Warsaw folk very heart of their city felt themselves and their rights somehow secure. Kiliński had been torn out and was their savior, and while he remained among them they trampled upon. were safe. This feeling the poet Słowacki put into verse in Jan Kiliński. After a portrait in the That is why, also, the lines: City Hall in Warsaw. courage returned to the unhappy folk of War­ There stands in Warsaw, in the city’s midst, saw when, after a few days there appeared on the walls of the National Museum, in the courtyard where the statue had A stately column : migrant cranes rest been set up for “execution”, the words, scrawled in an Often on its brow, and vagrant clouds are seen awkward and uneven hand but large so that all might read, Upon its tip. Majestic and serene It soars, St. John’s three noble spires behind, I AM HERE, O PEOPLE OF WARSAW, And all about a veil of mist entwined. JAN KILIŃSKI! Beyond a dusky labyrinth of lanes And then the Rynek. A marvel now its panes, Who was Kiliński? He was a shoemaker. A master shoe­ Stone-framed, behold: Kilinski’s eyes maker, in the days when shoes were all made by hand and Flash green — swift darts rise when shoemaking was an exacting craft. He From out them, as the street lamp’s flare lived on the third floor Reveals a spectral Savior standing there. of the stone dwelling at No. 5 Szeroki Du­ The stately column to which the poet refers in the above naj, in the old section is the imposing monument of King Sigmund. Legend has it of Warsaw. Besides be­ that so long as the sword shall remain in King Sigmund’s ing a leader in his guild, Kiliński was an hand, Warsaw and Po­ officer in the 20th regi­ land are secure. When ment of the Polish word came in the early army. He was also an years of the Second immensely popular mant World War that the personally with a decid­ Germans were bent on ed gift of leadership. destroying all important Sy Andriolli When Kościuszko de­ Polish statues, the poet clared Poland in a state Wierzyński wrote, with of insurrection on the “. . . Presently the priest, from the high altar, intoned the grand ‘Resurrection chant” ; the organ took it up with a roar 24th of March, 1794, in the Sigmund Column in and boomed sonorously ; all the bells rang out and pealed aloud. And then his Reverence, bearing the Most Holy Sacrament, Krakow, Warsaw pat­ mind : surrounded with a thin blue cloud of incense smoke and the tumultuous din in the belfry, came down towards the people. The riots were all ready to chant was continued, bursting forth from every throat ; the waves of the crowd tossed and rolled, a fiery blast of enthusiasm follow suit. If you fall, if they dried every tear and lifted every soul to Heaven. So all together, like a living and moving human grove, swaying hither and shatter you too, thither as they sang the hymn in grand unison, went forward in procession, following the priest holding the Monstrance aloft On the 24th of March, in front of him, as a golden sun that burned above their heads, with chants sounding on all sides and bright tapers all around, 1794, Kościuszko de­ On whose summit Sło­ scarce visible through the smoke shot forth from the censers: the object of the gace of every eye, of the love of every heart! clared 1 bland in a state Statue of Jan Kiliński in Warsaw, wacki beheld the mi­ “With slow and measured steps did the procession wend along the nave and thread the aisles, in a close-packed, surging, of insurrection. The By Stanislaw Jackowski, grating cranes . . . vociferously sonorous crowd. declaration was issued “Halleluiah! Halleluiah! Halleluiah! The noise was deafening ; the very pillars and arches thrilled to the chant. Hearts in Krakow. Warsaw patriots promptly began to meet at . . . There still shall and throats burst forth with one accord; and those glowing voices, instinct with mystic fire, flew up to the vault like flame-birds, Kilinski’s apartment in order to make plans for working with remain the eyes, and sailed out afar into the night, seeking the sun away in those regions to which at such times the soul of man mounts upon Kościuszko. Green still in the street­ the wings of rapture.” lamp’s flicker, —Wladyslaw S. Reymont, “The Peasants.” From “The Polish Land". Compiled by Klub Polski of Columbia Germans dismantling Jan Kilinski’s statue University. Edited by Marion Moore Coleman. 1943, 127 pp. $2.00. in Warsaw. Of Jan Kiliński . . . 16 17 "EASTER IN B L O O D AND TOIL”

(Continued from page 5) stances it was best not say anything. Besides he needed every not last forever. This first attack was one of the biggest ounce of strength to perform the stipulated task. since the Polish Merchant Ship had sailed in the North At­ The second gong sounded and roll call was taken in the lantic. The captain often said we were sailing under a lucky dark. Now it was warmer and getting lighter, this long mar­ Spirit of the Polish Underground star. The ship had been close to danger many times, but tyrdom was becoming more bearable. Hard and bitter were always by some strange turn of luck got away whole. And the mornings when shivering in their thin denim uniforms, now it was the night before Easter. We were in the middle the Polish prisoners were forced to stand at attention. Some­ of the ocean and right in the thick of an U-boat fight. The times the roll call lasted two hours, rarely did they last less engine crew was sweating in the hot atmosphere of the fur­ than an hour. Eight o’clock at last. The grey columns filed in for break­ naces and revolving machinery ! No one knew what was hap­ Citizens of the Commonwealth! pening above. The close explosions told them the enemy was fast in complete silence. Wooden tables and benches greeted near. The voice from the tube gave them no time to think of the prisoners, the usual rations stood in front of them, some­ For years on end the Polish Nation has been struggling against the personal safety. Their minds were concentrated on the com­ thing that was supposed to be coffee and a brown spongelike most ruthless of all the invasions it has ever endured. For this struggle mands, their bodies almost automatically carried out the substance that was supposed to be bread. the Polish Nation has mobilized all its forces. orders. Even the machines seemed somehow to understand The prisoners attacked their food. Hunger made man a the danger, and the unfeeling metal became one with man, pitiful beast. Trembling hands slopped the lukewarm liquid When in the autumn of 1939 the Polish Army succumbed in an unequal responding with unusual sense to every touch. on tables and chins. For a moment only sounds of smacking fight, only a small number of Polish soldiers were so fortunate as to be Gradually the shots grew scarcer, and finally faded into lips and deep swallows could be heard. able to continue in uniform and on foreign soil the struggle for the freedom complete silence. The air cleared down below. Janek felt a nudge as he tilted the cup to the bottom. He of the mother country and the glory of Polish arms. Suddenly: “O. K. down below. All’s clear. Come up to looked at his neighbor. see the damage !” “We’re going to celebrate Easter tonight in the barracks, We, Poles in occupied Poland, resorted to passive resistance, sabotage Jurek then turned to look for W acek, but W acek was don’t forget to join us.” I have saved some bread and jam. and guerrilla warfare for the purpose of inflicting damage on the loathsome already on deck. we can have quite a feast.” enemy, by all means within our power. It was getting lighter, the fog was lifting and the smell of “Fine, but don’t let them catch us whispering, otherwise For the fourth successive year the savage invader continues—deliber­ powder was disappearing. neither one of us will live to celebrate anything.” This was Easter morning, somewhere in the world bells ately, ruthlessly and by the crudest terror, to exterminate the Poles for At that moment the rasping German accents broke in— the sole reason that they are Poles. were ringing, somewhere there was joy. In Poland the res­ “Attention, pass out single file and take your tools from the urrection had not yet come. guards.” For the fourth successive year we are struggling in every possible Jurek sighed. “Do you remember Easter morning in Po­ The prisoners walked out of the barracks. It was full day­ way to save the Nation, to maintain its morale, to preserve it for a land?” Wacek did not answer because he could not. His light now. As the column marched through the fields. Jan great future. eyes grew misty, but he just smiled and said. Let s go down could not help but notice the delicate green shoots of grain. to breakfast, I’m hungry !” The air made him dizzy. That’s how it used to be in Poland. We must be prepared! In the final phase of the war, now upon us, * * * For a moment he thought he heard church bells ringing. Bells our enemy, to escape inevitable defeat, will apply methods even more of his church, his church at home in Poland. On Easter cruel and ruthless. To meet this eventuality we must make a supreme Easter Means Hope to Polish Prisoners of War morning they used to peal out at sunrise after their long effort and prepare for co-ordinated and united action. To intensified Thaw was coming after the cold winter in a German camp silence. People sat quietly as if expecting a sudden joyful terrorism and oppression by the invader, the Polish Nation must retaliate for Polish prisoners of war somewhere near Hanover. tiding. With the first rays of the sun they would burst into with redoubled blows. To this end the conduct of the struggle against Thinly clad feet that had been frozen and broken by the a song of exultant joy. Halleluiah, Halleluiah ! Christ is risen the invader, wherever the secret organization is operating on Polish crust of ice and hard earth were now sinking into a soft from the dead ! territory, will be taken over by the Command of the Underground Army slushy mud. But was it possible to think of life, of freedom The hymn turned in Jan’s head. His steps fell into its appointed by the Government's Plenipotentiary for Poland and by the here in the Mordkommando, the camp of death ? Years, long rhythm. “Halleluiah. Halleluiah!” It stayed with Jan all day. Commander of the Armed Forces in Poland. years had passed since he had been free there in Poland. He worked to its rhythm. He thought he suffered in its God, how far away that life seemed now. He had not seen rhythm. We call upon all citizens of the Commonwealth to obey implicitly the home since the war broke out. At first, a few letters came, Evening came at last. Half hour before curfew the prison­ directions and orders of the Command of the Underground Army, to col­ all alike, saying that they were well, that the war would soon ers gathered around one bed, each bringing his share of bread. laborate with and extend to the latter, as the lawfully constituted author­ be over. Then a few packages from home, miserable little ity, any and all assistance. packages that showed how little they had. The oldest among them, whom they called Grandfather, It was almost a year since he had heard from home. At raised his piece of black bread and said : The Command of the Underground Army will direct all resistance first he was impatient, he revolted. That’s when the guards “We have no eggs to divide between us, but this bread can activities and all hostilities on the part of the Polish body social against beat him up and sent him to the Mordkommando. serve the same purpose. May the wish which is in our hearts the occupying enemy, will continue, day in and day out, the fight against In a year Jan was a changed man. His youth and fervor be heard at last, and may we, like Christ, rise from the darkness of our existence into the morning brightness of a the invaders, will retaliate by acts of terrorism to German terrorism, were extinguished, eaten away by stone breaking on the and by acts of revenge to the bestiality of the Gestapo. roads; wasted by lack of food, warmth and clothing. But he free Poland. So help us God.” Here his voice broke. No still maintained a fighting spirit. He had learned to take one spoke, only a dry sob burst from the crowd of men. Implicit obedience to the orders of the Government, of the Com- things as they came, but inside his determination to live and Jan’s throat contracted, his eyes stung for a moment as a mander-in-Chief and of their Plenipotentiaries in Poland constitute the to outlast all German bestiality grew fiercer. frightful longing and prayer filled his soul, as the hymn essential condition of victory in our hard struggle against the enemy. The morning gong broke his revery. Jan slowly dragged surged up within his brain. his spent body to the courtyard. In the half light, he could “Halleluiah, Halleluiah ! Christ is risen from the dead !” Warsaw, July 5, 1943 scarcely distinguish other figures, slowly approaching the Plenipotentiary of the Government Commander of the Armed Forces center. The straight silhouettes of the German prison guards of the Republic of Poland In Poland stood out by contrast. “Get on, you !” someone bellowed into his ear. The Polish Review (signed) Klonowski (signed) Grot “Stand up straight, aren’t we treating you well here ? May­ Vol. IV. Nos. 14-15 April 9, 1944 be a week in a cool damp cell would give you some energy?” Weekly Magazine Published by Jan just moved on, he learned that under such circum- THE POLISH REVIEW PUBLISHING CO. with the assistance of the Polish Information Center Stanislaw L. Centkiewicz, Editor Cover by Hanka Gorecka-Egan, a young 745 Fifth Avenue, New York 22, N. Y. Polish-A tnerican artist. Annual Subscription Four Dollars Single Copy Ten Cents

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