| The Polish Underground Press |
Over 1,300 Polish newspapers and 250 books were printed and distributed in Nazi-occupied Poland. It is a remarkable feat for the Polish Underground to have succeeded in conducting such a vast covert operation under the constant scrutiny of the Nazis. To have been discovered would have meant arrest, torture and inevitable death. But the Poles inherited an iron will from their ancestors through centuries of subjugation under foreign powers. During the Tsar's reign, the activity of the Polish Underground flourished despite brutal reprisals from the Okhrana, the Russian Secret Police. (later to be known as the NKVD, today's KGB) After the Germans invaded Poland in September 1939, they embarked on a campaign to eradicate Polish culture, society, and the very existence of the Polish nation. They could never have succeeded, so strong was the spirit of the Polish people to fight for their freedom and homeland. Poles had salvaged, stolen, or bought on the black market, portable printing presses that were easily hidden in cellars, and even in the woods, in order to escape detection by the Nazis, or unscrupulous Polish informers. In many cases, it was a one-man operation where one person acted as reporter, editor, printer, and publisher. Polish press agencies were established by the Government Delegate, as well as by military organizations and political parties. They collected and disseminated reports from sources in the outside world on events on the battlefields and in occupied countries. The best press services were the Military Press Agency, the Agency of the Government Delegate, and Echo Press Agency. Each political party had at least one secret newspaper. Distribution was widespread and its articles had considerable influence on the Polish citizens. The underground knew that the enemy was aware of what they were printing. Great care was taken not to divulge any secrets of the Polish Underground, but just report the news. On occasion, Poles went so far as to send complimentary copies to the Gestapo with a little note saying " To help facilitate your research on our plans for you! ". The Information Bulletin, (Biuletyn Informacyjny ) an official newspaper of the Underground had a circulation of 300,000 copies. But considering the fact that each copy was read by several individuals, circulation was indeed much higher. The majority of these newspapers were set by hand, in linotype, mimeographed, or printed on small hand presses. Among the Underground Press were also many highly skilled and experienced journalists and printers. In order to maintain secrecy, the size of the newspapers had to be small and inconspicuous - they usually measured from 5" to 6" in width, and 7" to 10" in length. The total number of pages ran from about 4 to 16 pages. Some of the most known newspapers were the following but there were many others: Rzeczpospolita Polska ( the newspaper of the Government Delegate) They printed commands and advice to the population at large, in particular, resisting the German occupation. Included were speeches of promiment members of the Polish government, and UN statesmen. Their editorials represented the official viewpoint of the underground. It was widely circulated, and had the support of the public. Wiadmosci Polskie ( Polish News) This paper was published by the Commander of the Home Army, whose articles dealt with social and military matters. Zolnierz Polski ( The Polish Soldier) It was dedicated to the analysis of the military defeat of battles, at home, and abroad, and was widely distributed. Insurrection This was a special paper meant only for the Home Army, discussing topics such as street fighting, insurrection tactics, and diversions, among many other subjects. WRN The main publication of the Socialist Party of Poland Wiesi Miasto ( Country and City) This newspaper encouraged unity and cooperation among Polish factory workers and rural workers. Wolnosc (Freedom) Their publication was directed towards readers representing the intelligentsia. Through Fight to Victory, ( Polish translation unavailable )was published by the Peasant Party Orka was another publication of the Peasant Party but geared for the urban intelligentsia. Glas Warszawy ( The Voice of Warsaw ) , was published by the Christian Labor Party. But they had to change the name of its paper continuously because of frequent German reprisals. Walka (The Fight) and Narodi Wojsko ( The Nation and the Army) were both published by the National Democratic Party. Some newspapers however were antisemetic, and attacked Jews for provoking the war. They accused the Jews of collaborating with the Nazis. Newspapers such as The Warsschaer Zeitung, Szaniec, and Placowka, made efforts to convince the Poles to disown all minorities including the Jews. There were many difficulties involved in running an underground newspaper. Firstly, acquiring paper was no easy task, as it was indeed a scarce commodity, like virtually everything else. More often than not, ordinary brown wrapping paper was used, but efforts were constantly made to acquire paper through German sources through bibery, or theft, or from the black market. The transport of paper suppliles was virtually child's play, for example, peasant carts had supplies hidden underneath a huge mound of potatoes and cabbages. Distribution posed another problem, but was not insurmountable. In order for the underground press to protect its identity, distribution was based on the system of three-point selling. It was a method created by Stanislaw Wojciechowski, who was the co-editor, and co-printer of a newspaper issued during the Tsarist regime, together with his friend Jozef Pilsudski, who would later become the President of Poland in 1922. In this system, every person involved in the distribution of a newspaper was acquainted with only two people - the person who gave him the newspaper and the person he sold it to. Therefore, in case of arrest and interrogation, the distributor would not be able to divulge information that would jeopardize the entire network of the underground press. |