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Story of a Secret State

4.28 of 5 stars 4.28 · rating details · 155 ratings · 46 reviews

In Nazi-occupied Poland, schools, courts and newspapers were operated by the Polish Underground secretly, right under the nose of the Gestapo. The author who was liaison officer between the underground and the exiled Polish government in London, wrote this amazing report right after the liberation.

Paperback, 391 pages

Published November 1st 2001 by Simon Publications (first published 1944)

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Dec 23, 2012 Kinga rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: special-place-in-my-heart

As the resident Pole on Bookmunch I have received this book for reviewing and now I am afraid I won’t do it justice. Going through years of the Polish education system, I didn’t think I wanted or needed to know anything more about World War II, the occupation, the Gestapo or the Holocaust. I was wrong. Jan Karski’s Story of a Secret State should be a compulsory read for everyone. I am not saying this because I am Polish and we like to inform the whole world about our heroic, albeit forgotten dee...more As the resident Pole on Bookmunch I have received this book for reviewing and now I am afraid I won’t do it justice. Going through years of the Polish education system, I didn’t think I wanted or needed to know anything more about World War II, the occupation, the Gestapo or the Holocaust. I was wrong. Jan Karski’s Story of a Secret State should be a compulsory read for everyone. I am not saying this because I am Polish and we like to inform the whole world about our heroic, albeit forgotten deeds. I am saying this because it is an extremely well-written, captivating, thrilling and unsettling account of the Second World War.

The book starts with a carefree atmosphere of a ball in the Portuguese embassy, where Karski is trying to flirt with the daughters of the Portuguese Ambassador. It’s a beautiful summer night but we already know these are the last moments for lightheartedness and innocence because it is August of 1939. Karski will wake up in a different world and we follow him as he is thrown overnight into the very centre of the war. And so begins the story of the Polish Resistance – the largest resistance movement in all of occupied Europe – the complex secret state operating underground and punishing by death any attempts of collaboration with the Occupant. To the very end Poland refused to surrender, collaborate or even acknowledge the existence of Nazi occupation. The price it had to pay for such unreasonable stubbornness was high – Poland lost 6 million people (including 3 million Polish Jews).

Like every good WWII spy thriller Story of A Secret State has arrests, Soviet work camps, German camps, torture, microfilms, dozens of false identities, emergency cyanide pills, and treks through borders of various countries of the war-torn Europe. Nonetheless, Karski’s “Report to the World” is honest, modest, full of distance to himself and even has occasional glimpses of humour, and is therefore very far removed from the ‘I’m on a horse’ Bond-like narratives. The story is characterised by typical Polish patriotism, reckless and insane; the very kind that has long been smothered by political correctness, but the kind that had allowed Poland to survive the many decades it has been wiped off the map. It goes very much along the lines of Poland’s favourite motto: ”God, Honour, Motherland”- the holy trinity of Polish values. I was afraid that this kind of sentiment might not be fully understood in the UK, because the English never had to fight for the very existence of their Motherland, and therefore never developed this sort of feverish madness as a national trait. In Karski’s own words:

“[The Englishmen] were also stubborn, strong and realistic. A Frenchman or a Pole, with an exaggerated love for the grand gesture, might commit suicide for a lost cause. An Englishman, never. […] They do not gamble recklessly with a worthless hand. […] I was not interested in their idealism; I had seen idealism too easily crushed by the Nazis. Perhaps it was not just on England, but it was on British common sense alone that I pinned all my hopes.”

Yet, when I read Andrew Roberts’ heartfelt afterword in this new edition, I realised that the English might not be as unsentimental as Karski saw them.

Story of a Secret State was originally published in the US in 1944 where it became an instant bestseller selling over 400,000 copies, yet it failed to achieve what Karski set out to do – make the Western Allies believe the shocking reality of the Nazi genocide of the Jews, Poles and others. The reports he brought in 1942 and 1943 to the British and American authorities were tragically assumed to be typically Polish exaggerations. The plaque that appears on the statue of Karski in Washington, DC reads: “The Man Who Told of the Annihilation of the Jewish People While There Was Still Time To Stop It”.

Story of A Secret State should now be read as a reminder to never underestimate the atrocities as well heroism that humans are capable of.

[originally posted on bookmunch.wordpress.com](less)

27 likes · like · see review

Jun 09, 2012 Lorenzo rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: polish, aaa-my-library, 2012-readings

Now, this one was extremely good.
And it's hard to believe how "Story of a Secret State" had to wait for so long before being re-published.

Jan Karski - a nom de plume, pardon d'action - wrote this book with the extreme urgency of a man who has just managed to get through four years of war, starvation, captivity and, on the top of it, a dangerous clandestine patriotic activity.
A brilliant combination, isn't it?

Nevertheless, "Story of a Secret State" is written very well with its author never claim...more

2 likes · like · see review

Nov 23, 2010 Janet rated it 4 of 5 stars

A fascinating account, published in 1944, of Poland in the Second World War. Author Jan Karski was a handsome young gentleman enjoying life, working on his doctorate in demography, the science and statistics of populations, when Hitler invaded Poland. His amazing transformation from wealthy citizen/student to cavalry officer to spy/saboteur is detailed as the Polish Underground was formed to fight the Nazi presence. Unlike the Russians (See the Gulag Archepelago), the Polish did love freedom eno...more

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Dec 30, 2012 Iceman rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Agosto de 1939, Jan Karski, jovem recem licenciado, recebe uma ordem de mobilização para o exercito polaco. Nada impressionado, pois era opinião que os alemães não fariam nada de mal à Polónia face à ameaça francesa e britânica, Jan Karski responde a essa ordem dirigindo-se para a estação e é aí que se depara com milhares de homens na gare e percebe que algo de grave se está a passar.

A partir desse dia, Jan Karski encetará um percurso sinuoso que o levará a tomar contacto com as atrocidades da g...more

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Apr 07, 2012 Rita marked it as to-read

Kinga's review: [book orig. pub 1944 !]
As the resident Pole on Bookmunch I have received this book for reviewing and now I am afraid I won’t do it justice. Going through years of the Polish education system, I didn’t think I wanted or needed to know anything more about World War II, the occupation, the Gestapo or the Holocaust. I was wrong. Jan Karski’s Story of a Secret State should be a compulsory read for everyone. I am not saying this because I am Polish and we like to inform the whole world...more Kinga's review: [book orig. pub 1944 !]
As the resident Pole on Bookmunch I have received this book for reviewing and now I am afraid I won’t do it justice. Going through years of the Polish education system, I didn’t think I wanted or needed to know anything more about World War II, the occupation, the Gestapo or the Holocaust. I was wrong. Jan Karski’s Story of a Secret State should be a compulsory read for everyone. I am not saying this because I am Polish and we like to inform the whole world about our heroic, albeit forgotten deeds. I am saying this because it is an extremely well-written, captivating, thrilling and unsettling account of the Second World War.

The book starts with a carefree atmosphere of a ball in the Portuguese embassy, where Karski is trying to flirt with the daughters of the Portuguese Ambassador. It’s a beautiful summer night but we already know these are the last moments for lightheartedness and innocence because it is August of 1939. Karski will wake up in a different world and we follow him as he is thrown overnight into the very centre of the war. And so begins the story of the Polish Resistance – the largest resistance movement in all of occupied Europe – the complex secret state operating underground and punishing by death any attempts of collaboration with the Occupant. To the very end Poland refused to surrender, collaborate or even acknowledge the existence of Nazi occupation. The price it had to pay for such unreasonable stubbornness was high – Poland lost 6 million people (including 3 million Polish Jews).

Like every good WWII spy thriller Story of A Secret State has arrests, Soviet work camps, German camps, torture, microfilms, dozens of false identities, emergency cyanide pills, and treks through borders of various countries of the war-torn Europe. Nonetheless, Karski’s “Report to the World” is honest, modest, full of distance to himself and even has occasional glimpses of humour, and is therefore very far removed from the ‘I’m on a horse’ Bond-like narratives. The story is characterised by typical Polish patriotism, reckless and insane; the very kind that has long been smothered by political correctness, but the kind that has allowed Poland to survive the many decades it has been wiped off the map. It goes very much along the lines of Poland’s favourite motto: ”God, Honour, Motherland”- the holy trinity of Polish values. I was afraid that this kind of sentiment might not be fully understood in the UK, because the English never had to fight for the very existence of their Motherland, and therefore never developed this sort of feverish madness as a national trait. In Karski’s own words:

“[The Englishmen] were also stubborn, strong and realistic. A Frenchman or a Pole, with an exaggerated love for the grand gesture, might commit suicide for a lost cause. An Englishman, never. […] They do not gamble recklessly with a worthless hand. […] I was not interested in their idealism; I had seen idealism too easily crushed by the Nazis. Perhaps it was not just on England, but it was on British common sense alone that I pinned all my hopes.”

Yet, when I read Andrew Roberts’ heartfelt afterword in this new edition, I realised that the English might not be as unsentimental as Karski saw them.

Story of a Secret State was originally published in the US in 1944 where it became an instant bestseller selling over 400,000 copies, yet it failed to achieve what Karski set out to do – make the Western Allies believe the shocking reality of the Nazi genocide of the Jews, Poles and others. The reports he brought in 1942 and 1943 to the British and American authorities were tragically assumed to be typically Polish exaggerations. The plaque that appears on the statue of Karski in Washington, DC reads: “The Man Who Told of the Annihilation of the Jewish People While There Was Still Time To Stop It”.

Story of A Secret State should now be read as a reminder to never underestimate the atrocities as well heroism that humans are capable of.(less)

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Oct 20, 2011 Valerie added it

'Jan Karski' was not the man's original name. It started out as his nom du guerre, and remained as his name for the rest of his life.

Early in this book, Karski mentions that while retreating at the beginning of the war, he stopped over in what was then known as the village of Oswiecm. Later, of course, it developed much greater notoreity as the nearest town to the camp that later was named Auschwitz.

I first learned of Karski because, as a courier from the Polish Underground to the Polish governm...more 'Jan Karski' was not the man's original name. It started out as his nom du guerre, and remained as his name for the rest of his life.

Early in this book, Karski mentions that while retreating at the beginning of the war, he stopped over in what was then known as the village of Oswiecm. Later, of course, it developed much greater notoreity as the nearest town to the camp that later was named Auschwitz.

I first learned of Karski because, as a courier from the Polish Underground to the Polish government-in-exile in London, he was charged (among other messages), with reporting what he'd seen in the Warsaw ghetto and a smaller transit ghetto where some of the inmates were killed in a particularly horrible (and probably rapidly abandoned) way.

In The Terrible Secret, the response of several prominent people in Britain and the US to Karski's reports is described. In this book, Karski adds some perspective, by describing things like his escape from Poland through the Alps (he was apparently a very skilled skier) to carry out his courier duties, and the fact that after he was captured and tortured by the Gestapo, he was rescued by people who came prepared to kill him if he was unable to assist in his own escape; a precaution he agreed with, because he was afraid that he would be forced to betray his comerades otherwise.

There's a tendency to treat people as either helpless victims or victimizers, with no other categories. But very few people fall into either category. There was resistance in all places, and there was collaboration in many. In Poland there was less collaboration, largely because the Nazis were less willing to work with Polish collaborators. But the Poles still weren't a homogenous mass, nor were they even divisible solely along Christian/Jewish lines. There were Jewish collaborators in the ghettos--and there were resistance groups both inside and outside the ghettos.

Karski provides a perspective rarely seen, and the book is worth reading for that alone. But it makes a pretty good adventure story, as well.
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Mar 30, 2010 Irving Koppel rated it 5 of 5 stars

Although it reads like a novel,"Story of a Secret State" is the true
account of the adventures of a member of the Polish underground during
World War II. Mr.Karski, who came from a prominent Polish family, had
fought the Germans as a member of the Polish cavalry. Since Poland had
been invaded by the Russians as well as the Germans,he ended up as a prisoner of the former. After his escape from the Russians, he joined
the underground,only to be captured by the nazis. As a result of
a terrible beating...more

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Jan 16, 2013 Paul Culloty rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

For an individual who had no intention of writing a book before WW2, Story of a Secret State is a fast-paced, engaging account that not only hooks the reader through its narrative, but also leaves a valuable historical legacy. In summary, the author mobilises for war, escapes from German captivity, provides valuable work for the Polish Underground in terms of propaganda and liaising with the Government-in-Exile, before shockingly concluding with the first-ever written account of the Holocaust. I...more

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Jan 19, 2013 Diane rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I won this advance copy as a give away from Goodreads.

This is a eyewitness account by one person to what was happening during the Nazi and Russian invasion into Poland. Karski gives us a written detail of the horrors the Polish people went through and how the Nazi's where out to completely remove the Jewish people from the earth.

We meet Karski a young Polish boy who thought he had the world going for him. One day he is flirting at a dance and the next thing he know his world is turned up side do...more

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Jun 17, 2011 Rod rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: autobiography, history

These are the memoirs of a Polish officer during World War 11. Captured by the Soviets then exchanged into the custody of the Germans, he escapes from a train taking him to a labour camp or worse and makes his way to Warsaw where he is recruited into the Underground.

At first he works as a courier, conveying information from the Underground to the Polish Government in Exile, then in France. Since this involves travelling through several occupied countries with forged papers it is risky and eventu...more

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Sep 01, 2011 Carey Combe rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is an extraordinary testament to Man's inhumanity to Man, and the even more remarkable courage required to resist it. A simple recitation of the facts would make it compelling but Karski is also a superb writer. Rather than trying to generate drama his style is cool and restrained which I think increases the impact. He never complains and writes plainly and elegantly. The most harrowing part of the book is without doubt the two chapters in which Karski describes the fate of the Jews in Pola...more

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Jun 08, 2011 Gerald Sinstadt rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction-general

The underground movement in wartime Poland seems to have been like no other: loosely structured for safety but coherent enough to pursue a unified purpose. The objective was to create in secret a state that would mirror a new Poland when - if - the Germans were defeated.

When Jan Karski's book in its original form was written that objective was still a work in progress with no certainty as to its outcome. The narrative has the authentic grip of terrifyingly direct experience. The accounts of clan...more

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May 21, 2012 Bob Petry rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is an amazing biography. There is enough action, political intrigue, and horror for 3 or 4 movies. An unbelievable true story of a man secretly and abruptly called to war from his world of elite society parties. Captured by the Russians, he escapes by posing as a working-class private right into a German cattle car enroute to a "camp." Escaping from the Gestapo multiple times, Karski finds himself as courier, spy and propagandist in the Polish underground. At one point he even sold bonds fo...more

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Jan 24, 2012 Rachel Choate rated it 5 of 5 stars

I picked up this book while doing a study of resistance to Hitler. This narrative of the Polish underground is phenomenal. I often had to remind myself that it is nonfiction. I was amazed at the amount of detail he was able to print in the midst of the war. Karski's account of the work he and others did to thwart the Nazi occupiers reads like a espionage novel complete with fake passports, double agents, bumbling villains and prison escapes. His writings about the Warsaw ghetto and his visit to...more

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Mar 17, 2013 Scot Mcatee rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads

Although I really liked hearing a story about WWII from a viewpoint I don't think I've ever heard before, it was not quite as shocking as what I expected. Karski was definitely a hero and the kind that I like to read about: an ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances. I think he maybe downplayed his part in several sections of the book to the detriment of the book, but there's no telling where it was before editors, translators and whoever else got their hands on his report.

Readers should be...more

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Jan 18, 2013 Kendra rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013-books-read, first-reads

I recieved this book as a First Reads Giveaway, and couldn't wait to read it from the first notification that it was being sent. As at least one other reviewer has stated...now that I've read the book, I am afraid that I won't be able to do it justice. This is an eyewitness account of events and conditions in Poland from the time of the German and Russian invasion during World War II, by an extraordinarily brave, patriotic man. Although written as a testament to the plight of the Polish people,...more

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Jan 02, 2013 Patrick Neylan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Patrick by: Amazon Vine

Shelves: auto-biography, foreign, history, non-fiction, war

For all the praise it's received, Story Of A Secret State isn't an action-packed read. Karski was more of an administrator in the Polish underground than a fighter, so anyone looking for stories about raids, sabotage and armed resistance might be a little disappointed. Also, the book is a reprint of what he wrote in 1943-44, so it lacks the perspective that comes from our fuller knowledge of events that only came to light after the war. Most obviously, he only has the haziest notion of how fortu...more

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Oct 05, 2012 Susu rated it 5 of 5 stars

Life gets turned upside down when Poland is invaded - Karski starts his long journey as officer in the Polish army, emprisoned by the Russians, exchanged as fake Volksdeutscher, fleeing from prison, getting involved with Polish underground ... captivating and impressive. He visits the Warsaw Getto and a concentration camp - to be able to bear witness. He reported the details from the Polish Underground and the details about the Holocaust. We know the rest.
It's absolutely impressive to read Kars...more

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Sep 01, 2011 Paola rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The release of Story of a Secret State by Jan Karski has been accompanied by a great deal of press both in the U.K. and in the rest of Europe. Having read a two-page article about this book on the Italian newspaper’s La Repubblica, I decided to request it from Amazon Vine.

Originally released in the 1940s, Story of a Secret State is an account of Jan K’s life as a member of the Polish Underground. I am fairly ignorant about the situation of Poland during the Nazi occupation; I was therefore very...more The release of Story of a Secret State by Jan Karski has been accompanied by a great deal of press both in the U.K. and in the rest of Europe. Having read a two-page article about this book on the Italian newspaper’s La Repubblica, I decided to request it from Amazon Vine.

Originally released in the 1940s, Story of a Secret State is an account of Jan K’s life as a member of the Polish Underground. I am fairly ignorant about the situation of Poland during the Nazi occupation; I was therefore very surprised to learn that, despite being apparently under German rule, Poland continued to exist as an ‘underground’ state, with some government officials based in France and some in the country itself, although in the latter case they were always working under assumed names. I learnt some interesting facts and it is hard to believe that the underground government at one point managed to issue its own bonds to finance the resistance operations: slips of papers were released as certificates, and the weight of potatoes and bread were ingeniously used to represent the actual figures that ordinary citizens would loan to the state.

I have to stress that this is one of those books that you need to read for its historical value rather than for the writing itself. The author’s voice, to the modern reader, may sound somewhat self-important and pompous. But getting past one’s initial reservations on style, the narration of Karski’s ascent within the ranks of the Polish Underground soon proves to be a compelling read, with the exception of one or two chapters detailing governmental hierarchy and reproducing state documents, which I admit to finding rather heavy going. By and large, though, Jarksi’s account is a page-turner. The expedients used by the resistance to circumvent Nazi oppression seem straight out of the movies (think Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds) and I had to sometimes stop and remind myself that it is history that inspired fiction and not the other way around.

The spy-story tone of some of the lighter chapters is however abruptly abandoned when the author describes his visit to a concentration camp; then, suddenly, we are reminded of the horrors of World War II, horrors that are so unspeakable and unbelievable that Karski himself feels the need to make a sort of disclaimer, pre-emptying the wall of disbelief that he will soon encounter on the part of the U.K. and U.S. authorities:

I know that many people will not believe me, will not be able to believe me, will think I exaggerate or invent. But I saw it and it is not exaggerated or invented. I have no other proofs, no photographs. All I can say is that I saw it and that it is the truth.

The history covered by Jan Karski in Story of a Secret State is the kind of history that we should all be taught at school; Karski’s first person account brings those terrible events to life in a format that is approachable and easy to follow. This book makes the cliché that ‘history is a dry subject’ totally redundant: there is no excuse to be ignorant about one of the darkest and yet most recent periods of Western civilisation. It is hard to believe, from our media-savvy 21st century perspective, that the British Government did not, for a long time, grasp the full extent of the horror that was unfolding in continental Europe, and it is absolutely tragic to think that Karski’s report was not taken seriously. The least that we, the younger generations, can do now, is to read this man’s story and make sure it is never forgotten.

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Apr 02, 2013 Tom rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is an amazing, riveting, fast-paced memoir of a Polish officer part of the defeat wrought by the 1939 partition of Poland by Nazi Germany and Stalin's Russia. Published in 1944, Karski's memory is sharp as indignation is fierce as he recalls escape as a Russian POW into Hitler's Reich. There he escapes again to become part of the "Secret State": the Polish underground. This is organized and manifold as Karski describes. He also details his tasks and missions and cruelties suffered when he f...more

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Sep 15, 2012 Paul Doucette rated it 4 of 5 stars

Really enjoyed the book. It's written by a professor, sadly now deceased, of mine at Georgetown. Karski has got to be one of the few people smuggled into and out of the Nazi death camps in Poland. He eventually gained a private interview with FDR, giving the President undeniable proof of what the Nazis were doing in the death camps. Sadly the allies did not act on Karski's information.

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Jun 30, 2012 John rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: espionage, history

An impressive book, which might be an Alan Furst spy novel were it not a true account. This makes parts of Karski's story particualrly harrowing, leaving terrible images in the mind. I was glad that I'd visited Poland some years ago and had some background appreciation of its people and how much the effects of the war still endure. From my own conversations there, it all rang very true.

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May 22, 2013 Jim rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: best-books-i-ve-read

I was completely absorbed in this book. Jan Karski was a true hero. Having read this book it made me wonder if men were a different breed in those days, and how modern man would respond to the chilling ordeals that Jan Karski had to endure. Some segments of this book have left enduring imprints on my mind, and while I rarely read books a second time, I intend to keep this one for a second read in the future.

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Jun 23, 2012 Kay rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I had never read anything about occupied Poland before. This is a truly remarkable book, an incredible testimony of patriotism and courage. The most harrowing descriptions are those of the Warsaw Ghetto and an extermination camp, but the stories of ordinary Poles caught up in life and death situations are also incredibly moving.

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Mar 20, 2012 Natxo Cruz rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Magnífic relat personal d'un resistent polonés durant l'ocupació nazi, que va més enllà de la seva pròpia experiència en el conflicte per oferir un panorama detallat de les condicions que els alemanys van imposar al primer país que envairen el 1939.
Un llibre que ve a omplir un buit habitual en els manuals d'història, que deixen força de banda el paper de Polònia un cop derrotada (si no és per parlar de l'holocaust jueu i la solució final) i de la resistència polonesa en favor d'altres moviments...more

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Apr 14, 2013 Maria rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Story of a proud Polish patriot who began working for the Polish Underground and helped establish the Polish Government-in-exile during the German occupation of World War II.

He goes from a life of privilege as a 25 year old officer in the Polish army to a life of hiding, subterfuge and at times, exhausting anxiety borne from love of country.

When captured and tortured by the Gestapo: "I had to persist in my story as if it were a magical incantation that would prevent me from blurting out the dama...more

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Mar 16, 2013 Joan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads, non-fiction, biography, education, reviewed

As a lover of history and the humanity of past eras, I have read several Holocaust accounts. However, I had never heard the story of the Polish Underground. This book is the account of one man who survived the war as a key member of that organization. I was saddened, amazed and entranced while reading this account of his work within the Polish Underground. Written in the 1940s, Jan Karski tried to inform the world of the atrocities being committed by the Germans against the Polish people, partic...more

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Aug 22, 2012 Karen rated it 5 of 5 stars

An incredibly well written book by a true hero. Karski draws us into the world of the Polish Underground and gives us a small perspective of what it was like to live in Poland during the war.
As well as his underground work, he shares with us his writing talent, making the horrible experiences and stories of heroism come to life. I couldn't put it down.

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Dec 02, 2012 wintermute314 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

Karski wrote this immediately after the war and it shows. Sometimes he carefully avoids mentioning names probably because these people might still have been active under the communist occupation.
The book sometimes really has the structure of a report and the description of the structure of the secret state of Poland can be somewhat tedious.

The high point of the book is the harrowing account of his secret visits to the Warsaw ghetto and the extermination camp at Belzec. Karski risked his live to...more

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Jul 30, 2012 Hannah Gibbons rated it 4 of 5 stars

I recommend this book so much, it was so interesting and because it was a biography knowing that everything in the book was true, made the historical as well as the personal bits so hard-hitting... In general I am an avid reader of books based around World War two, but this one taught me so much that I didn't know already... This is well worth the read!!

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Quotes from Story of a Secret State

“My dear girl,' I answered in high spirits, for I felt elated at being active again. 'You are about to witness the birth of an immortal literary masterpiece. In a few moments, I shall begin the composition of an eloquent letter. This letter is going to be received by everyone in the Reich who has a Polish name. Or at least that is what shall try to accomplish. We want to remidn everyone of Polish origin that, although they are nominally German, Polish blood continues to flow in their veins.'
Danuta interrupted my oratory.
'Calm down, Witold. Don't excite yourself so. If you raise your voice much louder you shan't have to send any letters. Everybody in the Third Reich will have heard you, including the Gestapo.” — 2 people liked it

“The photographer was installed in the back of an inconspicurous dry-goods store in the poorer neighbourhood of Warsaw. He seemed to know all about me. His job was to prepare a picture of me which resembled me sufficiently to be claimed as mine, but in which the features were so vague that I could disown it if the need should arise.
He was a bold, spry little man who hardly replied to my few remarks. His deliberate taciturnity was not lost on me and I remained quiet while he concentrated on the task of turning out what proved to be a miniature masterpiece of photographic ambiguity. When it was finished he handed it to me with a pleased smile. I glanced at it and marveled aloud at his skill.
'It's incredible,' I said. 'It makes me feel as though I had met myself before but can't quite remember where.” — 1 person liked it

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title link	preview: Story of a Secret State
avg rating	preview: Story of a Secret State Goodreads rating: 4.28 (155 ratings)
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/386085.Story_of_a_Secret_State?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347536069l/386085.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/386085.Story_of_a_Secret_State?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Story of a Secret State by Jan Karski[/url]

Story of a Secret State

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