PENGUIN CLASSICS STORY OF A SECRET STATE

'I do not pretend to have given an exhaustive picture of the Polish Underground, its organization and its activities.Because of our methods, I believe that there is no one today who could give an all-embracing recital…This book is a purely personal story, my story.'

Jan Karski's 1944 war memoir is a heroic act of witness: the courageous testimony of a man who risked everything for his country. At times overwhelming in the details it reveals of the suffering of ordinary people, it is an unforgettable and deeply affecting record of brutality, courage, and survival under conditions of extreme bleakness. During the first four years of World War II, Karski worked as a messenger for the underground, risking his life in secret missions. He was captured, tortured, rescued, smuggled through a tunnel into the Warsaw ghetto and, finally, disguised himself as a guard to infiltrate a Nazi death camp. Then, travelling across occupied Europe to England, with his eye-witness report smuggled on microfilm in the handle of a razor, he became the first man to tell the Allies about the Holocaust - only to be ignored.

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1
Defeat

On the night of 23 August 1939, I attended a particularly gay party. It was given by the son of the Portuguese Minister in Warsaw, Mr Susa de Mendes. He was about twenty-five, my age, and the two of us were good friends. He was the fortunate brother of five charming and beautiful sisters. I saw one of them frequently and was looking forward with keen anticipation to meeting her again that night.
I had not been back in Poland long. After my graduation from the University of Lwow in 1935 and the traditional year in the army, I went abroad, to Switzerland, Germany, and then to England pursuing researches in the highly interesting and erudite subject of demography. After three years spent in the great libraries of Europe, working at my thesis, improving my knowledge of French, German and English, and familiarizing myself with the customs of those nations, the death of my father recalled me to Warsaw.
Although demography – the science and statistics of populations – was, and has remained, my favorite subject, it was slowly becoming apparent that I had little or no aptitude for scientific writing. I dawdled and lingered in the completion of my doctor’s thesis and most of my work was rejected as unacceptable. This was the only cloud – and one that disturbed me little – in my otherwise clear and sunny prospect.
The atmosphere of the party was carefree, festive, and in some respects almost lyrical in mood. The huge drawing room of the Legation was adorned in elegant if somewhat romantic style. The wallpaper was a cool shade of blue and contrasted with the dark, severe Italian furniture. The lights were subdued and everywhere were ornate vases of long-stemmed flowers that added their scent to the perfumes of the gayly dressed women. The company was congenial and soon cheerful and excited discussions spread about the room. I remember some of the topics: a heated defense of the beauties of the Warsaw botanical gardens against the alleged superiority of rival spots in Europe; exchanges of opinions on the merits of the revival of the famous play, Madame Sans-Gêne; bits of scandal and the usual sorties of wit when someone discovered that my good friends, Stefan Leczewski and Mlle Marcelle Galopin, had vanished from the room – a custom of theirs. Politics were hardly touched.

‘Truly staggering' Ben Macintyre, The Times

‘Stands in the absolute first rank of books about the resistance in World War II. If you wish to read about a man more courageous and honourable than Jan Karski I would have no idea who to recommend. Yes, it's that good’ Alan Furst

‘Simultaneously thrilling and appalling … His is not a story of conventional heroism. It is a morally grave resistance in which any attack or escape is likely to cause the deaths of comrades or civilians … Karski provides an astonishing insight into the operation of the secret Polish state … His story deserves not just revival but reflection … Karski's electrifying words still speak only too eloquently for themselves' Marek Kohn, Independent

‘A cracking good read: Karski's adventures are worthy of the wildest spy thriller. In desperate frustration Karski wrote this book to record in searing detail what he had seen with his own eyes’ Nigel Jones, Daily Telegraph

‘Karski's vivid account of what he saw back in 1942 is still deeply moving. We feel his shock and incredulity that this could really be happening in 20th century 'civilised' Europe’ Tony Rennell, Daily Mail

‘Karski's account of his missions is an electrifying tale of false identities, near captures, spies and secret film capsules ... yet, in human terms, Karski's account is invaluable' Frank Trentmann, Sunday Express

‘Seared with an urgency that pitches the reader into the heart of the horror’ Ben Felsenburg, Metro