Late in the Day - II

Marius Labentowicz has written in response to my post Late in the Day, about the Polish contribution to Britain's war effort during the Second World War. I'm most grateful to him for having taken the time and trouble to provide all the information in his letter.

Dear David,

I really appreciate your post "Late in the day", with that photo depicting those pilots, who are standing beside a Liberator bomber, (they might had been Poles too [yes, they were, DM]) on some British airfield. Thank you.

Let me please describe for your readers this not well known detail about the 1946 Victory Parade in London. Actually, there were some Poles who got an invitation to the Parade. The only representatives of the Polish Army invited to the London Victory Parade in 1946 were the pilots of the 303 Fighter Squadron who fought in the RAF.

The 303 Kosciuszko Fighter Squadron was the most effective Polish squadron during the Second World War, it achieved the highest number of kills from amongst 66 Allied fighter squadrons engaged in the Battle of Britain, even though it was late in joining combat 2 months after the battle had begun.

ITS PILOTS DECIDED TO REFUSE THE INVITATION SINCE NO OTHER POLISH UNITS HAD BEEN INVITED.


Below is a photo of some of the Squadron's pilots

303 squadron pilots. From the left side: Sgt. Stasik, P/O Socha, P/O Kolecki, F/O Lipiński, F/O Horbaczewski, F/O Schmidt, F/Sgt Giermar (on the wing), F/Lt Zumbach, S/Ldr Kołaczewski, F/Lt Żak, F/Sgt Popek, F/O Bieńkowski, F/O Kłosin, F/O Kolubiński, F/Sgt Karczmarz, F/Sgt Sochacki, F/Sgt Wojciechowski and on the propeller F/O Głowacki (May 1942, Northolt).

From The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum London.

******

Well, to finish this story, I have to mention about this book (there's also the Polish edition of it, with Norman Davies' introduction to it, it was published in Nov. 2004 in Poland) by American authors Lynn Olson and Stanley Cloud.

The book's title - "A Question of Honor" - tells exactly why the
Polish fighter-pilots refused to go to the Parade of 1946 in London.

P.S.

I think, anyone who is interested in the WWII history should read this well-written book, on top of that, its authours also bring to us personal stories of the five Squadron's pilots after the War. As for ex. Jan Zumbach's story - who in the '60s became a mercenary in Congo-Katanga.


Marius


A few more links below:


http://www.writtenvoices.com/books/questionofhonorcov2.jpg

A Question of Honor: The Forgotten Polish Heroes of World War II
by Lynn Olson and Stanley Cloud

Excerpted from the Publisher:

About the book:

A Question of Honor is the gripping, little-known, and brilliantly told story of the scores of Polish fighter pilots who helped save England during the Battle of Britain and of their stunning betrayal by the United States and England at the end of World War II.

Centering on five pilots of the renowned Kosciuszko Squadron, the authors show how the fliers, driven by their passionate desire to liberate their homeland, came to be counted among the most heroic and successful fighter pilots of World War II. Drawing on the Kosciuszko Squadron's unofficial diary -- filled with the fliers' personal experiences in combat -- and on letters, interviews, memoirs, histories, and photographs, the authors bring the men and battles of the squadron vividly to life. We follow the principal characters from their training before the war, through their hair-raising escape from Poland to France and then, after the fall of France, to Britain. We see how, first treated with disdain by the RAF, the Polish pilots played a crucial role during the Battle of Britain, where their daredevil skill in engaging German Messerschmitts in close and deadly combat while protecting the planes in their own groups soon made them legendary. And we learn what happened to them after the war, when their country was abandoned and handed over to the Soviet Union.

A Question of Honor also gives us a revelatory history of Poland during World War II and of the many thousands in the Polish armed forces who fought with the Allies. It tells of the country's unending struggle against both Hitler and Stalin, its long battle for independence, and the tragic collapse of that dream in the "peace" that followed.

Powerful, moving, deeply involving, A Question of Honor is an important addition to the literature of World War II.

Reviews:

"A Question of Honor is exciting and compelling, a fine story too rarely told, a tribute to the Polish fighting spirit, and a well-written war history about a distant but very good neighbor."

--Alan Furst, author of Blood of Victory, Dark Star, and Night Soldiers.

"The Polish airmen who escaped their savaged country in 1939 made a major contribution to the Royal Air Force's victory in the Battle of Britain in 1940. 303 Squadron, which they formed, was the most successful of all RAF units in shooting down German aircraft attempting to bomb Britain into surrender. Their subsequent treatment by the British government, including its refusal to let the survivors march in the Victory Parade of 1946 in craven deference to Stalin, was one of the most shameful episodes of the Cold War."

--Sir John Keegan, author of The Face of Battle, A History of Warfare and The Second World War

"A gripping account of personal gallantry and of political treachery. On a par with the recent best-sellers about the fighting men of World War II."

--Zbigniew Brzezinski, National Security Adviser to President Jimmy Carter

"This book presents us with one of the most disgraceful ethical horrors of World War II -- how, believing the need to support Stalin at all costs, we discredited, and later neglected, our oldest, bravest, and most trustworthy ally in order to conceal the truth of a revolting crime."

--Robert Conquest, author of Stalin and The Great Terror

"Following up the acclaimed The Murrow Boys: Pioneers on the Frontlines of Broadcast Journalism, the authors offer a solid addition to WWII aviation history . . . the political balance they bring to telling the political story is noteworthy."

--Publishers Weekly

"Olson and Cloud (coauthors, The Murrow Boys) tell the fascinating story of the Polish fighter pilots who helped defend England during World War II's Battle of Britain and the Allies' shameful ignoring of the Poles at war's end. This powerful history belongs in World War II collections . . ."

--Library Journal

A lively tale of Poland's famed WWII fighter wing . . . A fine portrait, and a well-placed condemnation of a shameful episode in history: the betrayal of Poland.

--Kirkus Reviews

About the authors:

Lynne Olson and Stanley Cloud are co-authors of The Murrow Boys, a biography of the correspondents whom Edward R. Murrow hired before and during World War II to create CBS News. Olson is the author of Freedom's Daughters: The Unsung Heroines of the Civil Rights Movement from 1830 to 1970. Cloud, a former Washington bureau chief for Time, was also a national political correspondent, White House correspondent, Saigon bureau chief, and Moscow correspondent for Time.

Olson was a Moscow correspondent for the Associated Press and White House correspondent for the Baltimore Sun. She and Cloud are married and live in Washington, D.C.

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http://polish-jewish-heritage.org/Eng/mar_03_review.htm

REVIEW OF "A QUESTION OF HONOR" - EXCHANGE OF LETTERS BETWEEN THE AUTHORS AND THE REVIEWER

LETTER BY FORMER FOREIGN MINISTER WLADYSLAW BARTOSZEWSKI

http://www.questionofhonor.com/olson_cloud_QA.htm