Diary from the Years of Occupation 1939-44 [Hardcover]

Zygmunt Klukowski (Author), George Klukowski (Translator)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Klukowski's journal entry for May 30, 1943, reads: "We are still afraid of the Germans, but now the Germans are afraid of us." For diarist and reader alike, that observation posits the first realistic hope that the enemy ultimately will be routed. Because of his post as superintendent of a county hospital in southeastern Poland, Klukowski (1885-1959), unlike the Jews and others among his fellow Christians, was not transported to a concentration camp. Near war's end, his virtually depopulated city was already resettled by Germans. A doctor by profession, a writer, historian and book collector by avocation, Klukowski determined to record daily life under the occupation, unflinchingly noting the actions of informers, looters and collaborators, along with the small and large heroisms he witnessed. No matter how familiar the brutality of the Nazis, readers will respond anew to Klukowski's rendering of the round-ups of Jews, of the transports of gentiles to labor camps, of the reprisal killings for sabotage, of the scarcity of food, heat and medicine. The diary is unusual in its depiction of a region's population at large, gentiles as well as Jews, making this a document of historical value. Originally published in Poland in 1958, the book is translated by the author's late son and edited by his American grandchildren. Photos not seen by PW .
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

One hopes that Klukowski's Diary will serve as a lasting testament to both human courage and dignity under totalitarian rule. Klukowski was a doctor in the town of Szcebrezezyn, in the southeastern corner of Poland, who saw brief service in the military in 1939. After the defeat by the Nazis, he returned home, where, through untiring perseverance and dedication, he kept the local hospital in operation during the entire war. He maintained his diary despite constant harassment by the Nazis, crafting each entry with a balance and care that is quietly moving and historically invaluable. His entries regarding the treatment of Jews in Szcebrezezyn are of special interest, as are his general descriptions of German policies. This fine memoir is recommended for all libraries with European collections.
- Joseph W. Constance Jr., St. Anselm Coll. Lib., Manchester, N.H.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 371 pages
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press; First edition (March 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0252019601
• ISBN-13: 978-0252019609
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,449,269 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent diary of a Polish citizen during WW2, October 17, 2010

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Diary from the Years of Occupation 1939-44 (Hardcover)

FIT THE BILL AS A DOCUMENT TELLING OF DAY TO DAY EXPERIENCES OF LOCAL DOCTOR IN TOWN IN SOUTH EASTERN POLAND DURING GERMAN OCCUPATION IN WW2. BOOK ARRIVED PROMPTLY AND WAS AS DESCRIBED , IN EXCELLENT CONDITION.

5.0 out of 5 stars Unique book and one you will not find in a bookstore., August 27, 2010

By 

J. Nayman (Oakland, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Diary from the Years of Occupation 1939-44 (Hardcover)

Loved this book! First hand account of what it was like living in Poland under Nazi occupation during WWII. It doesn't get much more real than this! A unique book...not one you would likely find in a bookstore.

3 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Polish Conduct in Wartime Context: Correcting the Distortions of Jan T. Gross, January 23, 2009

By 

Jan Peczkis "Scholar and Thinker" (Chicago IL, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Diary from the Years of Occupation 1939-44 (Hardcover)

This diary, centered on Szczebrzeszyn/Zamosc and environs, touches on daily life during the 1939 German-Soviet conquest of Poland, the German occupation, German preparations for Operation Barbarossa, Odilo Globocnik's de-Polonization project and Polish guerrilla resistance against it (e. g., pp. 229-233, 253-254), etc.

What about the Zydokomuna? During the 1939 Soviet/German transfer of territory, "Many Jews left Szczebrzeszyn with the Soviet army, especially those who were part of the Red militia." (p. 38).

The German occupation was characterized by: Confiscation of educational materials (p. 72, 106), mass murders--especially of the Polish intelligentsia (p. 140), the destruction of youth (p. 87), destruction of churches (p. 112), destruction of national culture (p. 140), mass deportations for forced labor (p. 137), promotion of alcoholism (p. 132), etc. For all the current emphasis on Jews and Poles being unequal victims, their experiences overlapped considerably: "It is legal for Germans to shoot Poles and Jews." (p. 101). "The Germans are beating the workers for no reason, Poles as well as Jews." (p. 121). "The Germans are taking good furniture, carpets, and paintings from private homes, not only Jewish but Polish also." (p. 125). "...the court building...a sign reading,`Jews and Poles Not Allowed'." (p. 134).

Klukowski's diary has been twisted by professional Polonophobe Jan T. Gross into an indictment of Polish conduct against Jews. Ironically, Klukowski himself warned against this: "Yesterday, a general destruction and looting of the stores took place, Polish and Jewish. But since there are more Jewish establishments than Polish, the common statement was, `They are plundering the Jews'." (p. 28).

Throughout this diary, there is frequent mention of mostly Pole-on-Pole robbery and banditry (including murder) (p. 28,30,128,137,163,181,187,195,198, 201, 212, 216, 217, 244). In fact, "Approximately 30 robberies take place each day [at Zamosc]".(p. 199). The rampant banditry is what explains eventual anti-Jewish attitudes: "There are several Jews active with the bandits. The villages have turned against the Jews because of this and try to find them in the fields and forests. It is hard to believe but the attitude toward Jews is changing. There are many people who see the Jews not as human beings but as animals that must be destroyed." (p. 227).

Now consider Pole-on-Pole denunciations:

(p. 57,77,85,87,89,110,136,205,232,249,256,257,258,335). These stemmed from such things as social de-moralization (p. 77), simple meanness (p. 87), etc. Klukowski's obvious bias towards recording ignoble Pole-on-Pole conduct explains the frequency of his references to comparable ignoble Pole-on-Jew conduct. Finally, all the Polish misdeeds must be placed in proper geographical and numerical context, so as not to appear more common than they actually were. They occurred not in one small village, but over a large geographic area, out of a sampled population base of many thousands of Poles.

Gross misrepresents "our own gendarmes" and "Blue Police" killing Jews. (p. 219). Actually, the gendarmes and part of the "Blue Police" were Volksdeutsche (p. 222), and the ethnic Poles in the "Blue Police", usually not collaborators, were often forced by the Germans to perform collaborative deeds. Also, not mentioned is the fact that: "...the Jewish police are very active in hunting the Jews. They know the hiding places..." (p. 223). It is also forgotten that fugitive Jews turning themselves in was a "common occurrence". (pp. 225-226).

Poles hid and aided Jews. (p. 237,247,256). Ridicule of suffering Jews was true of SOME Poles (p. 102,197), as were expressions of sympathy by "the whole [Polish] population" (pp. 163-164) in other instances. The Gross-emphasized Polish "acquisitiveness" of post-Jewish properties was also true of German-abandoned properties. (pp. 161-162).

On another subject, mention is made of the administrative and other privileges of Ukrainian collaborators (p. 83,106,114,159,269), their settling at the expense of Poles (p. 272), and of their assassinations by Poles (p. 273,293,304). The latter has been misrepresented by past and present OUN-UPA apologists as an ethnic cleansing of Ukrainians, and made into a pretext for the OUN-UPA genocide of Poles further east, and in the area. (p. 259,286,310,316-317).