Poland in World War II: An Illustrated Military History (Illustrated Histories) [Hardcover]

Andrew Hempel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 31, 2000 | Series: Illustrated Histories

Poland's participation in World War II is generally little known in the West and is often reduced to stereotypes advanced by the media: German planes attacking the civilian population in 1939 and Polish cavalry charging German tanks. In actuality, it was not an easy victory for the Germans in 1939, and after the conquest of Poland, the Poles continued to fight in their homeland, on all European fronts, and in North Africa. This illustrated history is a concise presentation of the Polish military was effort in World War II, intermingled with factual human interest stories and 50 black and white photos and illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A notable amount of information is offered in a small package." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Andrew Hempel was born in Warsaw, Poland. In 1944 he was arrested in German-occupied Warsaw by the Gestapo and was sent to a German labour camp. After the war, he graduated from the University of London. He lives in Reading, Pennsylvania.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 150 pages
• Publisher: Hippocrene Books (May 31, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0781807581
• ISBN-13: 978-0781807586
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,651,988 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A concise overview of Poland's effort in WWII, June 12, 2003

By 

Richard J. Brzostek (New England, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Poland in World War II: An Illustrated Military History (Illustrated Histories) (Hardcover)

"Poland in World War II: An Illustrated Military History" by Andrew Hempel is a great overview of the Polish military effort in the second World War. This book is a concise outline, and not a lengthy volume, so it makes a great introduction to the topic. With more than 50 black-and-white photographs, the people and events described are brought to life.

As this book is concise and written in a straightforward manner, it makes great reading for young people or even postgraduates like me interested in the topic.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but way too short, September 7, 2001

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Poland in World War II: An Illustrated Military History (Illustrated Histories) (Hardcover)

This book is a neat little introduction to Poland's participation in World War II. It begins with a quick, six-page overview of Polish history prior to WWII, and then launches into the war. This book is quite short, being a mere 106 pages when the bibliography and index are not counted (in the hardcover, 2000 edition). However, it contains many excellent black-and-white pictures, but no maps at all.

Overall, I liked this book, but did find it a little too short to be of much value. It would make a good book for younger readers, who need a (very) short overview of Polish activity during the war. But, I would not recommend it for adult readers.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Primer on Polish Armed Action in WWII, August 9, 2007

By 

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

This review is from: Poland in World War II: An Illustrated Military History (Illustrated Histories) (Hardcover)

The brevity of this book doesn't detract from its usefulness. Moreover, there is a "For Further Reading" section at the end. This book is ideal for those seeking an introduction to this topic.

There is a brief history of Poles-in-Arms, with mention of Sobieski at Vienna, Napoleon's Polish Legions, the 1830 and 1863 insurrections against Russia, re-acquisition of Polish independence in 1918, the 1920 Polish-Bolshevik War, etc.

Moving on to WWII, one reads about the German conquest of Poland and ensuing brutal German actions against Poles and Jews, early Polish guerilla resistance (e. g., Hubal), the Polish solution of ENIGMA, Katyn; Poles in the French campaign, the Battle of Britain, Normandy and Arnhem; the Warsaw Uprising, etc. Polish soldiers constituted 10% of Zhukov's and Koniev's armies in their taking of Berlin.

Perhaps the greatest value of Hempel's little book is his refutation of certain anti-Polish myths. Against the one about the Polish Air Force being destroyed on the ground on the first day of the German blitzkrieg, he gives the example of the Warsaw Fighter Brigade. On Sept. 1-6, it alone was responsible for shooting down 43 German planes and damaging another 29--all at a cost of 38 of its own planes (p. 10).

Hempel also debunks the myth of Polish cavalry charging German tanks (p. 11). An invention of German propaganda, this canard has become widely believed by both non-Poles and Poles through frequent retelling. In actuality, cavalry units would only attempt a charge against a motorized unit if there was a hole in the deployment of the motorized unit and the cavalry unit sought to avoid encirclement. Otherwise, members of the cavalry, when in a combat encounter with an armored unit, would dismount and attempt to fight the tanks as an infantry unit. In the above-cited instance, the flow of battle had placed a Polish cavalry unit in the line of fire from a German mechanized unit before the Poles could dismount. Thus there were dead Polish soldiers found mounted on dead horses. An Italian photographer was later brought to the scene, at which time a German distorted the combat events into the fairy tale of Polish cavalry charging German tanks.