ISBN: Ostalo
Godina izdanja: 2222
Jezik: Engleski
Autor: Strani

Story of a Secret State (naslov u novijim izdanjima: Story of a Secret State: My Report to the World) je ratni memoar poljskog diplomate i kurira pokreta otpora Jana Karskog, prvi put objavljen u SAD 1944. godine. Knjiga detaljno opisuje Karskov rad za poljsku podzemnu državu tokom nemačke i sovjetske okupacije Poljske u Drugom svetskom ratu.

Ključni elementi priče
Aktivnosti u pokretu otpora: Karski je radio kao kurir između poljskog podzemlja i poljske vlade u egzilu, koja se nalazila prvo u Francuskoj, a potom u Londonu.
Svedok Holokausta: Knjiga sadrži jedan od prvih autentičnih izveštaja o sistematskom istrebljenju Jevreja. Karski se dva puta tajno uvukao u Varšavski geto i ušao u tranzitni logor Izbica (koji je u prvom izdanju knjige nazvao Belzec) prerušen u ukrajinskog stražara.
Misija na Zapadu: Poslednja poglavlja opisuju Karskov put na Zapad 1942. i 1943. godine, gde je preneo svoja svedočanstva o Holokaustu i stanju u Poljskoj vodećim savezničkim liderima, uključujući britanskog ministra spoljnih poslova Entonija Idna i američkog predsednika Frenklina Ruzvelta.

Istorijski značaj i izdanja
Senzacija iz 1944. godine: Knjiga je odmah po objavljivanju postala bestseler, prodata u preko 350.000 do 400.000 primeraka u SAD, informišući zapadnu javnost o obimu poljskog otpora i stradanju Jevreja.
Cenzura i revizija: Zbog komunističke cenzure, knjiga je u Poljskoj prvi put objavljena tek 1999. godine. To izdanje je Karski značajno revidirao, dodajući stvarne datume i imena koja je prvobitno izostavio iz bezbednosnih razloga ili zbog tadašnje političke klime.
An incredible eyewitness account of wartime resistance, and `an astonishing testament of survival` (Ben Macintyre, The Times)

In 1939 Jan Karski was a brilliant young student enjoying a life of parties and pleasure. Then war broke out and his gilded world was destroyed. Recruited into the Polish underground resistance, he was entrusted with a clandestine mission that would endanger his own life in order to try and save millions. Story of a Secret State is his extraordinary account of what happened.

`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` Alan Furst
Jan Karski’s Story of a Secret State stands as one of the most poignant and inspiring memoirs of World War II and the Holocaust. With elements of a spy thriller, documenting his experiences in the Polish Underground, and as one of the first accounts of the systematic slaughter of the Jews by the German Nazis, this volume is a remarkable testimony of one man’s courage and a nation’s struggle for resistance against overwhelming oppression.

Karski was a brilliant young diplomat when war broke out in 1939 with Hitler’s invasion of Poland. Taken prisoner by the Soviet Red Army, which had simultaneously invaded from the East, Karski narrowly escaped the subsequent Katyn Forest Massacre. He became a member of the Polish Underground, the most significant resistance movement in occupied Europe, acting as a liaison and courier between the Underground and the Polish government-in-exile. He was twice smuggled into the Warsaw Ghetto, and entered the Nazi’s Izbica transit camp disguised as a guard, witnessing first-hand the horrors of the Holocaust.

Karski’s courage and testimony, conveyed in a breathtaking manner in Story of a Secret State, offer the narrative of one of the world’s greatest eyewitnesses and an inspiration for all of humanity, emboldening each of us to rise to the challenge of standing up against evil and for human rights. This definitive edition—which includes a foreword by Madeleine Albright, a biographical essay by Yale historian Timothy Snyder, an afterword by Zbigniew Brzezinski, previously unpublished photos, notes, further reading, and a glossary—is an apt legacy for this hero of conscience during the most fraught and fragile moment in modern history.

SUBJECTS World War, 1939-1945, Polish Personal narratives, History, Guerre mondiale, 1939-1945, Mémoires et souvenirs, Histoire, World War (1939-1945) fast (OCoLC)fst01180924, Occupation of Poland (1939-1945) fast (OCoLC)fst01353902