Poland Military History

In 1683, an Ottoman army of over 140,000 men arrived before the walls of Vienna. The forces of King John III Sobieski of Poland arrived in the nick of time, defeating the Turks and saving the city. This is the king’s account of the events, addressed to his wife, Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d'Arquien.

Luego de finalizada la I Guerra Mundial, quedó muy claro que el país más afectado fue Alemania. De este escenario se aprovecharía el jefe del partido Nazi Adolf Hitler, quien gracias a una prédica incendiaria, nacionalista, xenófoba y racista, buscaría iniciar una nueva guerra. Polonia, el débil país vecino del Este, sería su primer objetivo, iniciando así la II Guerra Mundial en 1939.

Starting as early as 1939, disparate Jewish underground movements coalesced around the shared goal of liberating Poland from Nazi occupation. For the next six years, separately and in concert, they waged a heroic war of resistance against Hitler's war machine that culminated in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. In Isaac's Army, Matthew Brzezinski delivers the first-ever comprehensive narrative account of that struggle, following a group of dedicated young Jews - some barely out of their teens - whose individual acts of defiance helped rewrite the ending of World War II.

A chronicle of the experiences of Sigmund Weiss as a teenager trying to survive during the turbulence of Hitler’s mad aggression towards Poland and the Jews. A story about an escape that was near impossible and totally unlikely without luck, courage, and miracles all happening together.

Ordinary Men explores the actions of a group of German police officers — Reserve Police Battalion 101 — that repeatedly carried out mass murder in Nazi Germany. Browning's text explores how seemingly average men became capable of committing horrific atrocities. This audio study guide presents the same expert content — written by experienced teachers, professors, and literary scholars — in an easy-to-access audio format.

"My good friends," the mustached, bony man with thick eyebrows and large, strong teeth somewhat reminiscent of those of a horse, shouted to the crowds from the second-floor window of his house at 10 Downing Street, "this is the second time in our history, that there has come back to Downing Street from Germany peace with honor. I believe it is peace for our time." (McDonough, 1998, 70).

"At the Mercy of Strangers" is an important addition to Holocaust literature for a number of reasons. It is a document about the survival of one individual and her two children. As a first hand account about survival during the Holocaust, it offers unique insight. It also documents how Polish friends, acquaintances and even strangers helped to ensure the survival of one Jewish family during the bleak days of the Holocaust. These acts of bravery are fully documented, and the 'mercy of strangers' must not be forgotten.

Today, streets, bridges, monuments, and even neighborhoods bear Tadeusz Kościuszko’s name across the country, and in Polish communities, he is often hailed as a hero equal to General Washington himself. Tadeusz Kościuszko: The Life and Legacy of Poland’s Most Famous General profiles one of the Revolutionary War’s most important figures.

This audio tells the stories of Polish Holocaust survivors and their rescuers. The authors traveled extensively in the United States and Poland to interview some of the few remaining participants before their generation is gone. Tammeus and Cukierkorn unfold many stories that have never before been made public: gripping narratives of Jews who survived against all odds and courageous non-Jews who risked their own lives to provide shelter.

In the beginning, America didn’t have a good chance of winning the war against Britain. Britain had an impressive fleet, and their military was well-trained and supplied. The American soldiers, on the other hand, were untrained and under-supplied. Luckily, as the war progressed, America gained allies in France, Poland, Spain, and Germany. Listen on about how an alliance was formed and what its effects are.