Udzial Polakow W. Drugiej Wojnie Swiatowej [Poles’ participation in the Second World War]

Celebrating Poland’s many contributions to Allied victory in World War II.

This striking map of Europe was originally issued in the mid-1960s to commemorate Poland’s tremendous contributions to final Allied victory during World War II. The central image presents a military summary of the conflict using contemporary borders; noting the directions of combat operations, lines of advance, formation areas, and more. Five further maps on either side provide additional details regarding specific themes – Poland’s Defensive War, Polish Units in France, Poles in the European Resistance Movement, Combat Operations of Polish Partisans, and the Polish Navy/Polish Aviation.

A narrative in the lower right provides a brief historical summary of many of the major wartime engagements of the Polish Army, from initial resistance against German invasion to foreign operations and the ultimate liberation of the Fatherland. Heavy emphasis is given to the activities of the Polish Armed Forces in the East, those units formed in the Soviet Union during the war.

Despite the heroic image presented, Poland’s suffering during World War II is unfathomable. While determining casualty levels on this scale with pinpoint accuracy is extremely difficult, it’s estimated that about six million Poles died (many in the Holocaust) – approximately 20% of the entire pre-war population. Most of the survivors endured some form of malnutrition, disease, enslavement, or other serious hardships. Several of the nation’s major cities -Warsaw, Poznań, and Białystok – were utterly destroyed by German (and Russian) artillery and aerial bombardments.

The map was designed by Stanislaw Gac and Wieslaw Szota and includes its original folder. Originally published ‘as a school aid in teaching history’ (text on folder) in 1966 by the National Defence Publishing House (Wydawnictwo Ministerstwe Obrony Narodowej), with printing by the Geological Publishing House (Wydawnictwa Geologiczne). A printer’s code in the lower right of the sheet indicates this might be a somewhat later version, from the 1970s.

Several entries in WorldCat reference a version printed in 1967 (likely this same edition), though they are scarce in institutional holdings (less than a dozen globally) and the map is uncommon on the open market.

Sources: OCLC# 750777641, 969787902, and others; Warsaw Institute; Ohio State University; National WWII Museum;