The publication is available in Hebrew and can be downloaded from the embassy’s website.
The e-book contains 24 stories describing a wide range of events and episodes reflecting Polish wartime diplomatic efforts.
They include a ciphered cable sent by Polish Foreign Minister Józef Beck to Polish embassies in Paris and London on September 1, 1939, with instructions to notify the governments there of the German invasion of Poland; a statement by the Polish ambassador in Moscow, Wacław Grzybowski, in which he refused to accept a note justifying the Soviet aggression of Poland on September 17; and the history of the Polish foreign ministry in exile.
The e-book also contains a wealth of material focusing on Polish-Jewish relations, such as reports in which Holocaust whistle-blower Jan Karski informed the Allies about the mass extermination of Jews in German-occupied Poland, and the so-called Bern Group of Polish diplomats and Jewish activists based in Switzerland who helped Jews flee Europe by providing them with false passports.
One of the stories recalls a historic recital of Polish-born pianist Artur Rubinstein at the United Nations in San Francisco in 1945.
Outraged by the fact that Poland was not invited to attend the conference, Rubinstein stopped playing the piano and told the audience, which included a Soviet delegation, to stand up.
He said: “In this hall, where the great nations have gathered to make this world a better place, I don't see the flag of Poland, on behalf of which this cruel war was waged and so now I will play the Polish national anthem.”
(mk/gs)