''Kamienie na szaniec'' (lit. ''Stones for the Rampart'', also translated as ''Stones on the Barricade'') is a 1943

non-fiction novel The non-fiction novel is a literary genre which, broadly speaking, depicts real historical figures and actual events woven together with fictitious conversations and uses the storytelling techniques of fiction. The non-fiction novel is an otherwi ...

by Polish writer

Aleksander Kamiński Aleksander Kamiński, assumed name: ''Aleksander Kędzierski''. Also known under aliases such as ''Dąbrowski'', ''J. Dąbrowski, Fabrykant, Faktor, Juliusz Górecki, Hubert, Kamyk, Kaźmierczak, Bambaju'' (born 28 January 1903 in Warsaw, died 15 ...

. Published by the

Polish underground press Polish underground press, devoted to prohibited materials ( sl. pl, bibuła, lit. semitransparent blotting paper or, alternatively, pl, drugi obieg, lit. second circulation), has a long history of combatting censorship of oppressive regimes in ...

during the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

occupation of Poland Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

, the book describes the acts of sabotage and armed resistance carried out by the Polish underground scout movement, the Grey Ranks, of whom Kamiński was one of the instructors and leaders. Already immensely popular during World War II, after the war the book entered the canon of

Polish literature Polish literature is the literary tradition of Poland. Most Polish literature has been written in the Polish language, though other languages used in Poland over the centuries have also contributed to Polish literary traditions, including Latin, ...

and remains a recommended reading text for Polish students in the secondary school curriculum. It was adapted into two feature films, in 1978 and in 2014.

Origin

''Kamienie na szaniec'' was published by the

in 1943, during the period of German

. The author

was a member of the Polish

Armia Krajowa The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) esta ...

(Home Army) resistance movement, editor of the underground ''

Biuletyn Informacyjny ''Biuletyn Informacyjny'' ("Information Bulletin") was a Polish underground weekly published covertly in General Government territory of occupied Poland during World War II. The magazine was edited by Aleksander Kamiński and distributed as the ...

'' magazine, and one of the instructors and leaders of the Polish underground scout movement, the Grey Ranks, which took an active role in the resistance through various acts of minor resistance known as

small sabotage A minor sabotage (''aka'' little sabotage or small sabotage; pl, mały sabotaż) during World War II in Nazi-occupied Poland (1939–45) was any underground resistance operation that involved a disruptive but relatively minor and non-violen ...

. Kamiński based his story on the memoirs of

Tadeusz Zawadzki Tadeusz Leon Józef Zawadzki, assumed surname: ''Tadeusz Zieliński'', Pseudonym, alias ''"Kajman"'', ''"Kotwicki"'', ''"Lech Pomarańczowy"'', ''"Tadeusz"'', ''"Zośka"'' (born on January 24, 1921, in Warsaw, died on August 20, 1943, in Sieczychy) ...

("Zośka"), a 22-year-old member of the Grey Ranks.

Plot

File:Maciej Aleksy Dawidowski - Alek.jpg, "

Alek Alek is a given name and alternative form of Alec. Notable people with the name include: * Alek Bédard (born 1996), Canadian curler * Alek D. Epstein (born 1975), Russian-Israeli sociologist of culture and politics * Alek Dzhabrailov (1976-2 ...

" File:Tadeusz Zawadzki - Zośka.jpg, " Zośka" File:Jan Bytnar.jpg, "

Rudy Rudy or Rudi is a masculine given name, sometimes short for Rudolf, Rudolph, Rawad, Rudra, Ruairidh, or variations thereof, a nickname and a surname which may refer to: People Given name or nickname *Rudolf Rudy Andeweg (born 1952), Dutch poli ...

" The story portrayed in the book is a slightly fictionalized account of real lives of Gray Rank members (known by their noms-de-guerre of "

", " Zośka", and "

"), with the final act centred on the

Operation Arsenal The Operation Arsenal, code name: "Meksyk II" ( pl, Akcja pod Arsenałem) was the first major operation by the Gray Ranks, Polish Underground formation during the Nazi German occupation of Poland. It took place on March 26, 1943 in Warsaw. Its n ...

. The book tells the story of a group of Polish boy-scouts taking part in resistance movements in nazi-occupied Warsaw. A major part of the book revolves around trying to rescue "Rudy" from

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

captivity. Despite the success of the operation, "Rudy" dies shortly afterwards from grave injuries caused by torture during German interrogations, with "Zośka" by his side. "Alek" dies at the same time from wounds sustained during the rescue, while "Zośka" is killed a few months later in another operation.

Significance

The title of the book comes from ''

Testament mój ''Testament mój'' (variously translated as ''My Testament'', ''My Last Will'', ''The Testament of Mine'', ''My Will and Testament'' and likewise) is a poem written by Juliusz Słowacki, one of the Three Bards of Polish poetry, in Paris around 183 ...

'' (''My Testament''), a poem by

Juliusz Słowacki Juliusz Słowacki (; french: Jules Slowacki; 4 September 1809 – 3 April 1849) was a Polish Romantic poet. He is considered one of the "Three Bards" of Polish literature — a major figure in the Polish Romantic period, and the father of mode ...

, and refers to the insurrectionist traditions of

Polish romanticism Romanticism in Poland, a literary, artistic and intellectual period in the evolution of Polish culture, began around 1820, coinciding with the publication of Adam Mickiewicz's first poems in 1822. It ended with the suppression of the January 1863 ...

. In that book, Kamiński redefines the meaning of

scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

in times of military conflict. According to the critic Maciej Górny, describing the book's role in the complexity of subsequent events of Polish history, it became "one of the main Polish narratives of the Second World War, appealing to sentiments of national heroism as well as contributing to symbolic self-victimization." The relevant passage from Słowacki's poem is:

Publication

''Kamienie na szaniec'' was published in Poland twice before the war ended, and 17 times before 1993. The book was published in English as ''Stones for the Rampart: The story of two lads in the Polish underground movement'' in 1944, and in Czech in 1948.

Reception

Despite difficulties in distribution, it quickly gained popularity in occupied Poland. Over the years the book, described as "canonical", became a recommended reading text for Polish students in the secondary school curriculum. At first, however, the book's popularity had been of concern to the Polish communist authorities after the war, due to their ambivalent or even hostile attitude towards the Home Army tradition. In the first years of communist rule, it was either criticized as irresponsible, or suppressed. It was republished following the liberalization of 1956, and eventually it was included in the recommended texts for schoolchildren even before the

fall of communism in Poland Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( South ...

Film adaptations

The book was made into a movie, ''

Akcja pod Arsenałem ''Akcja pod Arsenałem'' (English: ''Operation Arsenal'') is a Polish historical film, based on the novel ''Kamienie na szaniec'' by Aleksander Kamiński,Jan Łomnicki Jan Łomnicki (30 June 1929 – 18 December 2002) was a Polish film director and screenwriter. A graduate of the National Film School in Łódź. He directed more than thirty films between 1954 and 2000. His 1976 film ''To Save the City'' ( ...

in 1978. A new film based on the book, directed by

Robert Gliński Robert Ignacy Gliński (born 17 April 1952 in Warsaw) is a Polish film director and screenwriter. A graduate of the National Film School in Łódź. He won the Golden Lions at the Gdynia Film Festival in 1992 with his film '' Wszystko, co najw ...

, was released in Poland on March 7, 2014. It was promoted by the song "4:30" by Polish singer

Dawid Podsiadło Dawid Henryk Podsiadło (; born 23 May 1993) is a Polish singer-songwriter who won the second series of '' X Factor'' in 2012. He received PLN 100,000 and a recording contract with Sony Music. On the show, he was mentored by Tatiana Okupnik. ...

References

External links

* (film) {{in lang, pl
''Stones for the Rampart: The story of two lads in the Polish underground movement''
at WorldCat 1943 novels Non-fiction novels Novels set in Warsaw Polish novels adapted into films Scouting and Guiding in Poland Novels set during World War II Works about Operation Arsenal