Józef Garliński (14 October 1913 - 29 November 2005) was a Polish historian and

prose Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing. Prose differs most n ...

writer. He was a survivor of

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...

and wrote books on the history of World War II, some of which were translated into English. In particular, his book '' Fighting Auschwitz'', translated into English in 1975, became a best-seller.

Biography

Garliński was born to LTC of the Polish Army and victim of the

Katyn Massacre The Katyn massacre was a series of mass killings under Communist regimes, mass executions of nearly 22,000 Polish people, Polish military officer, military and police officers, border guards, and intelligentsia prisoners of war carried out by t ...

, Jarosław Garliński, and Wanda Garlińska née Szymańska in Kiev on 14 October 1913. He studied at the Jesuit school Zakład Naukowo-Wychowawczy Ojców Jezuitów w Chyrowie. Garliński fought in the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the Army, land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military histor ...

during the

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

of 1939 and subsequently joined Polish resistance becoming a member of the

Armia Krajowa The Home Army (, ; 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) established in the ...

. He was arrested in April 1943 by the

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

and imprisoned in Pawiak prison, and later transferred to

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

and then to Neuengamme

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

s. Garliński arrived at the Auschwitz camp on 13 May 1943, and was given prisoner number 121421. After the war Garliński settled in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

. For a time he worked as an estate agent and an insurance salesman while researching and writing a number of books, many of them about Polish World War II history, such as ''Poland, SOE and the Allies'' (1969), particularly after his retirement when he completed doctoral studies in history at the International London School of Economics and Political Science. One of his best-known works was '' Fighting Auschwitz'', first published in Polish in 1974 and translated into English in 1975. His other works include ''Hitler's Last Weapons'' (1978) about the German

V-weapons V-weapons, known in original German as (, German: "retaliatory weapons", "reprisal weapons"), were a particular set of long-range artillery weapons designed for strategic bombing during World War II, particularly strategic bombing and Aerial ...

, ''Intercept'' (1979) on the wartime intelligence services, ''The Swiss Corridor'' (1981) about espionage in wartime Switzerland, and the more general history, ''Poland in the Second World War'' (1985). In 1991 he published his wartime autobiography, ''The Triumph of Love''. He died in London on 29 November 2005.

Works

Most of his works were not allowed to be published in communist Poland, and until the fall of communism, their Polish-language editions were published either abroad or in the Polish underground press. Partial list of his works includes: *''Matki i Żony'' (1962) * ''Ziemia'' (1964) *''Między Londynem i Warszawą'' (1966) *''Politycy i Żołnierze'' (1968, 1988, 1991) *''Poland, SOE and the Allies'' (1969) *''Polskie Państwo Podziemne 1939-1945'' (1974) * ''Oświęcim walczący'' (1974, 1992), translated into English as '' Fighting Auschwitz: the resistance movement in the concentration camp'' (1975 and numerous subsequent editions) *''Ostatnia broń Hitlera: V1 i V2'' (1977), translated to English as ''Hitler's Last Weapons: the underground war against the V1 and V2'' (1978) *''Dramat i opatrzność'' (1978) * ''Intercept: the Enigma war'' (UK, 1979), also published under the title ''The Enigma War'' (US, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1980) and in Polish as ''Enigma. Tajemnica drugiej wojny światowej'' (1999) * ''Szwajcarski korytarz'' (1981, 1987, 1989; English translation: ''The Swiss corridor: espionage networks in Switzerland during World War II'') * ''Polska w drugiej wojnie światowej'' (1982, 1988, 1991), translated into English as ''Poland in the Second World War'' (1985) *''W czterdziestą rocznicę. Agonia, walka i śmierć warszawskiego getta'' (1983) *''Niezapomniane lata. Dzieje Wywiadu Więziennego i Wydziału Bezpieczeństwa Komendy Głównej AK'' (1987) *''The Survival of Love. Memoirs of a Resistance Officer'' (1991) * ''Świat mojej pamięci'' (vols. 1–2, 1992–98) In 2018 the American publisher Aquila Polonica announced a plan to publish many of Garliński's works in English.

References

External links

* (obituary)

Biography

Works

References

External links

Further reading