Warsaw Rising (History of 2nd World War)

By: Deschner, Gunther

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• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345097556
• ISBN13: 9780345097552
• Release Date: January 1972
• Publisher: Pan Macmillan
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A Generally Good Overview of the Warsaw Uprising for the American Reader

American popular and semi-popular history series of WWII seldom contain anything related to Polish sacrifices and achievements in WWII. This book, which is a part of the BALLANTINE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE VIOLENT CENTURY series, is a notable exception. Gunther (Guenther) Deschner, the author, is a German who was too young to have meaningfully experienced WWII. His attempt at detail and objectivity is obvious, and he believes that both Poles and Germans made strategic blunders during the Uprising. Deschner approaches the Uprising chronologically. He includes significant detail about the Kaminski and Dirlewanger SS units, and their mass murders of tens of thousands of Polish civilians. Deschner stresses the well-armed state of the Germans, and contrasts it with a German estimate of only the equivalent of 2,500 Polish fighters being armed (p. 45). In addition, Deschner provides good detail of the German weaponry which had no Polish counterpart (pp. 94-103). He includes a photograph of the Nebelwerfer ("bellowing cow") in action, a sketch of the giant German artillery "Karl" (previously used only on the Russian front--at Sevastopol), and a sketch of the Goliath unmanned explosive-laden tank. (When a Goliath pushed through the wall of the St. John Cathedral, one of its threads broke off. I saw the rebuilt Cathedral wall with a meter-long segment of thread deliberately built-in as a memorial to the Uprising). The house-to-house fighting was ferocious. Deschner quotes General Reinefarth: "The Poles showed themselves to be especially skillful tacticians. They first let German troops advance as closely to them as possible, creeping along the line of houses on both sides of the streets, without resisting. Then one of our most dreaded enemies, the Polish sniper, would appear." (p. 105). Deschner believes that the belated recognition of the AK as combatants, by the Germans, had resulted from Anthony Eden's threat to kill German POWs in reprisal for the killings of captured Polish soldiers (p. 124). Deschner also unmasks Soviet perfidy. Clearly, Soviet military reverses near Warsaw had been minor and temporary. The front had stabilized again on August 4 (p. 125). He credits western public opinion with having forced Stalin to give token aid to the Uprising towards its end (p. 131).

Then Cold War was present

I read this good book, here in Brazil.This book has a lot of photos and pictures; all of them black & white.This book is also short and concise. Failures of this book are small.To example, on preface, there's a past reality of Cold War.In fact, when this book was writen, Poland was still under Soviet's chains. Today Poland is free. Even so, this book remains good,small and full of illustrations.As an introduction about Warsaw uprising, this book remains a good choice.