W.J. Rose (1885–1968)

This book came out scant weeks before World War II broke out, with the invasion of Poland by Germany. (The back of the book suggests the book was published in June, 1939.) The book is broken into two parts, one a more historical look at Poland, and the other, a look at the Poland of the 1930s. In general, I think the author tends to be sympathetic to Poland, but not blind to its faults and some of the mistakes that were made, especially in the handling of the Ukrainian minority in what was then the eastern part of Poland (later taken by Russia). There's some absolutely alarming statements about the Jewish minority in Poland, some not very flattering, and one quote that Poland had "one million Jews too many." History has given THAT comment short shrift, to say the least. One gets the impression that Poland was a struggling country, that it was making some progress...but that it was also doomed. An interesting snapshot.… (plus d'informations)