Intelligence Ignored
A new offiicial report on Second World War Intelligence has spotlighted what Poles have been aware of for some sixty years now - namely that the British government brushed under the carpet reports from high-ranking Polish sources about the Holocaust.
'Intelligence Co-operation Between Poland And Great Britain', which contains a foreword by Tony Blair (no stranger to intelligence scandals himself) covers many aspects of the Allied War effort, including several of the resounding successes of the Anglo-Polish alliance. Until this day it is often forgotten that it was the Poles who cracked the Enigma Code. As it was, one in eight of the Allied pilots in the Battle of Britain were Poles.
The central figures with regards to the reports of genocide were couriers Jan Karski (d. 2000) and Jan Nowak-Jezioranski. The latter passed away this year at the advanced age of 91. He was recalled by Downing Street as 'one of Europe's most determined and heroic fighters for truth and freedom and a true Polish patriot.'
It is clarified in the documents that the couriers reports on the Nazis treatment of the Jews were largely kept from Britain's war-time leader, Winston Churchill. The accounts were delivered to high-ranking British officials in 1942 and 1943, yet the British remained sceptical of the information provided.
However, regardless of the information itself, the question as to whether the Allies could have cut short the genocide remains a complex one. In 1943, the Nazi Empire covered the majority of Europe, and the war was being fought on several fronts. Reaching locations such as Auschwitz was highly problematic. Many believed that defeating the Germans was the only sure way to bring any reported atrocities to a halt.
Nevertheless, the question is sure to provide subject for debate for years to come. Many Jews feel betrayed by the Allies. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon did not mince his words in an address to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz earlier this year:
"The allies knew of the annihilation of the Jews. They knew and did nothing... 'Do not put your trust in men in power,' said the poet of the Psalms. And indeed, during the most terrible, critical hour, those in power and the declared friends did not lift a finger. This is the Jewish lesson of the Holocaust and this is the lesson which Auschwitz taught us, the enchained people. The State of Israel has learned this lesson, and since its establishment it has done its utmost to defend itself and its citizens."
The Polish couriers attempts to bring the Nazi crimes to light have been collected by the Anglo-Polish Historical Committee. However, besides the new publication, lively memoirs of the war-time adventures of both Karski and Nowak are already available in English.
Szmul Zygielboym, the Polish Government in Exile's leading Jewish representative and a close associate of Karski and Nowak, committed suicide on May 12, 1943, one day after the tragic finale of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. He hoped that his death would prompt the Allies to act over the Jewish Question.