The Underground Factory: Poland in 1939-45

Adam Zamoyski describes how the Poles under German occupation were experts in subversion.

What singled the Polish Home Army out from its fellow resistance movements during the last war was not only its size but also its organization and, above all, its almost total self-sufficiency. This was a result of two main factors. On the one hand, a 100 years of foreign domination had taught the Poles a thing or two about subversion.

On the other hand, the country’s geographical position sealed her off from all her allies and kept her on the very circumference of their air forces’ theatre of operations. This meant that the Home Army was obliged to provide for itself in virtually every field.

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