Deep In My Polish Heart

About the Book

Deep in My Polish Heart is the story of Poland within the context of the Holocaust and the Second World War. The year is 1942 and the American President is receiving reports out of occupied Poland that the Nazis have started a campaign to exterminate the Jews of Europe. Of course, between the Jews and the Poles, there tends to be a measure of exaggeration in order to get additional help. Most people discount the rumors. On the other hand, what if the rumors are true?   The President tasks Bill Donovan, head of the Fledgling OSS, to send an Officer in to Poland and independently observe and report on what he sees there. They select a young Polish/American Marine wounded on Guadalcanal for the task and he must come up to speed quickly as he will be living and moving around a country that is the most severely occupied in all of Europe. He parachutes in and makes contact with the AK, The Polish Home Army in Poland.  Unfortunately, not everyone in the Government sees the mission as important or even necessary to the war effort. In an attempt to resolve the issue among “gentlemen”, one official at the US Embassy, Bern, makes contact with his German counterpart. With that, the matter passes to the Gestapo and the race is on to catch the American before he can report on what he sees. There are several near-misses, but finally, the Nazis understand that this man must come to Auschwitz—the camp that is increasingly the source of rumors and fable. The trap is set there.  Of course, the wild card is the Russians. What will they do if they learn of an American looking around Poland and listening to Poles who fought both the Germans and the Russians. Negotiations are already going on to determine the post-war state of Poland; can the Russians allow their role in all this to be held up to the light?

About the Author

Bruce Slasienski retired from the US Government in 1995 with 25 years of service split between the Air Force, where he was a B-52 Electronic warfare Officer, the US Arms Control Staff, and finally the Central Intelligence Agency. A native of Westfield, Massachusetts, he now lives in Geneva Switzerland.