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  Top Secret Military Orders from Lieutenant-General Władysław Anders, with Handwritten Notes by Walter Drzewieniecki

  Władysław Anders, Walter Drzewieniecki, and Kazimierz Wiśniowsk

  1944. Written military orders for July 4, 1944 for the Polish II Corps from its commander, Lieutenant-General Władysław Anders. Marked “Top Secret.” Signed by Colonel Kazimierz Wiśniowski. Handwritten note by Drzewieniecki indicates that these orders were prepared by him. Background: During the 1944 Italian Campaign, Anders was given command of the Adriatic sector of the Italian theater by the Allies. The task of the Polish II Corps was to capture the port city of Ancona on the eastern coast of Italy. On June 21, Polish forces defeated German forces to cross the Chienti River and on July 4, they were moving forward to Osimo, which they captured on July 6. They went on to take Ancona on July 18. Document contents: The first section of the document describes the situation, mentioning the heavy losses suffered the previous day, the inability to hold onto captured territory, the expectation that German forces would retreat to the Camerana S 6338-Osimo-Musone line, and the actions engaged in by two Polish divisions and one brigade. The second section provides orders to one division to move forward to take the region of Osimo in the direction of Ancona, supported by a tank squadron, avoiding serious engagements with the enemy, and to one brigade to strengthen the division – after it took Osimo – with some of its units and describes how various forces should be distributed by the end of the day.

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  Letter from Lieutenant General Franz Barchausen

  Franz Barchausen

  Translation: “German Military Commission in Slovakia, Pressburg, September 1, 1939. Captain Dr. Nagel has orders to guide the members of the Polish legation of Pressburg through the war zone to the Slovak-Hungarian border. Signed: Franz Barckhausen, Lieutenant General and Director of the German Military Mission.”

  Pressburg is the German name for Bratislava, Slovakia. The Slovak Republic was a client state of Nazi Germany from 1939 to 1945. Zofia Drzewieniecki (then Zofia Kryżanowska) was working at the Polish Consulate in Bratislava at the time and this letter was delivered into her hands. The members of the Polish Consulate were safely delivered out of Slovakia and went on to Bucharest in Romania.

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  Letter from British Foreign Minister Ernest Bevin in Which He Attempts to Persuade Polish Soldiers Serving in Polish Units Under Overall British Command to Return to Poland

  Ernest Bevin

  A letter in Polish from British Foreign minister Ernest Bevin in which he attempts to persuade Polish soldiers serving in Polish units under overall British command to return to Poland. Since Poland was already under heavy Soviet influence and Polish soldiers who had served in the West faced dangers if they returned to Poland this request became quite controversial. For one discussion of this matter see: Stachura, Peter D., The Poles in Britain, 1940-2000: from betrayal to assimilation, Routledge, 2004, p. 61ff. Related to D153.

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  September 1939 Battlefield Notes by Walter Drzewieniecki

  Walter Drzewieniecki

  Notebook with notes made by Drzewieniecki while he participated in military actions against the German Army during the September Campaign of WWII. Used as the basis for his book Wrześniowe wspomnienia podporucznika, Warssaw: Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej, 1978, as well as publications in the early 2000’s by Polish military historian, Andrzej Wesołowski.

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  Certificate Stating that Włodzimierz Drzewieniecki had Been Released from the Prisoner of War Camp

  German Commandant

  Certificate issued by a German commandant stating that Włodzimierz Drzewieniecki from Czestochowa had been released from the Soldau-Illowo-Mlawa prisoner of war camp, October 24, 1939. [In Polish and German]. “Saldau” is called “Działdowo” in Polish.

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  Letter from Heinrich Himmler

  Heinrich Himmler

  Communication from Nazi SS Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler to the Ahnenerbe (an institute founded Himmler and others whose purpose was to research the archaeological and cultural history of the ‘Aryan’ race and later, the occult as well). This institute had been moved to the village of Waischenfeld in Bavaria in 1943 to escape Allied bombing.

  Translation:

  From the Reichsführer, Field Command, 29 February 1944. To the Ahnenerbe, Waischenfeld.

  If I remember correctly, Prof. Tratz's research shows that application of sea squill (Scylla) is one of the best means of combating rats.

  I ask to be connected with SS-Obergruppenführer Wolff in Italy and to find a way to manage to import large quantities of sea squill to Germany. I am requesting notification whether this is possible and what quantity is in question.

  [Signed:] H. Himmler

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  Copy of a Pamphlet Distributed to Polish Soldiers Along with the British Foreign Minister’s Letter

  The British Foreign Ministry

  Copy of a pamphlet distributed to Polish soldiers along with the British Foreign Minister’s letter [D152]. “Sposób traktowania żołnierzy Polskich Sił Zbrojnych powracających do Kraju”. This document, which is based on an agreement with the then provisional government in Poland, claims that returning soldiers will not face any repression in Poland. See D152 for further information.

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  Identity Document

  The Związek Walki Zbrojnej

  Identity document. This is a forged identity document prepared for W. Drzewieniecki by the Związek Walki Zbrojnej, the original name of the Armia Krajowa (Home Army), the most important Polish resistance movement during WWII. This document identified Drzewieniecki as a clerk residing in Pinsk. In fact, he was a professional military man who lived in Warsaw and Czestochowa from the time the German occupation began until he escaped to the Middle East.

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  Invitation to Herr Gruppenfuhrer Oldenbourg and His Wife from the German Fuhrer

  Unknown

  Invitation to from ‘The Führer’ (Adolf Hitler) to Gruppenführer Oldenbourg and his wife from to an evening event on February 28, 1938.

  Translation:

  [Nazi Party Logo] The Führer requests Mr. Gruppenführer Oldenbourg and Mrs. Oldenbourg on Friday, the 25th of February, 1938 at 8 PM to spend the evening in his company. Dress Code: Uniform & Evening Dress. Location: House of the Führer, Munich, Königlicher Platz. RSVP by accompanying postcard addressed to the Chief of the Führer’s Chancellery, Berlin W8, Volsstr. 1, Fornruf 12 20 54