The Poles on the front line

It’s been almost 64 years now since the end of one of the most outrageous wars the humanity has seen and somehow there’s still a lot of talk about World War II. This September marks the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of WWII and on this occasion the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Albania, under the special attention of the Ambassador, H.E. Mrs. Irena Tatarzynska, opened a photo exhibition to commemorate the Polish resistance against the Nazi occupation. It was probably the most important part of the European resistance movement that disrupted the German supply lines to the Eastern Front and saved more Jewish lives in the Holocaust than any other Allied government.
The exhibition covers almost fifty years of resistance and fight towards the Nazi and Soviet occupation and towards the communist regime. Distinguished people and episodes of Polish history become tangible to the Albanian public through the camera lenses of different artists. The exhibition is presented to the Cultural Center of Armed Forces in capital Tirana and will stay opened till September 10th.
The Polish resistance
Poland was the only country to fight from the first to the last day of the greatest armed conflict in the history of mankind. Poland was occupied by Adolf Hitler’s army on September 1st, 1939 and this was the episode that marked the beginning of World War II. Poles never resigned to the German or Soviet occupation, but fought with bigger determination. Probably up to 2 millions Poles served since September 1st, 1939 to May 8th, 1945 in all the Polish military formations – regular armies, partisan troops and underground forces. Despite the severe defeat in 1939, the Poles formed five more armies, including four in exile: in France in 1939, in the United Kingdom in the summer of 1940 (after the defeat and capitulation of France), and twice in the USSR in 1941. These were the army of Gen. Anders that fought later in the South of Europe, and the one that emerged in 1943 and later fought at the Red Army’s side. The fifth Polish army, created at the end of September of 1939 was the conspiratorial armed force in the occupied territory. In the 1944 summer, while commencing regular military struggle against the retreating Germans, the armed underground numbered more than 300 thousands sworn soldiers.