Poem on Warsaw [60 signatures of Warsaw Insurgents][book belonging to a prisoner of war camp in Lambinowice].

Karpiński Swietopełek/ Warsaw 1938/ J.Mortkowicz Publishing House/ publisher's binding, booklet/ 19x23,5cm/ p.41/ black and white photographs on separate pages/ good condition, binding ( soiling, edge creases) text ( small soiling in places, traces of moisture on upper edges of pages).

A unique piece, having an interesting and, most importantly, documented history, autographed by Warsaw Insurgents.

As the Roman comedian Terentius wrote - And books have their fates.

So begins an article published by the head of the Department of Library Science, Jan Wroblewski. Here is an excerpt regarding the book offered at auction:

'' In 1946, our editorial staff of the Katowice-based "Dziennik Zachodni" was alerted to the discovery of mass graves in the former Wehrmacht camp for prisoners of war in Lamsdorf, or Lambinowice. We went there the following day with the entire press group. As we were looking at the barracks, where we were told the Warsaw insurgents were temporarily housed in the fall of 1944, I picked up a fairly well-preserved volume from under some bunks. It was "Poem on Warsaw" published to Swietopelski Karpinski by Jakub Mortkowicz on handmade paper in 1938. On the dustjacket I found a dedication, written in pen: To a compatriot for showing his heart Warsaw Uprisings Mp. 8.X.1944". Among the approximately 60 signatures were, in addition to women, 3 men. Between the conspiratorial pseudonyms one reads, for example,,,Sagittarius Ewa", Commander Sprotka", Fifteen-year-old Krysia" and others. The book is stamped in a few places by the camp censors (probably when it was already owned by "Rodak"- a former prisoner of war who helped the novices behind the wires).

Attached to the offered book are pamphlet prints-a clipping from , , Magazine Together , containing an article by Jan Wróblewski about the book , and two typescripts that he sent to the then owner Jan Werner ( The Department of Library Science in Olsztyn borrowed this item from the owner, in order to make a photocopy of the dedication, and to identify the insurgents. A scan of the dedication is attached in the article).

About the camp in Lambinowice:

During World War II, a German camp was established in the area, part of the Lamsdorf prisoner-of-war complex, one of the largest in Europe. The camp was organized as early as August 1939 as a temporary camp (Dulag B). In October it was transformed into a permanent camp for privates and non-commissioned officers, changing its name to Stalag VIII B Lamsdorf. In mid-1943, the nearby Stalag 318/VIII F Lamsdorf was subordinated to it, and later also Stalag VIII D Teschen (Cieszyn). At the end of 1943, the camp was renamed Stalag 344 Lamsdorf and operated under that name until the end of the war. (These are also the stamps on the book)

The first transport of prisoners of war, numbering about a thousand Polish Army soldiers, arrived here on September 5, 1939. In addition to soldiers, civilian prisoners of war were briefly held here in the first period, among them Father Maximilian Kolbe. In mid-1940, the place of Polish prisoners of war, mostly sent to camps deep inside the Reich, was taken by British prisoners of war. Soon soldiers of other armies fighting the Third Reich - French, Belgian, Yugoslav, Greek and American - were also isolated here. Due to the large number of Britons (about 48,000), who were held here continuously until the end of the war, the camp was commonly referred to as the Britenlager.

The living conditions and camp regime were similar to those in other POW camps in the Third Reich. The prisoners of war were forcibly employed in agriculture, forestry and industry. To survive captivity, they engaged in cultural, educational, religious and sports activities. They were also helped by letters and parcels sent by relatives and charitable organizations.

In January 1945, the evacuation of the POWs took place. All those capable of marching left the camp. Red Army troops entered the camp on March 18, 1945. In the 1940s, the Polish military authorities set up a training ground in the area. Until its liquidation in 2000, the site was off-limits to tourists. Very little of the camp's buildings survived: fire pools and fragments of residential barracks and storage rooms. Also preserved is Chestnut Avenue, along which the prisoners of war were led. [source: https://www.cmjw.pl/obozy1/lata1939-1945/stalag-viii-b-344-lamsdorf]