Polish Arts Club of Trenton, New Jersey

World War II Era

Collection of WWII era information including many by our members






Surviving Genocide
by Donna Chmara

The author describes the loss of her home in Eastern Europe during World War II, her family's deportation to a Nazi labor camp, and their eventual arrival in the United States. Relying on historic sources, interviews with twenty survivors and personal experience, the author focuses on the danger of identifying solely with a group or ideology rather than with the fact of our shared humanity.
Exiled from her home in Eastern Poland as a baby, the author chronicles the aggression against Polish citizens, Jewish and Christian, by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union during World War II. For many it will be the first time hearing about the deportation of thousands to the Soviet Union for forced labor, a topic they have not met in school or in the media. Nor do they know about plans to replace Christianity and all religion with deification of Hitler and the Nazi party. The author weaves this type of information into true accounts of survival from 20 eyewitnesses whom she interviewed over the course of 10 years.




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About the Author


Donna Chmara is currently the President of the Polish Arts Club of Trenton.  As an educator and author, Donna Chmara has turned her childhood experience of war into a lifetime quest for peace and respect for all human beings. As a refugee, she found the public education system to be pivotal in helping her make the transition from war-torn Europe to her new country of America. While attending the College of New Jersey, she was a one-year exchange student at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. After college, she taught English for two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Turkey where she maintains many dear friendships. In the United States, she has taught English and composition at the high school and college levels. She has also taught English for shorter periods in places as varied as Poland and the country of Myanmar (Burma.)

In addition to teaching, she has worked as a public school administrator, director of communications for a professional association of school administrators, and director of the State Board of Education Office. She holds a Master of Arts degree in English with a major in medieval literature from Temple University in Philadelphia. On a personal note, she participates in inter-religious and multi-cultural projects and loves to garden, dance, swim, and learn from other peoples' wisdom. Read More about the Donna and her fantastic book!


The Treblinka Train Stationd
The Treblinka Train Station

Treblinka - The 1943 Uprising

The Jews of Warsaw were shipped to the extermination camp Treblinka II. But a plucky band of Polish army officers, doctors and Jewish slave labourers decided to launch an uprising in 1943 and escape from certain death at the hands of the SS.


Watch On You Tube

Episode 1 (28 min)

Episode 2 (15 min)

Episode 3 (19 min)


This series is by military historian and author Dr. Mark Felton.



Col. Francis Stanley Gabreski

Col. Francis Stanley "Gabby" Gabreski
Polish American Fighter Pilot


Francis Stanley "Gabby" Gabreski (born Franciszek Gabryszewski; January 28, 1919 – January 31, 2002) was the top American fighter ace in Europe during World War II, a jet fighter ace in Korea, and a career officer in the United States Air Force with more than 26 years service, retiring with the rank of colonel.



Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin is a book written by Timothy D. Snyder, first published by Basic Books on October 28, 2010. The book is about the mass killing of an estimated 14 million non-combatants by the regimes of Joseph Stalin's Soviet Union and Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany between the years 1933 and 1945.   Read More About The Book



What really happened in
the 1946 Kielce pogrom

A well written editorial submitted by our late member Marilyn Fontes Jose.  The Kielce pogrom was an outbreak of violence toward the Jewish community centre's gathering of refugees in the city of Kielce, Poland on 4 July 1946 by Polish soldiers, police officers, and civilians during which 42 Jews were killed and more than 40 were wounded. Polish courts later sentenced nine of the attackers to death in connection with the crimes. Also see:

The Museum of Family History     Wikipedia



Behind Closed Doors

World War II Behind Closed Doors
Stalin, the Nazis and the West


A fact sheet written by Polish Arts Club member William Muszynski



World War II Invaders
Turned Poland Into Hell

Editorial submitted by Donna Chmara pointing out some vital information that was missing from Sharon Schlegel's column. READ this well written letter by Donna.

Marion Winters

A Great WWII Vet of Polish Descent

Retired US Air Force Major
Marion Winters (Wasowicz)


Submitted by Peter Obst.


Jan Karski,

Jan Karski (Kozielewski)
WWII Polish Freedom Fighter
"The man who tried to stop the holocaust"

READ HIS AWESOME STORY!

WWII, Liberators and Liberated

WWII, Part I, Liberators and Liberated

Presented by the Pilecki Institute of Warsaw
& National WWII Museum in New Orleans
More info on right.
This is a Facebook link.

WWII, Part I, Liberators and Liberated is a new series of international webinars organized by the Pilecki Institute of Warsaw, Poland and and the National World War II Museum of New Orleans, USA.  Part I is 3 short first hand witness videos about WWII and the Holocaust followed by a round table discussion. This link is to their Facebook page and currently active.  Hopefully they will host the video on another platform for all to view.  Click on the picture or title at left to their Facebook page.  You may have to scroll down to find the video as time passes the January 28, 2021 showing.  This is really a great video worthy of your time.



Behind Closed Doors

Buy the book on Amazon

Buy the video from BBC

Watch episodes on BBC Video

These free episodes are available to watch at this writing. Link was active in June 2022, but no guarantee how long they will be available.


"WWII In Photos

A Retrospective in 20 Parts
by Alan Taylor

World War II is the story of the 20th Century. The war officially lasted from 1939 until 1945, but the causes of the conflict and its horrible aftermath echoed for decades in both directions.

Click Here for the entire series



Polish Arts Club
Katyn Forest Massacre Page

Including many by our 2015 Polonaise Ball Honoree, the late Andrzej Pityński.

Katyn Forest Massacre Information

Memorials Around the World