10/26/2025
October 26, 1939: German authorities restrict all printing and publishing in Poland following their invasion and occupation which began World War II. People found violating these orders were often executed, yet the Polish people continued underground publishing to spread the truth.
“Under Article 1 of the Ordinance of the [German] Governor-General dated October 26, 1939, all printing and publishing is prohibited except when specially authorized by the occupation authorities. As a matter of fact, this put an end to all publishers, as the German authorities give their imprimatur only in exceptional cases.
“Polish writers are thus virtually deprived of the right to write, even of the possibility of writing. Polish books, except those published in the Polish language by the occupation authorities, have ceased to appear.
“Moreover, many works, including translations of foreign authors have been withdrawn from circulation. Likewise certain works of Polish poets and writers have been banned.
“Henryk Sienkiewicz’s novel ‘Krzyzacy’ (The Knights of the Cross) and Adam Mickiewicz’s poem ‘Konrad Wallenrod’ which tell the story of Poland’s struggle against the Teutonic Knights in East Prussia have been deleted from the catalogs of all libraries and removed from the shelves of all bookshops. Not only have the works themselves been destroyed, but orders have been given to remove the pages containing these masterpieces from the complete editions of the authors in which they appear. All works having reference to the life of Copernicus, the great Polish astronomer, have been withdrawn from circulation. A great part of all Polish literature, ancient and modern, has been proscribed in occupied territory, in particular nearly all works dealing with the history of Poland and her nationals struggles for independence have been forbidden.”
Excerpt from “The German Occupation of Poland” (aka the “White Book”) issued by the Polish government-in-exile in 1941, p. 41-42.
