12/04/2024
Excerpt translated from Polish- our family’s legacy book, On Two Fronts, written by my grandfather, Jerzy Jaxa-Maderski:
“During the 45 year rule of the communist reaction in the country, we had to remain silent, we had no chance to correct frequent, aggressive speeches on the radio, articles in the press, false descriptions in books. Every word spoken in defense of the NSZ (Polish Underground Army) was punishable by imprisonment and even the death penalty. We, and especially the Holy Cross Mountains Brigade, were treated as fascists collaborating with the Germans, as enemies of the so-called ‘people’s democracy’ prevailing in Poland. The communist authorities in the country, unable to take revenge on the Brigade, especially on its senior officers, took revenge on every member of the Brigade who fell into their hands. These lies, the long-term campaign of slandering our organization, had a considerable impact on the attitude of many people towards us. If we were spat on for many years, something of it remained in the consciousness of a part of society. In the meantime, a myth was being created that only the Home Army fought as an antidote to the propaganda of the People’s Army. There was no place for us in this propaganda fight, and therefore, in the public perception, the image of the NSZ is not complete, and what is worse- distorted and we have a lot of work ahead of us to create a true image. Unfortunately, time has worked inexorably against us. Many historical texts have been written in which we are either not spoken of or spoken of badly. And now, after so many years, how to fight these falsehoods?”
After a time to gather what I needed to learn, I have a first draft rough edit of Part 1 of my first book, to be titled: JAXA
The story will be historical fiction with dramatic effect for all certain dialogue that cannot be perfectly recreated. The effect it will have, I hope, is to honor not only my grandfather’s legacy, but all the forgotten Polish heroes of WW2 and all those who fought for the freedoms we have today, against the worst communist and fascist regimes in history. Their story must be told, so that the next generation may know it.
