leave danzig under traces _ to leave danzig under traces circumstances _ to leave danzig under tracesj circumstances and so forth. it is a l big event at the moment and that it is cannot— big event at the moment and that it is cannot compare _ big event at the moment and that it is cannot compare because - big event at the moment and that it is cannot compare because theirs i big event at the moment and that it is cannot compare because theirs is| is cannot compare because theirs is an innocent— is cannot compare because theirs is an innocent country— is cannot compare because theirs is an innocent country which - is cannot compare because theirs is an innocent country which wanted l an innocent country which wanted nothing _ an innocent country which wanted nothing else _ an innocent country which wanted nothing else but— an innocent country which wanted nothing else but to _ an innocent country which wanted nothing else but to be _ an innocent country which wanted nothing else but to be a - an innocent country which wanted nothing else but to be a free - an innocent country which wa

join me in welcoming jeff danziger and karen pratt. thank you. so jeff did you want to do to read a little bit from the book or do you want me to start your questions? let me start with a few questions as sam said this book had a long gestation period why do you think that was what did you need to get some distance or a lot of distance from the war? in order to write about it. a distance might be the wrong word, but it's been 50 years since the end of the war. and i've turned into a different person, but i thought about it. every day something that doesn't go away. and as as time went on i skipped thinking about why did that happen? why did i do it? why did i well why did i do what i was told? i'm not i'm fairly obedient in person. but in this case going off. to join the army, which i had no use for. and in a war which i had no use for. and about a year ago. i was at in new york and i was talking to some students some very well educated young people and they said well it's an if you didn't like the war and you didn't like the army. why did you jo

i must say, the destruction of danzig in 1945, | destruction of danzig in 1945, i have always assumedkraine people, and ukraine as a country, is a piece loving innocent neighbour who was being overruled by an aggressive sort of dictator like putin. so he commits atrocities on the level which crimes against humanity, which convulse mankind and therefore they hit me on a deeper level of insensitivity than even the destruction of my own hometown. and i cannot sort of compare the two issues. a grieve for the two issues. a grieve for the ukrainian is far more than ever before the loss of my hometown —— ukrainians. because they are suffering. they told an atrocity and crime for which there is no way to explain it and i think it goes deeper nowadays than everything i've experienced when we became refugees and had to leave danzig under atrocious da nzig under atrocious circumstances, of danzig under atrocious circumstances, of course. it is a bigger event at the moment only two things cannot compare because this is an innocent country which wanted nothing else but be a free and democratic nei

thomas, you were born in 1940, and you were born in danzig, now gdansk, when world war ii began.suddenly that all came to an end, from your perspective, how does this moment feel? i must say, the destruction of danzig in 1945, i have always assumed was the result of hitler's wars in russia and the, well, he was the pariah of mankind, and innocence, although a terrible thing happened, it was not per se an atrocity because russia defended itself against an aggressor called germany and in the course of that destroyed all before it, including my hometown, the difference to the modern day is the ukraine people, and ukraine as a country, is a peace loving innocent neighbour who was being overruled by an aggressive sort of dictator like putin. so he commits atrocities on the level which crimes against humanity, which convulse mankind and therefore they hit me on a deeper level of insensitivity than even the destruction of my own hometown. and i cannot sort of compare the two issues. i grieve for the ukrainians far more than ever before the loss of my hometown, because they are suffering

two folks who i admire quite a great deal, of course be great political cartoonist and author jeff danziger and the norwich book stores, very own karen pratt. i'm gonna get out of the

the german ultimatum along the so-called danzig corridor, the danzin the corridor, the former germanand along the southern coast of the baltic sea, connecting the main territory of germany with east prussia, was rejected by the poles, relying on the guarantees that the allies provided to poland, primarily the british. here it must be recalled that poland at that time had an agreement with germany almost similar to the hammer rebentrop fact. in general , relations with practically allied dismemberment of russia lies at the heart of polish policy in the east. therefore, our possible positions will be boil down to the following formula, who will take part in the division should no longer remain passive at this remarkable historical moment, the task is to prepare well in advance physically and spiritually the goal of weakening and defeating russia from the report of the second intelligence on the department of the main headquarters of the polish 1938 pact with germany inspired the poles to historical achievements in 1938. they were ready to carry out the anschlus from lithuania, having p

but the polish gdansk was not so long ago a german danzig and poland received it thanks to the victoryand this is only a small part of the results of the yalta potsdam conference poland was slaughtered by vast and developed german territories. she received the border along the odru and neiss , this part of east prussia silesia. eastern pomerania and east brandenburg. that is why the current polish schedn is the german stekting , once the third city of germany located on the west bank of the odar, just 150 km from berlin, and the polish wroclaw is the former german breslau, in a word, the territorial acquisition of almost a third of the entire area, modern poland more than compensated for the losses, but instead of gratitude warsaw shows. this is the people of pan adam shield live in the south-west of the country in zovice demolished a monument to the soldiers of the liberators of the red army; it was erected in 1949 at the site of the death of 620 red army soldiers of the first ukrainian front. polish officials made speeches about the holiday of liberation from sovietism while the sobe