THE POLISH REVIEW

COLLECTION: OGL #1183

DATES: 1940-1945

SIZE: .75 linear feet

INTRODUCTION

ACQUISITION: The Polish Review was deposited in the Orin G. Libby Manuscript Collection as a gift of Mrs. Alexander C. Burr, Bismarck, North Dakota, December 28, 1984 (Acc.#89-1644). The material was transferred from the Alexander C. Burr Papers, OGL#998, to provide better access.

ACCESS: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Department of Special Collections.

HISTORICAL SKETCH

The Polish Review was a weekly magazine published during World War II by the Polish Information Center in New York City. It was first issued on August 30, 1941, and was sent free of charge to interested parties. It changed to a larger size December 24, 1942, and beginning with the issue of July 4, 1945, the Polish Information Center no longer maintained its free mailing list.

The purpose of The Polish Review was to make the American public aware of Poland's plight during World War II and her struggle with Germany and Nazism. It presented a variety of illustrated articles dealing with historic and contemporary Polish issues. Past cultural and political achievements were discussed along with stories of Polish resistance towards Nazism and the attempted extermination of the Polish population.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

Issues for The Polish Review date from August 30, 1941 to July 4, 1945, but do not represent a complete run for these years. A gap exists between the first issue of August 30, 1941, and the next issue in the collection which dates to July 6, 1942. From that date on, the run is nearly complete until July 4, 1945.

The collection also contains copies of miscellaneous publications related to Poland, which are arranged alphabetically. Included is Polish Facts and Figures, published by the Polish Government Information Center, which dates from July 25, 1944 to April 25, 1945. This publication sought "to interpret Polish political and social problems for the American public" during World War II. Facts vs. Fiction was published by the American Committee for International Information, and sought to expose Nazism. Death at Katyn, published by the National Committee of Americans of Polish Descent in1944, relates the atrocity of the extermination in the Katyn Forest of nearly 8000 Polish officers by the Soviet Army in 1939.

The collection was transferred from the Alexander C. Burr Papers, OGL#998, to provide better access.

BOX AND FOLDER INVENTORY

Box 1
Folder

1. The Polish Review, Polish Information Center: August 30, 1941
2. The Polish Review, Polish Information Center: July 6 - December 21, 1942
3. The Polish Review, Polish Information Center: December 24, 1942 - June 28, 1943
4. The Polish Review, Polish Information Center: July 5 - December 25, 1943
5. The Polish Review, Polish Information Center: January 4 - June 28, 1944
6. The Polish Review, Polish Information Center: July 4 - December 25, 1944
7. The Polish Review, Polish Information Center: January 4 - July 4, 1945
8. Death at Katyn, National Committee of Americans of Polish Descent: September 1944
9. Facts vs. Fiction, American Committee for International Information: February 9 - May 24, 1940
10. Fortune, "What Should Germany Pay?": February 1944; War and Peace Aims: Extracts of Statements of United Nations Leaders: January 30, 1943
11. Polish Facts and Figures, July 25, 1944 - April 25, 1945
12. The Polish Worker's Day, American Friends of Polish Democracy: 1941

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