I have issued the command--and I'll have anybody who utters but one word of criticism executed by firing squad--that our war aim does not consist in reaching certain lines, but in the physical destruction of the enemy. Accordingly, I have placed my death-head formation in readiness--for the present only in the East--with orders to send to death mercilessly and without compassion, men, women, and children of Polish derivation and language. Only thus shall we gain the living space that we need.

One aspect of German policy in conquered Poland aimed to prevent its ethnically diverse population from uniting against Germany. "We need to divide [Poland's many different ethnic groups] up into as many parts and splinter groups as possible," wrote Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS, in a top-secret memorandum

Anti-Polish posters in Poland??? Nope....for the Germans

We both live and work in Poland. So why not?

Winston Churchill added: "Her Majesty's government will never forget the debt they owe to the Polish troops who have served them so valiantly and for all those who have fought under our command"

Yet only six years later the Poles, who were so instrumental to the allied war effort (including The Battle of Britain; Monte Casino; Falaise Gap, Normandy; Warsaw Uprising), were forgotten. Those brave Polish servicemen, unlike every other nation fighting under Allied Command, were not invited to participate in the Victory Parade due to pressure from Stalin on the British Labour Government.An act the historian Sir John Keegan described as "one of the most shameful acts of the Cold War"

Three years ago the son of a Polish Veteran, Michael Moszynski, heard about this for the first time. Moved by the injustice of it all, he determined to put things right and wrote to the Prime Minister. As a private citizen he managed to secure an apology from Tony Blair regarding the British Government's failure to invite the Polish armed forces to the 1946 Victory Parade (covered in the FT on 5th September 2003: "UK finally makes amends for Poland's 60 years of hurt").

When is Poland going to write a letter to Ukraine apologising for stealing half of Ukraine and oppressing the people there after Poland stabbed Ukraine in the back while the two nations were supposed to be fighting together against the Russians.

Lwów Eaglets (Polish: Orlęta Lwowskie) is a term of affection applied to the Polish child soldiers who defended the city of Lwów during the Polish-Ukrainian War (1918-1919).

Originally the term was applied exclusively to young volunteers (such as Antoni Petrykiewicz), who had participated in the defense of Lwów during the city's siege by the Ukrainian army from November 1 to November 22, 1918. With time, however, the term's application was broadened, and it is now used for all the young soldiers who fought in the area of Eastern Galicia in defense of Poland in the Polish-Ukrainian War

The very simple fact is that the official government of Poland was invited to send representatives but didn't bother and that representatives of the Free Polish forces were also invited but that they refused to turn up because they thought that not enough of them were invited.

That's marvellous information but I was talking about how Poland stabbed Ukraine in the back and stole half the country after the Polish-Soviet war of 1920-1921. Poland and Ukraine signed the treaty of Warsaw in 1920 in which Poland promised Ukraine that the countries would fight the Soviets together. Then, after the war was won, Poland promptly signed the treaty of Riga in 1921 in which the Soviets and Poles made a peace which didn't involve the Ukrainians (specifically forbidden under the treaty of Warsaw) and Poland stole half of Ukraine. The USSR paid Poland 30 million rubles and got the other half of Ukraine to do with as it wished. Why not learn about the history that you claim to be so proud of?

The British government had by then (1946) already recognised the Stalinist Polish government and the Polish-government-in-exile in London was derecognised and so illegitimate to the British; therefore the Polish 'free' forces could not be afforded official reconigtion by HM government

I am fed up with Polish blaming everyone one else and taking no responsibility themselves, when in fact they are their own worst enemy.Put the past to bed, and look to a brighter future and don't expect everyone to give Poland preferential treatment just because they think they deserve it.

Would you care to make any comment on the backstab move carried out by Poland in the treaties of Warsaw and Riga? Thought not.

but in reality it was the Poles who split Ukraine 50/50 with the Soviets and then set about repressing the Ukrainian people!

Poland signed that treaty when it suited them and then did exactly what they had promised not to.

However, Lviv/Lvov was Polish

what factors brought about the restoration of Lviv to Ukrainian control?

What about the rest of the territory Poland took following the treaty of Riga? If those areas were so Polish

You took Stalin's hand actually.

No it didn't. Not even the Polish government made such a stupid claim. Here is what they defined as the majority for each district in Poland on the basis of the 1931 census:

Polesia, Polissya, or Polesie is one of the largest European swampy areas, located in the south-western part of the Eastern-European Lowland, mainly within Belarus and Ukraine but also partly within Poland and Russia.

So you mean that in most of the areas which Poland annexed in 1921, Poles were not in the majority. Only in some of the major cities. Glad we've got that agreed.

And if you want to see betrayal, look what you Poles did to Ukraine in the 1920s. What goes around comes around, as Poland learned to her cost.

Tomasz Bagiński (To-mash Ba-geen-skee), Tomek Baginski (born January 10, 1976, Białystok) is a BAFTA Award-winning Polish artist and animator, best known for his Oscar-nominated short movie, The Cathedral (2002). For his newest short, Fallen Art (2004), he received a BAFTA Award for Best Short Animation and Grand Prix for Digital Shorts at Golden Horse Film Festival 2005 (shared with: Jarek Sawko and Piotr Sikora). Bagiński also created cinematics for The Witcher computer game based on the books of Andrzej Sapkowski.