Inhuman Land

In 1941, as the conflict between Germany and the USSR escalated, numerous Polish individuals, including men, women, and children, were freed from Soviet prison camps. These individuals, who had been struggling with hunger, illness, and poverty, were permitted to join a newly forming Polish army in southern Russia. Among those who endured this challenging winter journey was Józef Czapski, a painter and reserve officer. General Anders, the army's commander-in-chief, tasked Czapski with several responsibilities: welcoming arriving Poles for military training, documenting their past experiences, organizing educational and cultural activities, providing news updates for the soldiers, and, crucially, investigating the whereabouts of thousands of missing Polish officers. Despite his efforts, Czapski faced significant obstruction from Soviet authorities and remained unaware that in April 1940, the officers had been executed in the Katyn Forest—a crime for which Soviet Russia never claimed accountability. Czapski's narrative of his post-camp life, the establishment of the Polish army, and its challenging journey through Central Asia and the Middle East to engage on the Italian front is filled with stories of Polish suffering in the USSR, memorable Polish poetry that offered solace, meetings with literary figures like Anna Akhmatova, and reflections on the intercultural relationships.