Polski rząd na uchodźstwie i Polskie Siły Zbrojne na łamach niemieckiej, polskojęzycznej prasy codziennej Generalnego Gubernatorstwa
The Polish Government-in-Exile in the German, Polish-language Daily Press of the General Government

Summary/Abstract: The German press in Polish, the so-called “gadzinówka”, was an important source of information for Polish society in the General Government during the Second World War. It dealt with, among other things, matters concerning Polish statehood, including the authorities of the Republic emerging in exile and the battles of Polish soldiers on the Western Front. This text aims to provide an overview of the scope, narrative style and objectives of the journalism depicting the activities of the Polish government-in-exile and the Polish Armed Forces during the Second World War, appearing in German daily press published in Polish. The primary source base are major daily newspapers: “Goniec Krakowski” (Cracow Courier) and “Nowy Kurier Warszawski” (New Courier of Warsaw). The newspapers in question reported, for example, on the current activities of the government- in-exile, the death of General Władysław Sikorski, and conflicts both with the British and the Soviets as well as within the Polish government. The publication of these texts was not dictated by a concern to reliably satisfy the hunger for information of the Polish public in the General Government, but it related to the objectives of German propaganda which sought to influence Poles through “gadzinówka” in order to convince them of the hopelessness of the Polish cause and, by extension, the futility of resisting the occupying German authorities. This type of narrative about the government-in-exile was featured in the German press in Polish throughout the entirety World War II.

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