First Kills
The illustrated Biography of Fighter Pilot Władysław Gnyś by Stefan W. C. Gnyś
2017, 238 pp.
Casemate Publishers.
Hitler’s War Against Poland’s Partisans
The Battle Behind the Eastern Front 1939-1945
by Antonio J. Munoz
2025, 327 pp.
Casemate Publishers for Pen and Sword Books.
both titles reviewed by David Trawinski
Given that this summer we celebrate the 250th anniversary of our own spectacularly free country, I thought it appropriate to review two non-fiction works of merit pertaining to Poland’s darkest period of having freedom denied. Both selections are extensively researched, and anyone with an interest in World War II will find the information within these volumes’ pages to be invaluable.
The first work, “First Kills” by Stefan W. C. Gnyś, is a heartfelt effort by a son to remember his father’s heroic life. Władysław Gnyś was the first Polish fighter pilot to shoot down not one but two Luftwaffe combatant aircraft on September 1, 1939, after narrowly escaping being killed himself.
He and his commanding officer’s PLZ fighters were attacked by Ju-87 Stuka aircraft returning from bombing the main Kraków airfield (His commanding officer, Mieczysław Medwecki, was killed in that surprise attack.) Gnyś survived and after fighting over the skies of Poland, went on to engage the German forces in the air in the Battles of France and over the Channel during the Battle of Britain. He fought courageously in the Polish 302 Squadron. Later, on August 22,1944, he led a squadron over France when he was shot down and forced to crash land. In the process, he took a bullet to the chest that bounced within him before becoming lodged in his liver. It would remain there until his death in the year 2000. He was taken as a POW that day outside Rouen, but despite his wounds, he managed to escape and contact the French Underground, who returned him to the Allied lines. Gnyś was awarded distinguished service commendations by France, Britain, and Poland, including his home country’s Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari.
Author Stefan W. C. Gnyś, Władysław’s son, has prepared a beautiful, powerfully illustrated work, containing 145 photographs on heavy plate pages (many in rich color), 43 richly hand-rendered illustrations by the renowned artist John D. Bindon, and twenty maps accompanying the skillfully written prose. The writing captures not only the heroics of his father in war, but also the love for his father’s hometown of Sarnów, not far from the Polish air force town of Dęblin, and his father’s love of flying in service to his homeland. But it also details the love between his father and his beautiful English mother, Barbara (whom he called Bashka). The overall work is impressive in its attention to detail, especially the drawings by Mr. Bindon. It is a true gift to those of us with an interest in World War II and specifically the Battle of Britain.
I would be remiss not to thank Mr. Bill “Wladziu” Paterek of Lincoln City, Oregon, who, despite being in hospice last fall, sent me his hand-annotated volume of “First Kills” to review. I have used many of his points of emphasis in this review. His own relative, I assume to be his father, is mentioned in the work as a member of the Polish 302 Squadron in the Battle of Britain. May God rest Bill Peterek’s soul.
Eastern Poland suffered as much, if not more, than any other part of the country throughout World War II. Not only did it have to survive the horrors of the 17 September 1939 invasion by the Soviet Union, with its resulting Katyn Massacre of Polish officers in 1940, but then it suffered further as the Nazis pushed through the area during Operation Barbarossa in June 1941. Finally, it was forced to endure the terror of the Red Army’s retribution to both combatants and civilians as they drove the Nazi’s back late in the war. A while back, we reviewed John Roman Nurt’s book, “The Forest Soldier: The True Story of Sergeant Avalanche,” which recounted his father, Józef Niedźwiecki’s, heroics as a Polish Partisan alongside the likes of Cichociemni Adolf Pilch and other partisans. Now we have a scholarly review of this horrific period of history in Dr. Antonio Munoz’s title “Hitler’s War against Poland’s Partisans.”
The work is exquisitely detailed in its review of combatant forces, Polish Partisans and the oft double-dealing Russian Partisans. It is full of tables of force strengths and casualties, maps of the areas of conflict, all adorned with very readable, rich prose. I share below a sample paragraph of Dr. Munoz’s writing from his conclusive chapter entitled “Was the Nazi Occupation of Poland a failure?”
“German arrogance and ignorance of the eastern people, a sentiment that for the most part permeated from the highest echelons of the Wehrmacht and filtered down to the lowest ranks, was a major factor that contributed to the failure by the Nazis to create an empire in the East. When asked about why Germany failed in the East, many historians immediately point to the harshness of the Nazi occupation of Poland (and the USSR) and its policy of repression. But the overall contempt the Germans had for the Polish people guaranteed that Nazi Germany would never be able to pacify the population.
The harder that the Germans bore down on the Polish nation, the greater the Polish resistance to that German rule.”
This will certainly ring true to those of us who have had that history passed down to us by family and friends in the Polish diaspora. Still, it is interesting to see such an analysis from someone outside that purview. It is interesting to note that Dr. Munoz has written a series of books on specific topics pertaining to Nazi occupations in World War II, with his most recent effort being entitled “Hitler’s War Against France’s Partisans,” issued in 2026. His works are incredibly detailed, yet I think he does a wonderful job of capturing the partisans’ true spirit and dedication to the cause of the Polish Resistance.
Dr. Antonio J Muñoz is a retired history professor and a U.S. Marine. He received his doctorate in history from St. John’s College after his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Queens College. He and his wife live in New York and hold dual U.S. and Spanish citizenship. They have been married for over forty years.
