Wanda Wasilewska (Polish pronunciation: [ˈvanda vaɕiˈlɛfska]), also known by Russian name Vanda Lvovna Vasilevskaya (Russian: Ва́нда Льво́вна Василе́вская) (21 January 1905 – 29 July 1964), was a Polish and Soviet novelist and journalist and a left-wing political activist who became a devoted communist.[1] She fled the German attack on Warsaw in September 1939 and took up residence in Soviet-occupied Lviv and eventually in the Soviet Union. She was the founder of the Union of Polish Patriots there and played an important role in the creation of the Polish 1st Tadeusz Kościuszko Infantry Division. The division developed into the Polish People's Army and fought on the Eastern Front during World War II. Wasilewska was a trusted consultant to Joseph Stalin and her influence was essential to the establishment of the Polish Committee of National Liberation in July 1944, and thus to the formation of the Polish People's Republic.
I read the Kannada translation of this book and the storyline is quite good. ಇಂದ್ರಚಾಪ ಎಂಬ ಹೆಸರಿನಿಂದ ಪ್ರಕಟವಾಗಿರುವ ಈ ಪುಸ್ತಕವನ್ನು ರಂಗರಾವ್ ತಲಚೇರಕರ ಅವರು ಅನುವಾದಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಜರ್ಮನ್ನರ ಆಡಳಿತಕ್ಕೆ ಒಳಪಟ್ಟು ತೀರಾ ಸಂಕಷ್ಟದಲ್ಲಿದ್ದರೂ ಸ್ವಾಭಿಮಾನ ,ದೇಶಾಭಿಮಾನ ಬಿಡದೆ ಹೋರಾಡಿದ ಉಕ್ರೈನ್ ಹಳ್ಳಿಯೊಂದರ ಕಥಾನಕ. ಸಾವು, ನೋವುಗಳಿಗೆ ಹೆದರದೆ ಇಂದಲ್ಲ ನಾಳೆ ಜರ್ಮನ್ನರಿಂದ ದೇಶ ಮುಕ್ತವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ ಎಂಬ ಭರವಸೆಯೊಂದಿಗೆ ಕಾಯುವ ಹೆಂಗಸರು, ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಕಥೆ. ಒಂದು ಒಳ್ಳೆಯ ಪುಸ್ತಕ ಓದಿದ ಸಮಾಧಾನ. ಅನುವಾದದ ಗುಣಮಟ್ಟ ಪರವಾಗಿಲ್ಲ. ಕನ್ನಡಕ್ಕಿಳಿಸುವ ಬರದಲ್ಲಿ ಹೆಸರುಗಳನ್ನೂ ಬದಲಿಸಿದ್ದು ಅಷ್ಟಾಗಿ ಆಪ್ತವೆನಿಸಲಿಲ್ಲ.
I found this book by accident and it's turned out to be one of my favourites ever. It's painfully but refreshingly blunt about the truth of war, human suffering, and the price of standing by one's principles in front of anything. For whoever gets their hands on it, be prepared to feel as drawn to the characters as you might be dispirited by the unfair arbitrariness of victory
An odd sort of book. The genre is difficult to pinpoint. Of course, there is some level of propaganda. Very obscure (but not rare, so don't go rushing to 'Antiques Roadshow' ;) ). It has good pacing and some interesting characters but no real plot. Just an unusual read.
Read the Bengali Translation of it. It is telling the truth, one side of it, barbaric attitude of German Army. The other side, is equally gloomy, the failure of Soviet System which brought down its own collapse, few decades later.