Without Pity

by Jacek Król

September 1, 1939: Germany invades Poland. September 17: the Soviets join in the invasion. Warsaw falls. The country is partitioned between its two eternal enemies. Poland ceases to exist, but her spirit lives on. The Polish people are far from vanquished and soon build the largest resistance network in Europe. Nazi special forces in the German-occupied territory launch a major brutal operation to hunt down prominent members of Polish society. The occupant opens the Auschwitz concentration camp to exterminate the Polish intelligentsia and political classes capable of forming and leading resistance. The daring Polish Underground infiltrates Auschwitz to form an organized self-defense. All across the country, the occupant institutes brutal repressions and escalates terror. The Poles face close to six painful years of indiscriminate street round-ups, kidnappings, transports to slavery and concentration camps, mass executions, and extermination. And yet, life goes on...On a dazzling spring day in 1940, a wedding is underway in a small chapel in a quaint village in a pastoral countryside seemingly removed from the horrors of the occupation. Young lovers exchange wedding rings and take their eternal vows of love and support. Nazi police and SS troops surround the church and round up the wedding party. Many are killed fleeing. The newlyweds become separated. The bride escapes. The groom is captured and is carted off to Auschwitz concentration camp. Torn apart at the altar, will Helena and Stan see each other again?

280 pages, Paperback

Published August 5, 2025