World War II Database

WW2DB contributor John Radzilowski has just published a new book titled Frantic 7: The American Effort to Aid the Warsaw Uprising and the Origins of the Cold War, 1944. The book is co-written with his colleague Jerzy Szcze?niak.

The book tells the full story of a tragic mission to help the Polish resistance and the political machinations that doomed it. On 18 September 1944, American B-17 Flying Fortresses, supported by fighter planes, dropped arms, ammunition, medical supplies, and food over the city of Warsaw. The assistance came too late and had no bearing on the situation of the Polish freedom fighters in Warsaw. For many, Frantic 7 remains a mere gesture to placate Western public opinion, but the events of that day, and the courage of 1,220 airmen who risked their lives to bring them aid, are still remembered by the Poles of Warsaw.

This book gives a full narrative of the Frantic 7 operation itself. Using the firsthand accounts of the events from the freedom fighters on the ground in Warsaw, the fates of the young aircrew, in particular those of "I'll Be Seeing You" are told in detail. It also sets Frantic 7 in its political context, and explains how the diplomatic wrangles help set the stage for the breakdown in relations between the Soviet Union and the United States, and the beginning of the path to the Cold War.