Poland Forever is a 1944 film produced by Pofomo Pictures that champions the Polish people’s perseverance for a single, great, and free Poland during World War II. The film is considered a “pictorial document of the fight of Democracy against [Nazi] Invasion.” The film starts with a brief history of Poland’s pre-war growth. Warsaw (1:32) with its old monuments of art and culture is the nation’s growing capital. Modern buildings reveal the nation’s progress as it grows and modernizes. In eastern Poland is the largest forest where men hunt wild boar (02:12), lynx, and fox. Skiing is popular in the Tatra Mountains (02:35). Timber is a major industry, but farming is dominant and employs roughly 60% of country (03:08). The Polish people are deeply religious, and they frequently participate in religious processions (04:13). The development and growth of other major industries result in the creation of new towns (04:36), including Gdynia. The Polish Army marches through streets (05:25) in a military parade—with planes flying in formation and soldiers riding horseback—demonstrating Poland’s military prowess. However, the army is no match for the might of Nazi Germany. Despite non-aggression pacts with Germany and Russia, Adolf Hitler demands territory from Poland. Hitler the gives orders to invade (07:12), and on 1 September 1939, Germany invades Poland. 5,000 Nazi planes bomb Polish towns and bridges during the early phase of the invasion. The German fleet cuts off Poland from rest of world (07:55) and destroys Polish harbors. Warsaw prepares for the impending German assault (08:30), but is overwhelmed by German artillery and air power. Residents of Warsaw take shelter wherever they can as the city is destroyed. Water is gone and the city is on fire, yet Warsaw holds out for several weeks. But as towns and crops are destroyed, the Polish people are in a dire situation: the film shows scenes of decimated buildings and homes, bridges, and people fleeing their destroyed communities. Warsaw soon surrenders, in what appears to be Polish General Walerian Czuma (11:29), and Polish soldiers are marched into captivity. Under the leadership of President of the Republic Wladyslaw Raczkiewicz and General Wladyslaw Sikorski (11:41), Poland carries on in exile. Raczkiewicz gives a speech in Paris (11:50) proclaiming the “undying faith in democracy and the resurrection of Poland.” General Sikorski (12:24) greets Polish volunteers who flock to France to train and become part of the Polish resistance army. Men march and sing (12:52) as they train for the day of liberation. Winston Churchill welcomes Polish allies (13:35), and remains of the Polish Navy fight alongside Great Britain’s Navy. A Polish submarine (14:30) reaches England despite the Nazi blockade, and Polish pilots of the famed 303 Squadron take to the air to fight the Luftwaffe. British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden greets Polish troops in North Africa (15:08), and the Polish force shows its discipline in a small military parade. The future of Poland lies with the young men driving the tanks (16:35) in the dessert, fighting German planes in the skies, and resisting Nazi soldiers on the soil of Europe, all under the banner of “Poland Forever.”
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
