
How a Fake Typhus Epidemic Saved a Polish City From the Nazis - dsr12
http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/how-a-fake-typhus-epidemic-saved-a-polish-city-from-the-nazis
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mirekrusin
Nice hack. There are many stories from that period, one of my favourite ones
is about Witold Pilecki [1] among several things like founding secret army he
was basically responsible for intel on concentration camps - people didn't
know what was happening there/they didn't believe they were mass killing
people; so he arranged himself to be taken to Auschwitz, organised resistance
there, built communication device with mates to send info out; after sitting
there for more than two years waiting for allies to take it over he decided to
speak to them personally, so he escaped and did manage but west said they
can't do it without soviets and soviets didn't want to do it; then he started
organising resistance just in case soviets are going to take over govt - he
was right, they did... his story goes on and on [1].

[1] [http://www.poloniainstitute.net/witold-pilecki-bravery-
beyon...](http://www.poloniainstitute.net/witold-pilecki-bravery-beyond-
measure/)

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comboy
I grew up there and had no idea about the story. Yet I had to memorize
egyptian pharaohs and tons of dates of historic events which everybody forgot
a week later.

Anyway, a "glimpse into Rozwadow today" photo seems slightly biased. It's a
small town but it doesn't looks that bad[1] (knowing HN probably only first
few of you will be able to check that..)

1\. [http://fotografialotnicza.blox.pl/tagi_b/190925/Stalowa-
Wola...](http://fotografialotnicza.blox.pl/tagi_b/190925/Stalowa-Wola.html)

~~~
irixusr
Why forget the dates after the effort shoving them in?

And why not ask what is the value of knowing the dates of important events?
The polish school system is hardly unique in this requirement.

I hated memorizing dates as a kid. Horrible at short term memory. But I was
good at putting them in long term memory. Now what I hated anchors my
understanding of history.

For example, does the modern Polish state obtaining independence have any
meaning except in the 20s and 30s? (That is after the fall of the Czar, after
WW1, before the Molotov pact). Despite Polish longing, 1917 had to happen.
1917 is an anchor.

Or consider that the discovery of America, 1492, happened less than 40 years
after the fall of Constantinople and in the same year as the fall of Granada
(ending the Reconquista). 1492 (and 1453) is another anchor

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gboudrias
> because the Germans were inclined to avoid such territories and the
> population was __relatively free __from atrocities

The small comforts one accepts in times of war.

Amazing story, thank you for posting.

