UNDERGROUND PRESS FOR CHILDREN
An item of news from the latest "BBC London Letter,’’ just received:-O-DAY thousands of girls and boys in terror-ridden Poland are reading an underground newspaper — Diedronka ("Ladybird") — the only such paper known to be printed specially for children, Each word in its pages breathes defiance to the Germans, who, in their attempt to obliterate Polish culture, have burned every child’s book that mentions the name of Poland. Copies of a recent issue of Diedronka have just reached the BBC. The first item is a prayer. It reads:"TI, the child of a country which has been tortured, beg Thee, O Lord, and pray to Thee that I may be always brave. Give me the courage of a real man, and the pride of a man, that my heart may beat so strongly for Poland that it will conquer all.
Let my heart be full of the love of a son, and the faithfulness of a soldier. Please protect my own home. Keep it free from defeat and mourning. And please protect all who fight for Poland on land and sea, and in the air." The next item in the book is a story, a true story of a sixteen-year-old Polish boy who escaped to Britain and joined the Polish forces in the expedition to Norway. There he lost a leg. He was brought back to England and awarded a medal. Later he was sent to America. where he is now at school again. That is followed by a tale about "Ciapek" (Spotty), mascot dog of the Polish Bomber Squadron in Britain. Lastly, there are items of advice, including these two. "Don’t look at passing Germans. Learn because the Germans want you to be stupid. Good learning is ‘as important as good fighting against the Germans."
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 10, Issue 239, 21 January 1944, Page 17
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298UNDERGROUND PRESS FOR CHILDREN New Zealand Listener, Volume 10, Issue 239, 21 January 1944, Page 17
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