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Aquila Polonica is an independent publishing house based in the
U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
and the U.K., founded in 2005 by Terry A. Tegnazian and Stefan Mucha. The company specializes in books based on eyewitness accounts, in English, of
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The company's mission is to expand the availability of literature in English about Poland's role in World War II. To that end, Tegnazian and Mucha have acquired the rights to more than 30 titles.


Non-fiction

Aquila Polonica published its first title, ''The Mermaid and the Messerschmitt: War Through a Woman’s Eyes, 1939–1940'', in 2009. Author Rulka Langer was a young Vassar-educated career woman who recorded the events she experienced in
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
when the
Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
attacked and occupied the city during the opening days of WWII. "Rulka was an ordinary person, a working mother, caught up in the chaos of war," said publisher Terry Tegnazian in an interview on Lifetime Television. The revised edition of Langer's original 1942 book includes more than 100 archival photos and illustrations, many reproduced with permission of the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. ''The Mermaid and the Messerschmitt'' won the 2010 Benjamin Franklin Silver Award in the category of The Bill Fisher Award for Best First Book (Nonfiction). ''The Ice Road: An Epic Journey from the Stalinist Labor Camps to Freedom'', by Stefan Waydenfeld, was published in 2010. It tells the story of the Waydenfeld family's forcible deportation to the frozen wastes of
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
and the long journey to freedom through the eyes of a 14-year-old narrator. The book won a Silver Award for Autobiography/Memoir at the 2011 Benjamin Franklin Awards, which recognize excellence in independent publishing. '303 Squadron: The Legendary Battle of Britain Fighter Squadron'', by Arkady Fiedler, with a new translation by Jarek Garlinski, was published by Aquila Polonica in 2010. The book chronicles the exploits of the Polish fighter pilots who flew in 303 Squadron in the skies over England during World War II. It was awarded the top Gold Award in the History category, and a Silver Award for Interior Design at the 2011 Benjamin Franklin Awards '' The Auschwitz Volunteer: Beyond Bravery'', by
Witold Pilecki Witold Pilecki (; 13 May 190125 May 1948), known by the codenames ''Roman Jezierski'', ''Tomasz Serafiński'', ''Druh'' and ''Witold'', was a Polish World War II cavalry officer, intelligence agent, and resistance leader. As a youth, Pilecki ...
, translated by Jarek Garlinski, was published by Aquila Polonica in 2012. In 1940, Polish Army officer Pilecki volunteered to get himself arrested by the Nazis in a Warsaw roundup (in Polish, '' łapanka'', in order to smuggle out intelligence about what was taking place inside the notorious concentration camp and organize a resistance network whose ultimate goal was to help liberate the camp. This is the first book published containing an English translation of Pilecki's 1945 full report to his superior officers. In the foreword, Poland's chief rabbi, Michael Schudrich, states, “If heeded, Pilecki’s early warnings might have changed the course of history.”


Fiction

''Maps and Shadows'', a debut novel by
Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
poet Krysia Jopek, was published in 2010 and won a Silver Benjamin Franklin Award 2011 in the category of Historical Fiction. This fictionalized
family saga The family saga is a genre of literature which chronicles the lives and doings of a family or a number of related or interconnected families over a period of time. In novels (or sometimes sequences of novels) with a serious intent, this is often ...
is written from the points of view of four family members: a father, a mother, a sister and a brother. World War II uproots the family and sends them to all corners of the globe—Russian, Persia, Iran, Africa, England and, finally, to the United States.


Film

''Siege'' is the 1940
Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
-nominated short newsreel shot by American photojournalist Julien Bryan during the attack on Warsaw by the Nazis in the opening days of World War II. ''Siege'' was inducted into the U.S.
National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation (library and archival science), preservation, each selected for its cultural, historical, and aestheti ...
in 2006. The film has been restored and was released on DVD by Aquila Polonica in 2010. An audio essay by Julien Bryan, "Friendship Is a Passport," recorded for Edward R. Murrow's " This I Believe" radio series in the early 1950s, accompanies the newsreel.


References


External links


Aquila Polonica WebsiteLeonard Lopate Show WNYC-FM, "Siege"
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News and Notes, WVTF-FM, "The Ice Road""Polish Heroes," Wall St. Journal"Forgotten Adventure in Real Time," Flying Magazine
Book publishing companies based in California Publishing companies established in 2005 Polish-American culture