The table and documents are presented to journalists at the Warsaw Rising Museum. Donor Piotr Bezia (2R) stands by director of the museum Jan Oldakowski (R). Photo: PAP/ Rafal Guz
Piotr Bezia from Szczecin, northern Poland, was searching for a suitable table for his computer when he chanced upon a reasonably-priced offer on internet auction site Allegro.
He snapped up the antique for 99 zloty (24 euros), and after it had been delivered he decided to shorten the table's legs.
However, on turning the table over, he discovered a secret compartment.
Photo: PAP Rafal Guz
Inside, there was a typed document, together with a letter that read: “With great fear in my heart, I present you sir with a report on current Polish politics.
“It seems to me that this is the most important report that I have ever submitted,” the letter continued.
The document in question was written by Colonel Marian Drobik (codename Woodpecker), who was head of intelligence for Poland's underground force the Home Army (AK) from 1942-43.
Drobik wrote the report in Nazi-occupied Warsaw in late 1943, and it concerned Polish-Soviet relations.
Technically, since a 1941 amnesty, the Soviets had been Polish allies, but having divided up the country in 1939 with Nazi Germany, trust was markedly low.
In April 1943 the Germans had revealed mass graves of Polish officers connected with the Katyn Crime, and the Polish government-in-exile had little doubt that the Soviets were responsible.
The documents and the table have now been presented to the Warsaw Rising Museum, and historians believe that the papers represent the first version of the Drobik report (one other copy exists but with a number of grammatical corrections).
Anna Grzechnik, chief conservator at the museum said the table and documents “will probably soon join the main exhibition,” adding that it would be a shame if they ended up in a warehouse.
Colonel Marian Drobik was arrested by the Gestapo on 10 December 1943. His precise fate is unknown. (nh)
Source: IAR, Gazeta Wyborcza