Review by Frank J. Dmuchowski
This is the true story of the Storożynski family during WW II and afterward. While it focuses primarily on Alex and his older brother, it does not forget the role of other members of the family in the conflict with Nazis, Communists, collaborators, con artists, etc. The story unfolds like the peeling of an onion in which every peeled layer leads to something new and entirely unexpected! Interestingly, Alex and his older brother were raised in the United States by immigrant parents to be loyal Americans with a deep sense of intellectual and action connection to their Polish heritage. They went down different but surprisingly converging paths.
This autobiographical memoir covers three generations of the Storożynski family, who, not so surprisingly, seem to have the same ‘presumably genetic disposition’ toward being spies and taking action against those internal and external forces who would seek to destroy and exploit Poland and Polish citizens. The book also details his career and many contributions to Polonia.
There are many fine, positive, and well-deserved reviews of Storożynski’s ‘Spies in My Blood, which I agree with and are easily accessible. So why write another review, you may well ask? I decided to write this review in a different way that hopefully piques your curiosity and will only satisfy you by reading this terrific book!
Some examples are:
(1) How did Alex’s mother survive being hunted down by the murderous Banderowcy (followers of Stephan Bandera who were committed to a 100% genocidal murder of Poles, Jews, and honorable Ukrainians in order to gain control of the Wołyń province and parts of southeastern pre-war Poland. They slaughtered over one hundred thousand innocent civilians). I guarantee that very few of us would have conceived of her incredible breathtaking escape when she was virtually trapped by the Banderowcy.
(2) About the ‘bad news’ occurred when the family’s home in the Lwów area was forcibly taken over by the Soviets (Russians) during World War II, and the family was forced out to survive on their own. The ‘good news’ is that later, it was NOT Swięty Mikołaj with gifts for the occupiers that their former allies sent down the chimney.
(3) How and why was Alex, a young American journalist, admitted to the University of Warsaw doctoral program, and who, in a sense, was his academic and unofficial advisor?
(4) How did Jerzy Urban, Poland’s incredibly cynical minister of propaganda, manipulate one of America’s allegedly significant liberal and careful newspapers into publishing a ‘Jerzy Urban manufactured story’ to deflect attention from the imposition of martial law in 1981 by focusing on information provided to America’s government by a Polish soldier who would eventually be recognized as the “First Polish Soldier of NATO”?
(5) As you read the book, you will find many examples of the crazy and incredibly stupid behavior of the communists in post-war Poland, which were laughable — only to find out that there were murderous consequences for those who did not support the regime. One victim in particular whose murder – occurred when Alex was in Warsaw – was caused by an almost off-hand remark by a significant individual in the communist government.
(6) Storożynski expresses great admiration for the then Colonel Ryszard Kuklinski (which this writer has the exact same opinion). The book presents a different story of Kuklinski’s extraction from Poland, which has something to do with Alex’s brother’s alleged involvement. This story is very much contrary to the ‘official explanation’ from America’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). As an interesting aside, Storożynski relates an alleged conversation between the current president of the Kosciuszko Foundation and Colonel Kuklinski, who, when asked an interesting and fundamental question beginning: “Colonel, would you……” The answer ‘is and is not’ what you might expect. If you read the book, you will find the answer.
There are many more wildly interesting situations that I could present, and your choices after reading the book might be quite different but equally interesting and exciting! Reading Alex’s book is like riding an incredible rollercoaster with many twists and turns and rising to new heights only to plunge into new depths with new surprises. A fictional novel could NOT have more twists and turns! (Storożynski said in an interview, “If he wrote only what he knew to be true the book would be three times as long.”)
Hopefully, in reading this review, you:
First, I would want to read Storożynski’s Spies in My Blood. Second, after having read the book, you would be inspired to consider taking some of your valuable time to set down your family’s experience in Poland and America particularly from the 1930-ies to the 2020-ies. You might be surprised at what you find out! Your work would benefit not only today’s family but also future generations who wish they knew more about their family’s involvement in Polish and American history.
I want to close this review by leaving the last word to Storożynski in speaking about his mother during an interview when he said: “ Living through the worst period of genocide in human history, my mother made sure to instill tolerance in me. When I was in Berlin, I was startled when I heard “ Achtung, Achtung” on the loudspeaker in the train station, and I made a snarky comment about the Germans. My Mama said, no, we don’t do that. There were two points during the war when the Germans saved her life. She said,
“People can only be judged by their actions and what they represent, not their nationality.”
–Review by Frank J. Dmuchowski
November 2024
