Monday, November 10, 2014

The Color of Courage By Julian Kulski

Boy Soldier's WWII Diary Debuts on Veterans Day
"The Color of Courage" Brings WWII to Life with Digital Extras:
11 Short Videos Created from Original Historical Film and Audio


World War II veteran, international architect and author Julian Kulski's book, The Color of Courage - A Boy At War: The World War II Diary of Julian Kulski, will be published by Aquila Polonica on Veterans Day.

The Color of Courage is a rare and vivid day-by-day eyewitness account by a young boy who becomes a man far too soon under the brutal Nazi German occupation of Poland. Julian is a 10-year-old Boy Scout when the Germans invade his native Poland to start World War II. At an age when most boys are still playing with toys, Julian begins his own private war against the Germans with small acts of sabotage. At 12, he is recruited into the clandestine Underground Army by his Scoutmaster, and begins training on weapons and military tactics.

By 14, he is holding up German soldiers at gunpoint, has gone on a secret mission into the Warsaw Ghetto to liaise with Jewish resistance leaders, is captured by the Gestapo, beaten and interrogated, sentenced to Auschwitz, rescued, and joins a Commando unit of the Underground Army. At 15, he fights in the Warsaw Uprising, ending the war as a German POW.

The war's end brings physical freedom but very little peace for the 16-year-old veteran suffering from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). A wise army doctor advises Julian to write down his experiences to help lessen the psychological and emotional burdens of the war. The Color of Courage is the result. In this book, you will learn:
  • What the reality of PTSD was like during WWII (read Julian's article on PTSD)
  • What it was like for a child growing up surrounded by war.
  • How fighting for freedom is worth dying for.
Originally written in Julian's native Polish, it has been translated into English and enhanced with more than 150 photos, maps and illustrations, and 11 short videos created from original historical video and audio material. These unique "digital extras," accessed via QR codes and URLs throughout the book, pack a powerful visual punch that brings the author's world brilliantly to life.

The foreword is by Lech Walesa, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate; the introduction is by Rabbi Michael Schudrich, Chief Rabbi of Poland. There are more than 150 photos, maps and illustrations, plus groundbreaking digital extras. Go here to watch the book trailer: www.polww2.com/CourageTrailer


ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Julian Kulski was born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1929. After the war, he came to the U.S., worked his way through Yale University, and built a new life here as a successful architect. Now semi-retired from a distinguished architectural career, Kulski has taught at Notre Dame University, George Washington University and Howard University. For twenty years he served as a consultant to the World Bank, designing buildings in twenty-nine developing countries. Author of several books and more than a hundred articles in professional journals, he is a frequent speaker to audiences of all ages.

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