Tajemnica Westerplatte

Tajemnica Westerplatte
Polish theatrical poster
Directed by	Paweł Chochlew
Produced by	Lipski Andrzej Haliński Robert Żołędziewski
Written by	Paweł Chochlew
Starring	Michał Żebrowski Robert Żołędziewski
Music by	Jan A.P. Kaczmarek
Cinematography	Waldemar Szmidt Algimantas Mikutenas
Edited by	Milenia Fiedler PSM
Production company	Pleograf
Release dates	February 15, 2013 (2013-02-15)
Running time	ITI Cinema
Country	Poland Lithuania
Language	Polish
Budget	14 million złoty

1939 Battle of Westerplatte, originally titled in Poland as Tajemnica Westerplatte ("The Secret of Westerplatte"), is a 2013 Polish-Lithuanian war film written and directed by Paweł Chochlew. It is portraying the Battle of Westerplatte between the Polish Army and Nazi German forces at the start of World War II in 1939. The film focuses on the conflict between Westerplatte commander Henryk Sucharski (Michał Żebrowski) and his deputy Franciszek Dąbrowski (Robert Żołędziewski).^[1]

Cast

• Michał Żebrowski − as Major Henryk Sucharski
• Robert Żołędziewski − as Capitan Franciszek Dąbrowski
• Jan Englert − as Lieutenant-Colonel Wincenty Sobociński
• Piotr Adamczyk − as Capitan Mieczysław Słaby, medic
• Borys Szyc − as Lieutenant Stefan Grodecki
• Przemysław Cypryański − as Lieutenant Zdzisław Kręgielski
• Bartosz Obuchowicz − as Lieutenant Leon Pająk
• Andrzej Grabowski − as Warrant Officer Adolf Petzelt
• Mirosław Zbrojewicz − as Warrant Officer Jan Gryczman
• Tomasz Sobczak − as Sergeant Władysław Deik
• Marcin Janos Krawczyk − as Corporal Piotr Buder
• Mirosław Baka − as Corporal Eugeniusz Grabowski
• Tomasz Borkowski − as Sergeant Leonard Piotrowski
• Jakub Wesołowski − as Petty Officer Bernard Rygielski
• Sławomir Zapała − as Private Antoni Ozorowski
• Romuald Kłos − as civilian contractor Karol Szwedowski

Production and release

Tajemnica Westerplatte was originally planned for release in 2009.^[2]

Reception

The film has sparked some controversy with allegations saying it was "anti-Polish" and "unpatriotic" in its revisionist attitude to the heroic myth of the Battle of Westerplatte which became a symbol of the against-the-odds defiance to the Nazi invasion, and a group of historians even dismissed it as a false depiction of the battle that is being "offensive to the dignity and honour of Polish soldiers."^[3][4] According to The Telegraph, "while the film has garnered its detractors, cinema critics have dismissed claims that The Secret of Westerplatte belittles the soldiers who fought and died in the battle. One critic described it as a "hymn to the heroism of the defenders of Westerplatte.'"^[4]

Possibly in an attempt to deflect the negative criticism, which the title word "Tajemnica" (Secret), implying as it does that the film makes revelations and runs against the long-held perception of the battle as an heroic Polish defence, publicity posters omitting the word were produced^[5] and at least three other versions of the title have been used. These range from the non-comittal "1939 Westerplatzer Battlefield"^[6] and "1939 Battle of Westerplatte"^[7] to another version that unambiguously addresses the issue, "Heroes of Westerplatte 1939".^[8]

References