Teutonic Knights: Poland's Dilemma - Paperback

by Ed Klekowski (Author)

In 1945, with the defeat of Nazi Germany, Stalin expanded Poland to include German territories along the Baltic Sea. Was Poland's claim legitimate? Were these territories originally Slavic or Germanic? The Teutonic Legacy, a lost Vatican document from 1226, might give historical legitimacy to one side or the other. Now, in 1988, the Polish People's Republic will soon become the Republic of Poland. Should its map be redrawn? Both Poles and Germans want the Legacy but for different reasons. Three Americans teaching in Poland discover the Legacy and soon everyone is after them. The Americans want to sell the artifact to the highest bidder. But the interested parties rather pay in bullets than dollars. Modern Teutonic Knights and the Polish ZOMO (socialist gestapo) pursue the trio through monastic crypts, castles, a Nazi fortress, churches and a Jewish cemetery. The chase is set in the crumbling socialist economy of Poland in 1988 where crime, bribery and the black-market were the glue holding the place together. Finally, the Americans make it to East Berlin, only to be captured by the East German Stasi - where, hopefully, bribery would also work.