Paperback
War hero’s secret life: betrayal, trauma, and a daughter’s discovery.
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The Betrayed War Hero

The Gripping True Story of a Combat Veteran

$94.95

  • Paperback

    288 pages

  • Release Date

    5 January 2027

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Summary

A daughter uncovers the hidden life of a decorated World War II hero – and the devastating legacy of war trauma and political betrayal that shaped generations

When Nadia Rupniak buried her father, she believed she knew the man who had ruled her childhood with harsh discipline and an explosive temper. Only after his death did she discover that he had been a highly decorated Polish officer and World War II hero who had lived for decades in secrecy, exile, and unresolved…

Book Details

ISBN-13:9781531514723
ISBN-10:1531514723
Author:Nadia Rupniak, G. Kurt Piehler
Publisher:Fordham University Press
Imprint:Fordham University Press
Format:Paperback
Number of Pages:288
Release Date:5 January 2027
Dimensions:152mm x 229mm
Series:World War II: the Global, Human, and Ethical Dimension
A-Format
B-Format
The Betrayed War Hero by Nadia Rupniak - ISBN: 9781531514723
152 × 229 mm
C-Format
A4
mm / in
What They're Saying

Critics Review

“This work by Dr Nadia Rupniak is an important addition to the canon of Polish military and social history. It is also a study of the mental health of survivors of extreme trauma. It is a hidden history. Hidden for many reasons: none good.” - Evan McGilvray

“This provocative and absorbing book tells two compelling stories. First, it recounts how Poland was betrayed by its British allies during World War II and its aftermath. Second, how that betrayal destroyed a Polish war hero and his family. As told by his daughter, it is a riveting example of what tragic consequences may affect individuals and their families when war-related PTSD is neither acknowledged nor treated.” - Matthew J. Friedman MD, PhD, Emeritus Professor and Vice Chair for Research, Department of Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth; Former (and First) Executive Director, National Center for PTSD, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Former Director and Founder, National PTSD Brain Bank, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

“A dormant and unspoken past creates potent misunderstandings. World War II created many terrible legacies of silent suffering among heroic veterans who migrated to foreign lands for the future of their children. This book is an extraordinary narrative of how finding an unknown past, brings it alive and creates the richness of new intimacy in our relationships with dead parents. A must read.” - Alexander McFarlane, Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry, Adelaide University, South Australia

About The Author

Nadia Rupniak

Nadia Rupniak (Author)

Nadia Rupniak holds a BA in Physiology and Psychology from the University of Oxford and a PhD from the Institute of Psychiatry, London. A scientist known for developing new treatments for psychiatric and neurological disorders, she is the author of more than 140 peer-reviewed publications. Her work has appeared in Science and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal.

G. Kurt Piehler (Foreword By)

G. Kurt Piehler is the author of A Religious History of the American GI in World War II (2021) and several reference works related to war and society. He is a member of the editorial board of the Service Newspapers of World War II digital publication and on the advisory board of the NEH-funded American Soldier Project at Virginia Tech University.

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