Please welcome Halina Szulakowska.  Nice to hear about another "African"
family.

Halina, you mentioned Aktube in Kazakhstan.  If you mean Aqtöbe, formerly
Aktyubinsk, that is my grandfather Lucjan Wisniowski died on the family's
trip south to join the Polish army.

Incidentally, the Russian port on the Caspian Sea from which the ships left
to Pahlevi in Iran was called "Krasnovodsk" (or "red water" if my Russian is
not mistaken).
--
Stefan Wisniowski

----------
From: "Halina Szulakowska" <halina_szulakowska@...>
Date: Fri, 31 May 2002 18:52:33 +0000
To: swisniowski@...
Subject: Re: A Forgotten Odyssey

Czesc Stefan!

Both my parents, Antoni and Matylda, were deported to Siberia and, after the
war, came to settle in Britain. I have, since this Christmas, been trying to
recover and document their stories.

Matylda was from the Podole (kolonia: Janowka Sloneczna, wies: Iwania
Puste,powiat: Borszczow). The Brodalka's family, parents and five
children,were taken to Kuroczka, from where they were moved to Aktube in
Khazakstan. After the armistice, the two eldest brothers, Czeslaw and Jozef,
enlisted in Anders' army at Lugavoj (Jozef went on to fight at Monte
Cassino). The rest of the family, travelling to meet up with the army,
missed the last train for Palestine, however. They were then moved to
Konzavod until they caught a boat to Pahlevi. After a stay in Teheran, they
were shipped to Durban and then on to the Polish camp in Marandellas (now in
Zinbabwe). It was here in 1945 that my grandfather, Piotr, died. Three years
later, the British liner, Carnavon Castle, brought Petronela (my Babcia) and
her remaining children, Matylda, Stanislaw and Florian, to Southampton dock
in England. Mama was ten at the time of the deportation.

Antoni's story is a little less clear, and I am hoping that the Memorial
Society in Moscow will help me retrace the Szulakowski family's odyssey.
Tata's village of Sienkiewicze was on the Polesie/Wolyn border near to the
Prypec river (powiat: Luniniec, wojewodztwo: Bresc Litewsk). I'm not sure
where the Szulakowski family were taken, but I do know that Tata and his
father, Konstanty, were separated from Babcia and the other three children,
Ola, Jan and Janina, and taken north to work in the forests. Antoni enlisted
with Anders' army, was taken to Palestine, and later joined the 1st
Independent Polish Parachute Brigade that fought at Arnhem. His family, like
the Brodalkowie, were moved to Marandellas under British protection and
later came to England.

I would like to take this opportunity to say 'thanks' to everyone that is
invovled in preserving the memories and histories of the 'Sibiraki'. Through
web sites and email contact, I have already gained so much precious
information. Paul Havers, for example, has very kindly added photos of my
parents' villages to his site: www.kresy.co.uk. You can view them at
http://www.kresy.co.uk/wolynpodole_villages.html#Lahwa.

Best wishes,
Halina Szulakowska

A postscript - I have managed to get hold of a recently reprinted streetplan of Lwow - originally printed in 1931.  ISBN-83-86240-63-6, Warszawa, June 2001.

Visit http://fire.us.wroc.pl/biorytm/brzesc2002_1.htm for photos and videos
of Wladyslaw Czapski's visit to Brest and Belarus.
--
Stefan Wisniowski

----------
From: "Wladyslaw Czapski" <cz@...>
Reply-To: "Wladyslaw Czapski" <cz@...>
Date: Sat, 1 Jun 2002 16:08:47 +0200
To: "Stefan Wisniowski" <swisniowski@...>
Subject: Brzesc2002

Umiescilem "wypad" do Brzescia /Bialorus/ 17-20 .05.2002
na moje stronie. Wejscie narazie z "Angielskiej" strony.
Duzo zdjec, video, mapa, glos i text.
Juz mozna ogladac.
http://fire.us.wroc.pl/biorytm/brzesc2002_1.htm
W.Czapski---------------ooo-(.)(.)-ooo----------------------------
INFO SERVICE POLAND (1981)           Mr. W.S.  CZAPSKI
                50-983  WROCLAW 14                 P.O.BOX  1954
TEL/FAX/BBS:+48 (71) 3383838  mobile:+48 (601) 511109
e-mail: cz@...                http://fire.us.wroc.pl/biorytm/
NEWS !! Offices moving = Biura ruchome24h  NEW ADRES !!
Exchange :voice, text, fax, foto, video, e-mail, internt, SMS. .
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++>-:))))))

DOCUMENTARY ON DEPORTATION OF 1.7 MILLION POLES
AT KOSCIUSZKO FOUNDATION
THURSDAY, JUNE 13 AT 7 PM


   One of the great crimes of World War Two was the deportation of 1.7 million Poles in 1939 to labor camps in Siberia and Kazakhstan. Stalin ordered this only days after Germany attacked Poland from the West; more than a million died, while some survivors escaped and made their way to General Anders' Polish Army in Persia, eventually fighting with the Allies.
   This story was largely suppressed during the war itself, since Stalin was still officially an ally. It was only in recent times that some of the survivors and their families have had a chance to speak of their experiences.
   "A Forgotten Odyssey" is a documentary on this event, produced by Jagna Wright and Aneta Naszynska. It will be shown at the Kosciuszko Foundation on Thursday, June 13 at 7 PM; Ms. Wright will be present to introduce the film and discuss her work. No ticket is required, but contributions will be accepted.
   For information and reservations, please call the Foundation Office at (212) 734- 2130.

I have uploaded 2 files from member Barbara Morawski-Charuba (one in Polish,
one in English), detailing the histories of her family's deportation to the
USSR and experiences after the 1941 amnesty.

These files can be found on our website in the FILES section, or you can
shortcut to access the English file at the URL
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Kresy-Siberia/files/Morawski%20War%20Exp%20E.P
DF

--
Stefan Wisniowski

Hello Anuradha,

I would be pleased to assist you in any way possible.  I have also forwarded
your request to our internet group of survivors and their families.

How can we help?

Stefan Wisniowski, Moderator

**********************************************************
KRESY-SIBERIA GROUP
Research + Remembrance + Recognition
**********************************************************
WEBSITES:
Discussion:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Kresy-Siberia
Film & info:    http://www.AForgottenOdyssey.com
**********************************************************
To SUBSCRIBE to the list, send an e-mail to:
Kresy-Siberia-owner@yahoogroups.com
saying who you are and your interest in the group
**********************************************************


> From: "Anuradha  Bhattacharjee" <anu_bhattacharjee@...>
> Reply-To: "Anuradha  Bhattacharjee" <anu_bhattacharjee@...>
> Date: 3 Jun 2002 15:03:10 -0000
> To: swisniowski@...
> Subject: Making bridges
>
> June 3, 2002
>
> Hi,
>
> I'm a journalist from India, who is working on the biography of a
> GUlag survivor who now lives in India. One of the very few.
>
> I came across your work, "The forgotten Odyssey" on the Net.
>
> I was wondering if you'd be willing to share your photographic
> resources and other notes with me to be able to tell the world
> about this horrific incident, which has been buried under the
> carpet.
>
> Looking forward to hearing from you,
>
> With regards,
> Anuradha Bhattacharjee
> _________________________________________________________
> Click below to visit monsterindia.com and review jobs in India or
> Abroad
> http://monsterindia.rediff.com/jobs
>
>
>

Dear Mr Bullwinkel

Thank you for bringing this book to my attention.  I am forwarding your
information, and a transcript of the review, on to the Kresy-Siberia Group,
an internet-based group of survivors, their families, and others interested
in pursuing this history.

> The Horror Trains: A Polish Woman Veteran's Memoir of World War II by Wanda E.
> Pomykalski (1999), 362 pages.
>  
> This is a book worth your time if you want to learn about the trials and
> tribulations of a young Polish girl, who was captured by Soviet security men
> while trying to escape from Poland to neutral Hungary in December 1939. The
> reader may want to know that the story has a happy ending. Wanda Pomykalski
> escaped from her horror trains just in time because of good luck and, no
> doubt, because she was young, healthy, and determined. She has lived in
> California with her family for many years but only now got around to compiling
> her notes and, at the urging of her friends, was able to present her riveting
> story in English.
> This memoir reads like a novel as its 32 short chapters cover many
> extraordinary events; as one phase ends, a new one begins. It starts with
> Wanda spending her happy summer months of 1939 in Warsaw, waiting to begin her
> medical studies. Charming young men are squiring her in romantic cafes and
> sentimental music fills the air.
>  
> Like a bombshell this idyll ends abruptly on September 1. With her parents
> away in western Poland, Wanda follows the familiar evacuation of Polish troops
> heading east while the German bombers strike from the air. Then Soviet troops
> attack from the east. She is caught at the border; she describes her
> tribulations covering the period, which ends in August 1941. Most of them are
> endless travels by the "horror trains" as a Soviet prisoner. She is accused of
> spying ("anyone leaving our country is automatically considered a spy") and is
> informed that after 5-10 years in prison she will be "allowed" to work in a
> Soviet labor camp. She boards her first cattle train in southern Poland (which
> was declared a part of the Soviet Union) and is transported to Kiev and Odessa
> with many of her woman companions. The horrible winter of 1940 is a nightmare
> for the prisoners. The guards are often sadists and sanitary conditions
> appalling. The people are constantly crying for water, bread, and spoons of
> abominable soup, their nourishment. The bitter cold kills many. The most
> terrible aspect of this ordeal is the contempt and hostility of the guards or
> interrogators towards terrorized women who are being carried away to awful
> destinations. After Odessa, the trains travel for weeks to Ufa, Omsk, and
> Tomsk, way past the Ural mountains, towards the town of Tayga. This
> Godforsaken place is 2,000 miles from Warsaw, the same as the distance between
> Washington,D.C. and California.
>  
> It is almost as if Cod rescues these people. Our writer learns the news of the
> German invasion of Russia while reading a discarded newspaper in the latrine!
> It also contains information that Stalin agreed to free imprisoned Poles and
> allowed the formation of a Polish Army. Suddenly there is some hope and travel
> is permitted to Samara (Kuybyshev), where Gen.Anders is assembling his
> prospective troops, along with the liberated civilians, some of whom can
> barely walk. Many of them lack shoes and cover their feet with bits of
> discarded automobile tires.  The arrival in Italy brings an uplifting ending
> to Wanda's tortuous saga.
>
> In closing it is well to recall that similar tales were never recorded by
> thousands who did not survive. They were shipped in hundreds of horror trains
> to Siberia and the Arctic regions not only from Poland but also from the
> Baltic countries during World War II. Others met the same fate even after the
> 1944 at the hands the NKVD. For these multitudes there was no happy outcome.
> George Suboczewski
--


> From: "Clay Bullwinkel" <clay@...>
> Reply-To: <clay@...>
> Date: Mon, 3 Jun 2002 13:29:22 -0700
> To: <swisniowski@...>
> Subject: one more reference
>
> Dear Mr. Wisniowski:
>
> Thank you for your very important Web site.  I have one more information
> reference, a book, to add to your list.
>
> Wanda E. Pomykalski,
> The Horror Trains: A Polish Woman Veteran's Memoir of World War II
> ISBN: 0-9634895-4-2
> It is for sale at   http://www.minervacenter.com/shelf.htm     email:
> minervacen@...   review:
> http://www.polishlibrary.org/review/horror_trains.htm
>
> You can reach the book sales desk there at tel. 941-951-3447.   Or you can
> reach the author at her home at XXX-XXX-XXXX, and I don't believe she has
> email.  She is one of the precious few survivors left.
>
> I have worked in Poland since 1983 and am self-taught with the language and
> the history.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Clay A. Bullwinkel
>
> vice president
> U.S.-Poland Trade Council of Silicon Valley

Greetings to all,
Anybody have any info about Polish "holy cross brigade"
I know some of the regiment were POWs held at Nürnberg
Langwasser as I came across a German  text reference
.........Polnische "Heilig-Kreuz-Brigade"  Langwasser bei
Nürnberg????
Looked on web for more information but not much luck so any
info most welcome!
Cheers,
Stefan (Mucha)

Janette
Why don't you write to the Polish Army records office, since it sounds like
as a 19 year-old  Bronislaw Winnik joined the Polish Army in France, then
transferred to Scotland.

To obtain war records of a soldier in the Polish Army fighting alongside the
Allies in World War 2, write to the British Army records office.

Send details on your relationship to the soldier in question and the
possible units and dates of service. Write to:

The Ministry of Defense
Army Records Centre, POLISH SECTION
Bourne Avenue Hayes
Middlesex, England UA3 1RF
PHONE +44 208-573-3831
FAX +44 208-569-2751

Good luck and please let me know what you discover.
--
Stefan Wisniowski

> From: janette winnik <jintymiginty51@...>
> Date: Tue, 4 Jun 2002 14:50:53 -0700 (PDT)
> To: swisniowski@...
> Subject: Re: re subscription
>
hello stefen   i had written to a site in connection to finding anything out
about how i could find information on my late Father in laws Family ,i can
find nothing on details i have and need a villiage name or more than Lwow as
where he was born ,i cant get this information ,we spell our name as Winnik
,again nothing so i wondered is this wrong spelling ? what i know for
definate is little NAME Bronislaw Winnik Born Lwow 1926 Father Wladimir died
Lwow 1942 ,Mother Rosalija Nebesnaja ?  died 1936 Lwow Brother ,Kazimir born
?died Lwow 1939 ,Grandparent s Jakov &Katerina Winnik & victor &Konstantsya
(Struszky ) sspellings probably not correct Wladimir had 2 other known
siblings Machal &Zojo? .Brono left Lwow around 1939 went down to France
joined French army ,probably under age later came to Scotland and stayed
here ,he may have left with cousins as he had 1 in France & 1 in Canada dont
know anything about them ,as far as i know they were Catholic but Brono
didnt have any beleifs in Religion ,really about all i know ,after 3 months
i am in same possion i was i can find nothing ,and due to war wonder if i
ever will  ,i would be grateful for any advise on where to go from here
thank you jinty miginty 51 @yahoo.com

Dear members,
I have uploaded the referenced document to the "files" section of
Kresy-Siberia website.  Please let me know if you need help accessing it.
--
Stefan Wisniowski

----------
From: Barbara Charuba <baska@...>

Please find attached an additional document to the story of my
grandparents' experiences during WWII which I submitted earlier.  It
includes the amnesty paper of my grandfather and my mother (on one
document), my grandmother's permit to work in the sugar mill in Korzec
(1940) and her certificate as Director of the Polish Orphanage in Wabkend,
Uzbekistan.  These are photocopies of the originals which I donated to the
Museum of Independence (Muzeum Niepodleglosci) in Warsaw.  Some years ago
they sent a representative to visit the emigrant Polish communities to seek
out the survivors of the deportations and get their stories.  it was at
that time that I donated these documents in order that they might be
preserved.

...
Barbara Charuba

> I'm looking for more info about Slawomir Rawicz or his companions.
>
> Rawicz was the subject of a ghost-written book "The Long Walk" published
> in England in the 50's.
>
> He was a Polish cavalry officer imprisoned by the Soviets in 1939 and sent
> East to a labour camp.  He and several companions escaped and walked to
> northern India.  It's an amazing tale that I have read three times over
> the years, and enjoyed each time.
>
> Rawicz resided in England after the war, but I know little about his life.
> The latest info I've found on him is in a French edition of "The Long
> Walk" published in the late 80's.  At that time he was still living in
> England, and had one son.
>
> Lech Lesiak
> Calgary, Alberta

Just wanting to share how showing in Oshawa, Ontario of "Forgotten Odyssey"
went.
In a nutshell:  It went FAB-U-LOUS!  Sell-out audience; 120 (free) tickets
available; 130 came!  Good mix in audience, tho mostly senior.  About a
dozen Sybiraki (I asked for a show of hands); the rest just plain
interested.  I enjoyed giving my little 'lecture' afterward on the matter of
Sybiraki who made Canada home after the war (very brief discussion out of my
thesis research).  The question/discussion period that followed was very
stimulating.  Margaret Bonikowska came (from Gazeta) and sold several copies
of the video.  Joan also sold several copies of her husband's book, "Without
Vodka".  The library staff were VERY pleased with the event, as well as
interest generated through their display, which they had up for three weeks
prior to the film night.  Books related to the topic have had increased
interest in recent weeks at the library.
There was a woman there, who immigrated from Poland several years ago, but
who still writes as a freelance writer for Polish magazines/newspapers, and
she took notes with the view to write an article on the event.  she had no
card and I didn't have the opportunity to get her data.
The library staff have asked if I would be interested in a repeat
performance in the fall.  The event is the BEST they have ever had, as they
usually generate 50-90 people for their film nights. I indicated I'd be
happy to repeat the evening.
Throughout the film, you could hear comments, sighs of dismay, and
ultimately, over the evening it was clear the 'story' was 'new' to many and
certainly many people left thinking about the forgotten odyssey.
Audience members reflected a wide range of community individuals, including,
of course, a large representation from Oshawa's Polish community, both elder
members from the post-war years, and post-1980 Polish immigrants.  I was
especially glad my parents attended (my father Sybirak), as well as a
cousin.
Cheers, Helen.

Helen,
Terrific news!  WELL D O N E !!!!
Elizabeth W

> Just wanting to share how showing in Oshawa, Ontario of "Forgotten
Odyssey"
> went.
> In a nutshell:  It went FAB-U-LOUS!  Sell-out audience;

Droga Alicja

I am sending this message just in case you do not
receive my longer personal message sent to-day.

Please send me your address again.  I have tried
getting in touch, but the e-mails have just bounced
back.

Przesylam serdeczne zyczenia  ELA

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Everything you'll ever need on one web page
from News and Sport to Email and Music Charts
http://uk.my.yahoo.com

Thank you Paul


On 9 Jun 2002 at 17:32, Paul Havers wrote:

> I would like to invite all those who can read (even a bit) of Polish
> to view the first two (of many) pages of Buczacz. This information was
> provided by Stanley Kowalski and at the current time is only available
> in it's original language. Eventually I will translate it into English
>
> www.kresy.co.uk/buczacz_district.html
>
> Paul
>
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Home page;   www.paulhavers.co.uk
> Eastern Borderlands of II RP;   www.kresy.co.uk
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>


John Roy-Wojciechowski
Honorary Consul,Republic of Poland
51 Granger Road, Howick, Auckland, New Zealand
Phone 649 5344670 Fax 649 5354068
e-mail polish@...  website www.polishheritage.co.nz

Dear Warren Grynberg,

It sounds like your father was a member of the Polish Second Corps under
General Wladyslaw Anders.

I will ask, through the Kresy-Siberia Group, for some information on him, as
follows:

1. Alexander Guryanov in Moscow can check his records, both for the "Uktah"
camp and for your father's records.  But he will also need some details like
date of birth and place of birth and residence.

2.  Irene Czernichowska in California can check the Hoover Institute's
archives, which have the depositions of over 18 thousand Polish exiles to
the USSR who joined the Polish Army after their release.

3.  You can write to the Polish Army records office, which has depositions
from many (if not all) of the soldiers in the Polish Army fighting with the
Western Allies.  You can get more details on this at the weblink:
http://www.aforgottenodyssey.com/mainref.html#r1

I hope that this helps.  Please let us know what you discover!
You may also consider joining our internet group for the survivors of Soviet
exile, their families, and others interested in research, remembrance, and
recognition of these events.

Kind regards,
--
Stefan Wisniowski

> From: Warrentours@...
> Date: Mon, 10 Jun 2002 03:43:15 EDT
> To: swisniowski@...
> Subject: Uktah
>
> Dear Sir
> Can you give me information about a labour camp called - Uktah Camp (The
> spelling may not be correct).
> My father, Hertz Grynberg, from Poland was sent there after he escaped to
> Russia by crossing the River Bug. After his release he was sent to Scotland,
> England with the Polish Army.
> Where can I find any records of my father whilst in the camp?
> I hope that you can help me.
> Thank you
> Warren Grynberg, London, UK
>
>
>

Please welcome Krystyna (Piotrowska) Freiburger to the group.

Krystyna, I'm not sure why you had trouble finding the right address to
join.  Where did you find out about the group?  I will send you full
information on the group separately and ask that you pass it on to anybody
else who is interested.

I am sure that we would all look forward to learning more about the project
you and Andy have done on this, and to your future contributions to our
common goals of  "Research + Remembrance + Recognition"

"Pozdrawiam"

Stefan Wisniowski, Moderator
**********************************************************
KRESY-SIBERIA GROUP
Research + Remembrance + Recognition
**********************************************************
WEBSITES:
Discussion:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Kresy-Siberia
Film & info:    http://www.AForgottenOdyssey.com
**********************************************************
To SUBSCRIBE to the list, send an e-mail to:
Kresy-Siberia-owner@yahoogroups.com
saying who you are and your interest in the group

--

From: "Krystyna Freiburger" <krystrynafreiburger@...>
Date: Mon, 10 Jun 2002 18:35:40 -0400
To: <swisniowski@...>
Subject: Kresy/Siberia Group

Czesc!
My name is Krystyna {Piotrowska}Freiburger. My brother Andy[Andrzej}
Piotrowski and I have been desperately trying to get into this group and
it's pretty hard, I am wondering how many other people are experiencing the
same problems. Your address is not written anywhere in full. Thanks to Henry
Sokolowski from Toronto who told us about this group we have hopefully got
your correct address and will be able to join this group.

Our parents were also taken to Siberia in February 1940 with two children
and one on the way. After two years there and losing he two youngest boys,
as others headed south. My Dad  joined the army of Anders and my Mom left a
little later...same horrible journey { as the rest of your families} through
the Middle East and she ended up in Africa. Along with our oldest brother
she lived there for 5 years. My father and my Mom did not know about each
others whereabouts for 8 years.... When the war ended my Dad being with the
British army went to England ..found Mama in Africa ,,,brought her there to
the camp and then Andy and I were born.

We have listened to these stories all of our lives. We have always been
interested but now we are passionate about sharing with others and about
getting the truth out there. We are both fluent in polish and we are able to
communicate in both languages. If we get into the group I will share with
all of you the project I have done with Polish High School students and the
Polish elders and veterans ....who are so quickly dying and their history
along with them.
SZCZESC BOZE !!!

Warren,

Thanks for your details of your father's birth.  They should help Alexander
and Irene to search through those records they have access to.

Further to your question about Anders Army and Scotland, here is a brief
history as I understand it, based on the various sources available to me.  I
would also appreciate any further information or clarification on this from
our group members with Scottish links.

On July 30, 1941, after the Germans attacked their former Soviet "friends",
General Sikorski signed the Polish-Soviet Pact leading to the release of the
Polish citizens imprisoned or exiled by the Soviets.  Under that agreement,
the  "Polish Army in the East" was formed in August 1941 in the USSR under
General Wladyslaw Anders.  Tens of thousands of the relesed survivors made
their way to the southern USSR to join the Polish army - men, women,
children.  Many died or were diverted from their goal by the Soviets seeking
labourers.

However, by March 1942, there were over 80,000 military personnel enrolled,
and about 35,000 civilians camped alongside them and depending on the army
to share  their rations.  But the Soviets had cut the total rations for
these 115,000 people to 40,000 at first, then on March 16, to 26,000!

Living conditions clearly had became unsustainable, and with British help
Anders and Sikorski managed to get Stalin's agreement to send the Polish
Army to the Middle East to protect the Iraqi oilfields from German advances
(thus keeping British soldiers available to open the "second front" in
Normandy).

So between March 26 and April 10, 1942, about 33,000 military and 11,000
civilians (including my 11-year old father) were evacuated across the
Caspian Sea from Krasnovodsk in the USSR to Pahlevi in Persia (now Iran).

During April and May, about 11,000 of these soldiers were sent from Teheran
by train to the Persian Gulf to be transported to the UK.  Sikorski
especially wanted airmen, sailors, and armoured (tank) brigades sent over.
However, only 1,439 of these soldiers actually made the journey to the UK.
So it is possible that your father, Herszko Grynberg, may have been part of
this group.  In the UK, the Polish Armed Forces (ie. the First Polish
Corpus) that had gathered there since the fall of France were largely based
in Scotland, so these new Polish troops would likely have been sent there as
well.  Their job was initially to help defend Scotland, and later to
participate in the European offensive after D-Day.

In addition, I understand that airforce cadets from the "Junacka" School
were transferred from Palestine to active duty in England later in the war.

Meanwhile, the bulk of the Polish Army in the East remained in the Middle
East (in Iraq, then Palestine) and was eventually attached to the British
8th Army as the Second Polish Corpus, going on to fight the Germans in
Italy.  After the war, the Polish Army was brought to the UK to be
demobilised and encouraged to return to Poland (though hardly any of the
former Soviet exiles or prisoners did).

Warren, I hope that this all helps a bit and fits with the facts you know
about, and again, I hope that our Scottish friends can shed some more light
on your father's possible route from the USSR prison camps to Scotland.

Regards,
--
Stefan Wisniowski

> From: Warrentours@...
> Date: Tue, 11 Jun 2002 05:49:26 EDT
> To: swisniowski@...
> Subject: Re: Uktah
>
> Dear Stefan
> My father was born in the town of Losice in the Lublin district of Poland on
> the 13 May 1915. His name on his birth certificate is Herszko Grynberg.
>
> After his release he was sent with the Polish Army to Scotland in the UK. I
> thought that the Anders army went to Palestine or Persia. Would you please
> clarify this?
>
> Thank you for your help and I would be grateful for any other information you
> can send me.
>
> Yours sincerely
> Warren Grynberg

As an addition to Polish to the message "Soldiers to Scotland"..

My Father was shipped to Scotland in April/May 1943 aboard the French liner
"I'll De France".
..I believe the trip started out of Palestine, then docked in Durban for 1 day,
then the liner was chased by a U-boat to Mid-Atlantic, and subsequently the ship
had to re-stock and ended up in Rio-De-Janerio.
The ship then re-crossed the Atlantic, and finally ended up in Scotland in early
May 1943.

I have also heard similar stories where the ship was used to also transport
German POW's to America.
The ship would be sent to New York, where the POW's were offloaded before it
would sail the North Atlantic sea route to Britain.

Regards

Gary Jucha - England.

From: "jintymiginty51" <jintymiginty51@...>

can anyone recall anything about children getting sent to the country
to work on farms ? my late Father in law was one of these Chldren
can anyone tell me any more  ? many thanks

Just a reminder that this film will be broadcast on TV in Chicago on
Thursday, June 20 at 8 p.m. on WTTW11.  Following is a very interesting
article about survivor Wes Adamczyk, who has taken up this cause
marvelously.

http://www.networkchicago.com/citytalk/survivorsstory0602.htm
--
Stefan Wisniowski


"A SURVIVOR'S STORY"

Wesley Adamczykıs mother died alone in a Persian hospital after shepherding
her children thousands of miles in search of freedom during World War II. He
fights to hold back tears that have welled up in his eyes as he recalls the
day he learned of her death. His sister brought him the news, along with the
ragged shoes their mother wore through every step of an escape from the
murderers who invaded their homeland. Droplets stream down his gray bearded
cheeks. Itıs as if he is 10 years old again, reliving the fear, the sadness,
the pain of going on without her.

³My mother was my source of strength,² says Adamczyk. ³She prayed every day
and gave us hope. She sacrificed her life to feed us. Sometimes she would
deny herself food and give it to me, the youngest. Were it not for her, I
would not have reached freedom.²

In 1940, Anna Adamczyk and her children, George, Sophie and Wesley, were
among the 1.7 million Poles deported by Stalin from their homeland and
forced to work in slave labor camps throughout Siberia and Kazakhstan. More
than 1.2 million people died in transport and in camps or were executed. In
the Katyn Forest Massacre alone, some 15,000 Polish officers and
intellectual leaders were executed. After the war, a great many of the
500,000 survivors returned to Poland, where they lived under the communist
regime. Until 1990 the Polish government forbade them from talking about
their experiences.

On Thursday, June 20 at 8 p.m. WTTW11 will present A Forgotten Odyssey, a
documentary that weaves historical footage of the deportations with
survivorsı stories to present a portrait of what has been called the Polish
Holocaust.

Wesley Adamczyk was born in Warsaw in 1933 and lived his early childhood on
an estate in Sarny with his father, Jan, an army officer, his mother Anna,
his brother George and his sister Sophie. He spent his days playing in the
gardens that surrounded their home, listening to his fatherıs stories about
Poland and learning about art and literature.

His idyllic lifestyle changed abruptly on Sept. 1, 1939, when Hitlerıs
troops attacked Poland from the west, triggering World War II. Sixteen days
later, Stalinıs army invaded Poland from the east.

³[The Russians] came as allies of the Poles,² says Adamczyk, ³but in a short
time, a quarter-million men, including my father, were taken prisoner.²

Captain Adamczyk was taken to one of three Soviet prison camps near Kharkov,
Ukraine. He was allowed to write home, but after several months the letters
stopped. Wesley Adamczyk would spend the next 50 years searching for his
father.

Soviet soldiers came for Anna and her children in May 1940. They were packed
into railroad cattle cars with thousand of other Poles and shipped to
government-run farms where they lived in flea-infested huts and worked in
100-degree heat.

After Germanyıs surprise attack on its Russian allies in June 1941, the
Soviet Union was brought into the anti-Nazi Alliance. Britainıs Prime
Minister Winston Churchill persuaded Stalin to grant all surviving Polish
prisoners amnesty. Many of the freed Poles, including Annaıs son George,
made their way across the treacherous Soviet terrain to join the Polish
Army, which was being formed in the south.

Hoping to find her husband among the Polish troops, Anna and her children
boarded a southbound train that rattled along for two weeks picking up
Polish refugees. With no washing facilities on board, the stench of
dysentery hung in the air.

³We stopped at one station and I looked into a car with 40 to 50 children,²
says Adamczyk. ³Dressed in shorts and T-shirts, they were lying on their
side in the 100-degree heat. Mother told me they were orphans. Their heads
were shaved, their chests collapsed, stomachs indented. You couldnıt tell
the boys from the girls until you walked by and saw their testicles. Pus was
coming from their eyes and many were blind. They were too sick to get up so
they were lying in their own waste. At least I had my mother with me. She
was my source of strength.²

In August 1942, the Adamczyks crossed the Caspian Sea on a merchant ship and
landed in Pahlevi, Iran (Persia), where the Polish Army was being trained.
When Anna and Wesley became ill, all three Adamczyks became separated.
Eventually, Wesley and Sophie were reunited.

³Sophie looked sad and I knew something was wrong,² says Adamczyk. ³She
said, ŒMother died.ı She was carrying my motherıs shoes - the same shoes
that went thousands of miles saving us, leading us to freedom. I began to
wonder about God and all His mercy. Where the hell was God when this woman
was dying?²

Adamczyk says his faith in God was restored when in 1943 he met his American
cousin Mary Jean Siepak, a surgical nurse stationed in Persia. After a
tearful reunion in Tehran, Siepak arranged for his and Sophieıs transport to
Mexico. The day before their scheduled departure, Adamczyk broke out with
Scarlet Fever and they were forced to stay behind.

After the war ended, Wesley and Sophie moved to England. Better to live
there, they decided, than return to communist Poland. A year later, Adamczyk
said goodbye to his sister and boarded the Aquitania en route to North
America. Upon landing in Halifax, Nova Scotia, he caught a train to Chicago
to live with his American relatives. His journey to freedom ended at Union
Station, where his cousins welcomed him on Thanksgiving Day, 1949. Wesley
Adamczyk, 15, was finally home.

³My pockets were empty,² he says, ³but my heart was full of dreams and
aspirations.²

Adamczyk never gave up hope of one day reuniting with his long-lost father.
His search continued for more than 50 years. It wasnıt until the Russians
released classified documents in 1992 that he learned the truth: Capt. Jan
Adamczyk had been shot dead in the basement of the Russian military
headquarters in Kharkov, Ukraine, in 1940. He was 47 years old.

For Adamczyk, the memory of his parents lives on through his work. The
retired senior chemist and tax consultant is putting the finishing touches
on a book about his familyıs experience that he hopes to publish next year.
In addition, Adamczyk, a resident of Deerfield, often shares his story with
high-school and college students. And he has spent the past several months
promoting A Forgotten Odyssey.

³Iım doing this to let people know what others did,² he says. ³My father was
murdered for freedom. My mother led us to freedom. Never mind living, the
most precious thing in life is freedom. I am doing this to commemorate my
parents and to speak for the people like them who can no longer speak for
themselves.²

A Forgotten Odyssey airs Thursday, June 20 at 8 p.m. on WTTW11. Following
the documentary, Phil Ponce interviews survivors who live in the Chicago
area."

Just an update on upcoming screenings of the documentary "A Forgotten
Odyssey" on 1.7 million Polish citizens deported to war-time forced labor
camps by the Soviets, with the survivors joining Anders Army to fight the
Nazis during World War II.

See www.AForgottenOdyssey.com for more information and other upcoming
locations, or to order a video of the film.

Stefan Wisniowski
Sydney Australia


June 13, 2002.
7:00:00 PM.  A Forgotten Odyssey screening in New York.
Location:  The Kosciuszko Foundation,
15 East 65th Street, New York, NY 10021-6595.
Introduced by producer Jagna Wright and followed by discussion.
No ticket required, but contributions gratefully received.
Contact Tom Pniewski telephone: (212) 734-2130

June 15, 2002.
12:00:00 PM.  A Forgotten Odyssey screening in Detroit.
Location:  Zak Memorial Library, 2360 Caniff Ave, Hamtramck MI 48212.
Introduced by producer Jagna Wright and followed by discussion.  Sponsored
by the Polish Genealogical Society of Michigan.  Contact Tamara Sochacka at
313-365-7050.

June 16, 2002.
1:00:00 PM.  A Forgotten Odyssey screening in San Diego.
The Polish Mission in San Diego, 1735 Grand Avenue, San Diego CA 92109.
Contact Father Kowalski at the Mission, Telephone/Fax (619) 668-0485.

June 20, 2002.
8:00:00 PM.  "A Forgotten Odyssey" TV broadcast on WTTW11 Chicago.

June 24, 2002.
10:00:00 PM.  "A Forgotten Odyssey" TV broadcast on WMVS Milwaukee..

September 21, 2002.
2:30:00 PM.    A Forgotten Odyssey screening in St. Clair Shores, MI.
St. Clair Shores Public Library, 22500 Eleven Mile Rd. at Jefferson Ave.
(east of I-94/696 interchange).  Sponsored by the Polish Genealogical
Society of Michigan and following the PGSM business meeting at 2:00 PM,
telephone (810) 771-9020.




Thank you

Stefan Wisniowski, Moderator

**********************************************************
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Research + Remembrance + Recognition
**********************************************************
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Barbara
Thank you for the additional information.  I understand that while 98% of
the total evacuation was across the Caspian Sea by ship, an overland
evacuation was conducted across the border of 701 soldiers and 1,936
civilians (many of them children)  in August 1942.  You must have been a
young girl at the time!
--
Stefan Wisniowski


> From: Barbara Luszczynska <Barbara-Luszczynska@...>
> Date: Wed, 12 Jun 2002 09:12:19 -0500 (CDT)
> To: Stefan Wisniowski <swisniowski@...>
> Subject: Re: Anders Army in Scotland
>
>
>
> Stefan,
> I read with great interest your account of the
> Anders Army and the civilians who had connections with the Army.
> I wanted to add some information not related to the Polish Army in
> Scotland. Not all civilians went through the Caspian Sea route.
> I and my family and many, many other Poles, especially children
> without parents, were driven by British military lorries from
> Ashgabad on the border of Turkmenistan and Iran through terribly
> treacherous mountainous terrain and ended up in a refugee camp near
> Teheran.
>
> Barbara
>
> Barbara Luszczynska            Tel:314/935-6177
> Mathematics Library            e-mail:barbaral@...
> Washington University          FAX:314/935-4142
> Campus Box-1146
> One Brookings Drive
> St. Louis MO 63130
>
>
>
>
>
>

Please welcome Yuri Okolita to the group, our second member in Russia
itself!

Yuri, your family history shows how many nationalities suffered at the hands
of the Soviet government authorities.  My family and yours would have lived
in the same area near Brody, but my father and his family were deported in
1940 to Archangel oblast.  Their crime was owning a small plot of land, my
grandfather's membership of an agricultural council, and that they were
Polish in these lands recently occupied by the Soviet Union.  Do you know
what reasons your family was deported for?

in any case, I hope that you can learn more about the circumstances of the
Soviet deportations from the group, and that in turn you can teach us some
new things as well.

Kind regards,
Stefan Wisniowski
Sydney Australia

----------
From: Yuri Okolita <okolita@...>

Dear Mr. Wisniowski

Thank you for your kind inquiry. I'll try to answer every question you ask.
My interest to this group has arisen after several years of researching my
family history.

My grandfather Karp Okolita with his wife Anna Okolita and his son (my
father) Ivan Okolita were deported from Chernitsa, Brody region, Lviv oblast
to Kargasok, a little village in the north of Tomsk oblast, Siberia in 1946.

My second grandfather Aleksei Strezh with his wife Olga Strezh were deported
from Molodechno, Belarus, in 192? to Tomsk, where daughter Tamara (my
mother) was born. Aleksei Strezh was wrongfully accused as an agent of
Poland and was shot by KGB in Kolpashevo, Tomsk oblast in 1939. He was fully
rehabilitated after Stalin's death in 1953.

I was born in 1966 in Tomsk, Siberia, Russia where I'm living now. My
parents live with me and they remember a lot about those times, so I can ask
them in case of necessity. I'm researching Okolita family tree for several
years and have contacts with different Okolita famillies in US, Canada and
Germany. I'd be glad to receive any information on people bearing Okolita
surname.

If you or group members have any questions or want to know more details
please contact me.

Best regards,

Yuri Okolita

Announcing an Ottawa showing of  the documentary "A Forgotten Odyssey" on
1.7 million Polish citizens deported to war-time forced labor camps by the
Soviets, with the survivors joining Anders Army to fight the Nazis during
World War II.

June 20, 2002.
7:30:00 PM.  A Forgotten Odyssey screening in Ottawa.
Location:  Polish Combatant's centre (Dom Polski), 379 Waverley Street,
Ottawa, Ontario K2P 0W4.
Description:  The documentary "A Forgotten Odyssey" on 1.7 million Polish
citizens deported to war-time forced labor camps by the Soviets, with the
survivors joining Anders Army to fight the Nazis during World War II.
Contact J. Rudowicz, telephone (613) 728-1375, e-mail spk@....

See www.AForgottenOdyssey.com for more information and other upcoming
locations, or to order a video of the film.

Stefan Wisniowski
Sydney Australia

Yes, very young :-) I wasn't born until after the end of the war...

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> Date: Thu, 13 Jun 2002 13:00:07 +1000
> Subject: [Kresy-Siberia] Re: Anders Army in Scotland
> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
>
> Barbara
> Thank you for the additional information.  I understand that while 98% of
> the total evacuation was across the Caspian Sea by ship, an overland
> evacuation was conducted across the border of 701 soldiers and 1,936
> civilians (many of them children)  in August 1942.  You must have been a
> young girl at the time!
> --
> Stefan Wisniowski
>
>
> > From: Barbara Luszczynska <Barbara-Luszczynska@...>
> > Date: Wed, 12 Jun 2002 09:12:19 -0500 (CDT)
> > To: Stefan Wisniowski <swisniowski@...>
> > Subject: Re: Anders Army in Scotland
> >
> >
> >
> > Stefan,
> > I read with great interest your account of the
> > Anders Army and the civilians who had connections with the Army.
> > I wanted to add some information not related to the Polish Army in
> > Scotland. Not all civilians went through the Caspian Sea route.
> > I and my family and many, many other Poles, especially children
> > without parents, were driven by British military lorries from
> > Ashgabad on the border of Turkmenistan and Iran through terribly
> > treacherous mountainous terrain and ended up in a refugee camp near
> > Teheran.
> >
> > Barbara
> >
> > Barbara Luszczynska            Tel:314/935-6177
> > Mathematics Library            e-mail:barbaral@...
> > Washington University          FAX:314/935-4142
> > Campus Box-1146
> > One Brookings Drive
> > St. Louis MO 63130
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
> +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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> +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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   Barbara Kroczak                      Sun Microsystems Inc.
   Program Manager, Forte Tools         901 San Antonio Road, M/S UMPK16-305
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