Tadeusz Odyniec | polishexiles

Tadeusz ODYNIEC

Tadeusz was born in Poland in 1904 in Slonim in Wilno province, Poland. He was married to Irena Janowska, had two children, and was running his own estate when he was mobilized into the Polish forces at the onset of WW2. He was taken prisoner by Soviet troops on 19 September near Wilno, and on 20 September he managed to escape. On 23 September 1939, he was arrested by the Soviet NKVD and put in prison in Ashmyany, from where they were transported to the prison in Slutsk on 31 May 1940.

In prisons they were treated unbearably. There were up to 92 in a small cell, there was no air, they weren't allowed to walk, weren't given water to wash, slept on concrete floors, and were fed very poorly. A doctor was called in cases of fainting, but no medicine was given.

During the transport from the prison to the North, to the Komi ASSR, Ukhta, they were given salty fish and no water at all. Many died in Kotlas and on the barges sailing along the northern Dvina. NKVD members in the barge shot over their heads when they asked for water. One Pole had his hands cuffed and was placed on the deck next to the toilet because, as the senior officer of one of the groups, he demanded water.

In the North Tadeusz worked in an asphaltite and kerosene mine. They were treated very badly in the labor camps and worked 12-hour days at 60 degrees below zero. Due to poor nutrition, many died of exhaustion. The attitude of the NKVD authorities towards Poles was arrogant.

Tadeusz had no contact with Poland or his family.

After they were released from the labor camp, they were starved and forced to sign declarations to go to work for free. Some of us signed the declaration in strong opposition. On 5 September they were sent to Buzuluk. On 12 September 1941, Tadeusz joined the Polish Army in Tockoje.

Tadeusz’s family was stripped of their home and taken to Siberia by the Soviet NKVD.

A man of immense charm and presence who had impressive qualities of leadership. He was responsible for organizing the flight of 24 people, including his own family, from Station 91 in Kazakhstan. It was January 1942 when Platoon Sergeant Tadeusz Odyniec arrived at Station 91. He was wearing a British Army uniform with all the Polish insignia displayed, including the white Polish eagle. Every Polish family in the station must have been there to welcome him and share in the joy and excitement, and to feel proud to be Polish just looking at him.

After having bribed the appropriate high ranking NKVD officer at Akmolinsk, he was given the necessary travel permits for twenty-four people, with the appropriate stamps and a fixed date when a wagon would come as part of a coal train. But the train would only stop for twenty minutes on 11 February 1942 and the driver and firemen had been instructed accordingly. Because Tadeusz was fluent in Russian, his group negotiated the journey to Guzar successfully.

Between 1939.09.01 and 1941.09.12, Tadeusz was in:

Oszmiana (now in Belarus), prison, Piłsudskiego Street (Sowiecka Street)
Kotlas (Russia, Arkhangelsk Oblast)
Komi Republic (Russia)
Buzuluk (Russia, Orenburg Oblast)
Totskoye (Russia, Orenburg Oblast)

Tadeusz served with the Polish 2nd Corps in the Middle East and in the Italian Campaign. After the war, Tadeusz emigrated to the United States and lived in Jackson Heights, New York, USA.

Tadeusz passed away on 21 June 1998, at the age of 93 years.