Kazimierz Szajkowski was born 29 August 1918 in Loszniow, Poland. His education at a teacher’s college was interrupted when the war broke out. The Germans invaded Poland from the west on 1 September 1939, and the Russians invaded from the east on 17 September 1939. They divided Poland between them. In the Russian-controlled area, the plan to ethnically-cleanse the area soon took effect with the first of four mass deportations to Siberia that were carried out in 1940 and 1941.

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Kazimierz was mobilized into the Polish army and fought in the September Campaign. He was captured by the Russians and sent to a POW camp in Siberia. In June 1941, Germany turned on its ally, Russia. Stalin then quickly changed tactics and allied himself with the west so that the allies could help him defeat the Germans. This led to the signing of the Sikorski-Majewski agreement that called for the freeing of Poles imprisoned in POW camps and labour camps in the USSR, and the formation of a Polish Army in the southern USSR.

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The news of this ‘amnesty’ did not reach every camp, but where it did become known, the men and boys soon made plans to make their way south to join the army. For most, this meant walking thousands of kilometers and only occasionally getting on a train for part of the journey.  Many did not make it, and those who did were emaciated skeletons by the time they got there. Kazimierz was among those who reached the Polish army in the south.

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General Anders was in charge of the army, and he tried hard to get the Russians to provide the food and equipment they had promised. When this became more and more impossible, he negotiated the right to evacuate the army to Persia, where the British would provide what was needed.

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Anders insisted on taking as many of the civilians that had reached the army as possible. There were 2 mass evacuations: in March/April 1942, and in September 1942. Then Stalin changed his mind and closed the borders. Those who had not been evacuated were now stuck in the USSR.

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The evacuation took place by ship over the Caspian Sea to Pahlavi in Persia (now Iran). The ships that were used were oil tankers and coal ships, and other ships that were not equipped to handle passengers. They were filthy and lacked even the basic necessities, like water and latrines. The soldiers and civilians filled these ships to capacity for the 1-2 day trip. When there were storms, the situation got even worse – with most of the passengers suffering sea sickness.

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Kazimierz joined the Polish 2nd Corps and served as a tank commander in the Middle East and in the Italian Campaign (including the Battle of Monte Cassino).

 

After being injured, he was transferred to a Polish hospital in Scotland where he met his wife, Anna. They were married in December 1945. They lived in England until 1965 when they immigrated with their three sons to Winnipeg.

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Kazimierz worked at McGavins Bakery until his retirement in 1983. He was a member of Holy Ghost Church as well as the Polish Combatants Association, branch No. 13.

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Kazimierz Szajkowski passed away in Winnipeg on 24 April 2001 at the age of 82 years.

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Copyright: Szajkowski family

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