Jozef Obierski was born to Jozef and Katarzyna on 10 February 1915 in Wielichowo, Powiat Koscian district, Poznan province, Poland. His father, Józef Obierski Senior, died in 1919 at Kargow as the leader of a group of insurgents from Wielichowo during the first Poznan uprisings which took part in the German partition area. He fought to free Greater Poland from Prussian control. He was wounded and returned home to recover. Jozef’s siblings were: Bolesława and Kazimierz.  Before WW2, he had completed Elementary school in Wielichowo and had attended a trade school to learn to be a barber.

 

Jozef was drafted to the Polish Army in February 1938. He joined the 14th Regiment, Light Artillery, 8th Battalion, stationed in Poznan, Poland. In the autumn of 1938, he was sent on a 5-month course at the school for Non-Commissioned Officers (NCO’s). At that time his rank was a Gunner (private). When he finished this course, he was promoted to a Bombardier, and in May 1939, he was promoted to Corporal. In July 1939, he was transferred to the Regimental Battery Group and put in charge of supply administration.

 

On 1 September 1939, Hitler invaded Poland. There was chaos everywhere and most communication lines throughout the country were down. On 3 September 1939, his group evacuated their barracks and started making their way towards Kielce where several large battles were taking place. During the journey, many German air raids made it more difficult to find out what was going on. They made it to the city of Garwolin, but because of the quickly advancing German front, they were directed to Warsaw where they took part in defending the capital until 27 September 1939, when Warsaw capitulated.

 

Jozef was taken prisoner by the invading German Army and given POW number 820. On the way to the first POW Camp, they were quartered in an old Jewish store in Selters, Germany. The Germans were on the main floor and second floor, and the POWs were on the third floor. One day a group of German soldiers asked the commandant if they could see the Polish prisoners. Because the commandant himself had been a POW during WW I, he agreed. It turned out that the German soldiers were of Polish decent. Some of the soldiers went across the road and bought beer and alcohol and they all spent the evening talking and drinking.

 

During their stay in Selters they worked for farmers in the area. Sometimes they came across people that were sympathetic to them. One Sunday they were allowed to go to church. At that time, Jozef was working for a farmer who was of the Evangelical faith. That morning, he told Jozef to come to the house to have breakfast and not to clean the barn that morning. Because he was going to go to mass, he told me he would clean the barn himself that day.

 

Typically, each POW camp, or Stalag, was run the same way. Every morning there was an assembly of all the inmates. At this assembly, they were told what job they would be assigned for that day. During his time as a POW, Jozef worked at several different jobs. The food at each camp was the same. Every day they received one loaf of bread for 5 men, and a thin watery soup. Because Poland was a member of the Red Cross, they did receive care packages occasionally. These packages were usually shared by two of the prisoners. The packages typically contained chocolate, cigarettes, instant coffee, sardines, cheese and crackers or biscuits. These items could be used to trade for other items, but it all had to be done in secret. Normally, they stopped work at noon on Saturdays and did not work on Sundays except if something had to be done.

 

The first camp Jozef was sent to was STALAG IA in Limburg, Germany. He was there for approximately one year. The POWs would install drainage tiles in fields or would work for farmers.

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Next, Jozef was transferred to STALAG VC, in Offenburg where they worked for farmers in that area. One Sunday after the morning assembly the commandant of the Stalag told them that they were to march around the yard, and hum. He hummed a melody that was very similar to the melody of the Polish national anthem. So, when they started marching, instead of humming, they started singing “Jeszcze Polska Nie Zgineła….” (Poland is not yet lost…) Needless to say, they never saw that commandant again.

 

The next camp was STALAG VD, located in Strasbourg, France. Here they worked at a port, loading and unloading barges that came up the Rhine River. They would load or unload flour, cement powder, soda, and unrefined sugar. If the product happened to be sugar, they would usually steal some to supplement their diet. They sewed small pouches that hung from their neck, under their clothes. Once they got a load of coconuts. They secretly broke some of them open so they could eat the meat. They then suggested to the supervisor, that it might be a good idea to give some coconuts to the commandant. The supervisor presented the commandant with some coconuts and after that, inspections were few and far between.

 

During their time in Strasbourg, they worked at a nearby town called Neudorf, where they built parts for submarines and U-Boats and did repairs to various types of ships.

 

Because the front was getting much too close to their camp, they were moved to STALAG VB in Willingen, Germany. Here they mainly worked at renovating old factories. And this is where on 23 April 1945, the French Army liberated the camp. Jozef had survived five years as a prisoner of war.

 

When he had began service in the Polish Army in 1938, he had sworn an oath to defend Poland. When he was freed in 1945, he felt it was his duty to continue service in the Polish Army. He made his way to a rendezvous location at Sorgues near Avignon in southern France. He then sailed from Marseille to Taranto, Italy where there was a transit camp, and then to St. Basylio where the Polish 2nd Corps was based. This was near Motola, Italy.

 

There Jozef was assigned to the 17th Regiment; Heavy artillery located in Squinzano near Lecce. He worked in the office. The soldiers organized a procession for the celebration of Corpus Christi Sunday, as was the tradition in Poland. They decorated the different altars on different street corners. They asked the local band to play music during the procession. The Italians thought it was wonderful. At one church, the commanding officer was made an honorary godfather. In August 1945 Jozef was sent on an eight-week course for NCO’s at the Centre for Army Education. Half of the course was in Matera and the other half in Altamura, Italy. The commanding officer in charge of the course was Colonel Zelaski.

 

Shortly after returning from the course Jozef went to work in the office of the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Regiment. He stayed in this position until he was transferred to the Polish Resettlement Corps which helped Polish soldiers prepare to live a civilian life.

 

Jozef was awarded the following medals:

Polish Medals:

• September 1939 Campaign medal

British Medals:

• War Medal 1939-45

 

On 11 June 1946, Jozef left Squinzano and made his way with those in command of the Regiment to Naples. On 16 June 1946, he sailed on the Ship “Mauretania” to Liverpool.

 

In England he was in a number of camps including: Transit Centre Deyes Lame-Maghull, Low Moor Mill, Clitheroe in Lancashire, Clark Camp Airfield, Wharles Camp near Kirkham, and Preston in Lancashire.

 

After leaving the Resettlement Corps, Jozef worked as a clerk in the Wharles Camp administrative offices. When the camp was disbanded in January 1949, he went to work as a labourer in Kirkham, Lancashire.

 

Jozef met his future wife, Józefa Kwolek, in the Wharles Camp. She emigrated to Canada in January 1949, and he emigrated to Canada in October 1949. They were married in St. Veronica’s Roman Catholic Church in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario in November 1949. They began our new life and started a family, raising two children: Zdzislaw and Teresa. In 1981, they moved to London, Ontario.

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Jozef was a long-time member of the Polish Combatants Association, Branch #2, in London, serving as Secretary.

 

Jozef passed away in London on 22 December 2015, in his 101st year. He was buried in the Holy Family Mausoleum.

 

 

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Copyright: Obierski family

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