Ludwik Kozlowski | polishexiles

Ludwik KOZLOWSKi

Ludwik was born to Jan and Katarzyna (nee Reichert) Kozlowski on 12 April 1919 in Skomorochy, Lwow, Poland. He was educated in commerce and accounting. Ludwik was forcibly conscripted into the Red Army in 1940, serving on the Manchurian front. He was later sent to a work 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.

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. Ludwik was among those who made this perilous journey south.

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

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.

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 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.

In 1942 Ludwik joined the Polish 2nd Corps in Persia and served throughout the Middle East. In the spring of 1943, he sailed to England and joined the Polish Air Force in the UK where he became a wireless operator on a Lancaster bomber flight crew. At the end of the war, he was discharged as a Sergeant.

He was awarded the Polish Air Force medal, the British Defense medal, and the British 1939-1945 War medal.

Ludwik emigrated to Canada in January 1948 and settled in Winnipeg. He married Maria in 1949 and proudly received his Canadian citizenship on 13 December 1953.

He was employed by the Canadian Pacific Railway until 1955 when he switched to the Winnipeg Transit System serving the City of Winnipeg until his retirement in 1984. He moved to Winnipeg Beach and in 1998, moved to St. Albert.

Ludwik passed away on 28 April 2009 and was buried at Holy Ghost Cemetery in Winnipeg.