Personal memoirs/bios
Learn the history
through these personal stories
Helena ANTOLAK- Deported to Archangielsk region with her parents, sister, and brother. Her father later died in Kermine, and the rest of the family were sent to Ifundi in East Africa. Helena later joined the Women';s Auxiliary of the Polish 2nd Corps and worked in a hospital in Scotland. After the war, she settled in Scotland.
Zofia ARENT - Deported to Archangielsk region with her parents and siblings. Her parents and two sisters later died there. Zofia and the surviving two sisters spent 5 years at the Polish settlement in Valivade, India. After the war, hey lived in England and then Canada.
Bozena BALUT - Bozena Balut’s address to the Polish-Canadian Group on November 11, 1995. Inspired by her parents’ and grandparents’ generations, and by Polish soldiers serving in the Allied forces and in the Home Army. Dedicated to the memory of Jozef Majcher, soldier of the Polish Second Corps (and her mother’s older brother), killed in action in Italy in1944, and Stefan Jerzy Zukotynski, Flying Officer, RAF, Polish Squadron 300 (and her paternal grandmother’s youngest brother), shot down over France in 1943.
Stefan BURACZEWSKI - Forcibly drafted into the Russian army, Stefan was then sent to a labour camp in Siberia. On release,he joined the Polish 2nd Corps and evacuated to Persia. He then joined the 1st Polish Independent Parachute Brigade in Scotland. He participated in 21 jumps, including Operation Market Garden over Arnhem, Holland.
Zygmunt CHOJECKI - Deported to a slave labour camp with his family, he joined the Polish 2nd Corps on release, trained with them in the Middle East, and participated in the Italian Campaign, including the battle of Monte Cassino. He settled in England after the war, where he met his wife who had played a major role at Bletchley Park.
Michal CZUBRYT - Michal was deported to Siberia with his wife Anna, and their infant son Jozef. Michal joined the Polish army, while Anna and Jozef spent 6 years at the Polish refugee camp in Valivade, India. Michal served in the3DSK of the Polish 2nd Corps and fought in the Italian Campaign. After the war, the family settled in Canada.
Franciszka DOBROWLANSKA - Born in 1906, she writes a detailed account of her life from early childhood. After their husbands were arrested by the Russians, she and her sister were deported to Siberia with their children. On release, they spent the war years in Koja, Uganda in Africa. She settled in the UK after the war, later emigrating to Canada.