Romuald Januszkiewicz

Romuald was born in Baronowice, Poland on 7 November 1905. 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.

Romuald was an officer in the Polish Armed Forces and had received a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Warsaw. He fought in the September Campaign in Poland, was then 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.

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

The Soviets presented difficulties from the beginning, while at the same time pushing for the transfer of Polish troops to the front as soon as possible. The Polish side argued that 70% of the people enlisting in the army were "exhausted beings" but this did not have much importance for the Soviets. General Anders refused to send the 5th Infantry Division to the front, the only armed Polish unit, so Stalin decided to limit food rations for the Polish army to 26,000.

At the time there were 67,000 soldiers. Anders intervened, arguing that this violated the agreement negotiated by Gen. Sikorski. On March 18, Stalin agreed to increase the food ration to 44,000 while suggesting that the number of Polish forces be reduced. In response, the Polish side proposed to transfer the "surplus" soldiers to Persia (Iran).

He joined the Polish army under the command of General Anders and evacuated to Persia with them. He served in the Polish 2nd Corps in the Middle East and in the Italian Campaign. He ended his military service as Lieutenant Colonel.

He and his wife Helen came to Winnipeg in 1949, where they raised their four sons: Richard, Mark, Ronald, and Michael.

Romuald started to work at Bristol Aerospace as the head of the electrical department. He was a very active member of the Polish Combatants’ Association, Branch #13. He was also President of the Canadian Polish Congress in Manitoba. He earned numerous medals as a soldier and as a leader of the Canadian Polish Community.

Romuald passed away in Winnipeg on 29 September 1999, at the age of 93 years. He was buried in the Holy Ghost cemetery.