Stanislaw Kubicz

Polish 2nd Corps

Stanislaw was born on 20 April 1915 in Myslenice, Poland. When WW2 broke out in 1939, Stanislaw was called up to the Polish army and fought in the September Campaign. He was then captured by the Russians and sent to a POW camp in Siberia.

In June 1941, when Germany turned on Russia. Stalin 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. Stanislaw was among those who made this treacherous journey.

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.

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.

Arriving in Persia, Stanislaw joined the Polish 2nd Corps and served in Iraq, Palestine, and Egypt, before sailing to Italy with the Corps and fighting in the Italian Campaign.

After the war, Stanislaw immigrated to Canada and eventually settled in Winnipeg. In 1958, during a visit to Poland, Stanislaw met and married Jozefa. They settled in Winnipeg and raised their five children (Teresa, Edward, Krystyna, Irena, and Tod). Stanislaw worked as a carpenter for the Graham-Moorhouse Company and later at BACM where he eventually retired in 1980.

Stanislaw passed away in Winnipeg on 22 November 2001 at the age of 86 years. He was buried at the Holy Ghost Cemetery.