I was born March 14, 1917, near Czempiń, in the Kościan county, district of Poznań. I began my military service early, for at eighteen I volunteered for the 2nd Training Battalion of the Border Guards, in the 68th Infantry Regiment.

 

When the war broke out, I fought in the September Campaign in Poland. I was captured by the Germans and sent to POW camp Stalag 6C in Germany. I was forced to work on German farms, farms, and it was there that I met my wife-to-be, Nelli, then a fifteen-year-old girl from Silesia.

 

The camp was freed by the British and Nelli and I were married on June 3rd. At the time, I was working as a volunteer at an American field hospital; shortly afterwards, both of us were sent to a camp for former POWS in Fallengoster.

 

In 1949, I decided to go to Canada on a farm contract. My wife, Nelli, and our children remained in Germany while I explored the New World. I brought them over to Canada eleven months later. My wife and I raised our three children in Winnipeg, ensuring that they received a good education that would secure their future.

 

When I first arrived in Manitoba, I worked the sugar beet fields in Portage la Prairie and drove a combine at harvest time. time. After the harvest, there was no more farm work available so I was released from the contract.

 

I moved to Winnipeg and took a job at the Canadian National Railway. cars. After that I went through a succession of jobs: in a tannery, in the gas department of the Winnipeg Electric Company, and at Vulcan Iron. Finally, I got a job at the General Motors dealership on Main Street, where I stayed for thirty-three years, until retirement.

 

I joined the Polish Combatants Association #13 and, for ten years, I was on the Auditing Committee, and for seven years, I served as its Chair. I also served two terms as President.

 

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Wladyslaw passed away in Winnipeg on March 16, 2001, at the age of 84 years.

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Copyright: Olejniczak family

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