Zofia CHOJA-MATIAS
Zofia Choja-Matias was born to Marcin and Antonina (nee Kubiak) on 28 May 1937 in the village of Małgów, Poland. Her siblings were Wacław, Maria, and Jan - Zofia was the youngest.
The Germans took the family to forced labour in Germany on10 July 1944. The SS men came at night with dogs and were well-armed. Everyone worked on a farm, and food was the biggest challenge. The more people that they had working on the farm, the more ration cards they received. They worked from dawn to dusk without a break. Her mother worked in the house, washing, cleaning, cooking, and milking cows. Her father dug trenches for German soldiers.
When the war was winding down and the front moved closer, they were hit by bombs. One landed in the front yard, but they were hiding in the basement and survived. They ran to the woods where local Germans had a bomb shelter, and they let them in. They spent three days in the shelter. When the Germans surrendered, the American army arrived and took them in trucks to a camp, a former German army barracks. They spent 5 years in that camp. Zofia went to elementary school and high school there. These were Polish schools because it was a Polish camp.
From Germany the family emigrated to Canada. In 1947, her sister Marysia came on a two-year work contract to Canada. In 1948, her sister Wacława came to Canada. On 28 May 1950, Zofia came to Canada. From Halifax she went to Ajax, Ontario, to the Canadian army barracks for two weeks of quarantine. She then went on to St. Catharines where she and her parents were met by a farmer, where her father had a contract to work. There was no water, no bathrooms, no heat. Her father had to work from dawn to dusk.
From St. Catharines they moved to West Lorne where her sister Marysia worked on a tobacco farm for one season, and then the family moved to London in September 1951. Zofia worked here and there at first, then got a job at Taylor Electric, then at Norton Telecom. When they closed the factory and Zofia took early retirement.
Zofia married Mieczyslaw Matias on 21 July 1956 in London, Ontario, and they raised three children: Danuta, Krystyna, and Antoni.
Zofia was a member of the Ladies’ Auxiliary of the Polish Combatants Association, Branch #2, in London, Ontario. She helped with the housekeeping and served on the executive. She helped with the building of the Polish church and the SPK hall by going door-to-door to raise funds.
Copyright: Matias family