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mcdonald0517
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Post Posted: Sat Jun 13, 2020 5:18 pm      Post subject:
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I have been staring at the military papers for several days looking primarily at column headings, names, dates, places. This is what I piece together theoretically based upon the papers, your family story, and the eulogy from his coworkers which placed him in Auschwitz then a labor camp in France. I also did some research on Nazi labor camps in France - and there was only one that I found near the French / German border.

1939: Invasion of Poland (Waldemar was about 11 years old)

between 1939 - 1943: Waldemar taken from his family to Auschwitz and then to a labor camp in France (possibly Natzweiler-Struthof). This is the only labor camp in France I found so far. Here is a link that describes it: https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/natzweiler-struthof
(Waldemar is between 11 - 15 years old)

1943: arrives in UK (Waldemar about 15 years old)

1945: Waldemar lies about his age and enlists in the British Commando forces (Waldemar about 17 years old)

1945 - 1947: Waldemar is in non-commissioned officer training school, then it looks like he may have been posted in several cities in Poland after the war. All of the cities I see abbreviations for in the papers are in the areas around Auschwitz. What I see are references to: Żernica, Warsztatowa, and Ćwiercie. Again, these are guesses because the military seemed to use a lot of abbreviations on these papers rather than full city names. Also, I see the word "baza" used in the papers which means "base".

1948: This seems to be around the time of his discharge from the military, which would make sense because the paper for enlistment indicates he would be signing up for a 2 year tour of duty.

This is most certainly a story in process, so take it as hypothetical. I do timelines like this because it helps me to begin putting the pieces together and to form a story.

I hope it is helpful as you continue to add pieces and make corrections.

Best,
Cynthia
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mroder



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Post Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2020 7:20 am      Post subject:
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Thank you to all who have taken the time to look at my documents and offer me suggestions on where to look next.

Cynthia your timeline is interesting but I have managed to dig out a copy of his alien card which states he arrived in England in 1946 and had come from San Basilio in Italy. We also know that he fought at Monte Cassino and wondered if anyone had spotted any reference to that anywhere in the documents.

I have attached a copy of the alien card

Thank you



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mcdonald0517
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Post Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2020 2:40 pm      Post subject:
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Hello,

Thank you for posting his ID card! That is important information. (BTW, he is very handsome… looks a bit like Leo DiCaprio Wink)

I did a bit of research and it is beginning to make more sense.

It seems likely that Waldemar was enlisted in the Polish Army before coming to the UK. Because his ID indicates San Basilio as his last residence, and you say he fought in the battle of Monte Cassino, that would place him in the 2nd Polish Corps which was part of the British 8th Army under General Wladyslaw Anders. The battle of Monte Cassino was Jan – May 1944, but the 2nd Polish Corps began arriving at the training camp at San Basilio in 1943.

You may have already researched this, so forgive me if I am repeating what you already know. Here are some links that describe the beginnings of the 2nd Polish Corps (how and when it was formed) and the role of the 2nd Polish Corps in the Battle of Monte Cassino. Understanding the history will help you in your research of your grandfather.

First, we need to begin at the beginning - the battle of Lodz (where Waldemar and his family were living) which was in 1939. After Lodz fell to the Nazis, the farms, textile industries, and housing was confiscated for use by the Nazi war machine. Young Polish men were conscripted to serve in the Nazi army. If the family refused, they were deported to labor camps. That could very well be what happened to Waldemar and his family. It is possible that he was deported to a Nazi labor camp, escaped, and then enlisted in the 2nd Polish Corps (lying about his age).

Here are links with information on the battle of Lodz, the formation of the 2nd Polish Corps, and the Battle of Monte Cassino:

Battle of Lodz
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Łódź_(1939)

Formation of the 2nd Polish Corps
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/II_Corps_(Poland)

the role of the 2nd Polish Corps at Battle of Monte Cassino
https://poland.pl/history/history-poland/monte-cassino-battle-poland/

http://www.guideturistichefrosinone.altervista.org/joomla/chi-siamo/the-polish-heroes-of-monte-cassino/169-forgotten-heroes


After WWII, members of the 2nd Polish Corp and other Polish units serving with the allies were offered the opportunity to remain in the UK rather than return to communist Poland. To facilitate this offer, the UK created a temporary military unit called the Polish Resettlement Corps that would educate Polish soldiers and help them assimilate into life as a UK civilian.

Here is a link with information about the Polish Resettlement Corps: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_Resettlement_Corps#:~:text=The%20Polish%20Resettlement%20Corps%20(PRC,a%20Communist%20Poland%20after%20the

This is important historical information that provides context for the military documents you have from MOD. From what I translated using Google translate, these are post WW2 documents for Waldemar’s application to the Polish Resettlement Corp., his assignments during his time in the resettlement corps, his progress, and his separation from the Resettlement Corps in 1948. That is why there is no mention that my eyes can see of his time at Monte Cassino (pre 1945). Image 11 (last image) in the PDF is his application to the Resettlement Corps (he states he is 18 years old and born in 1928; that dates the document to 1946). Image #7 in the PDF file is his separation from the Polish Resettlement Corps in 1948. All the other documents are either part of his application for resettlement or documents tracking his progress, his assignments, education, etc. The dates recorded in all of the documents range from 1945-1948 – nothing earlier.

That tells me that he has another military file that pertains to his active duty during WWII (pre-1945). Perhaps you can obtain those military records from Poland. I will try and see if I can find info on how to do that. Also, perhaps others in the community might have that information.

I hope this helped in some way. Oh, and please be sure to read the entire thread of previous replies to your original post because Piotr and Sophie give you a lot of good information, and I provided you with the record of someone who knew your grandfather – Stanislaw Dobrzynski.

Best of luck in your research,
Cynthia
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dnowicki
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Post Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2020 5:55 pm      Post subject: Battle of Monte Casino
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Hi,

On a lighter note...a brown bear who was adopted as a cub in Iran by the Polish soldiers of the Second Corps and whom they named Wojtek took part in the Battle of Monte Casino as part of an artillery supply unit. He was actually listed as a soldier in the Polish Army with the rank of private. After the battle he was promoted to corporal for his help in carrying ammunition. He mustered out in Scotland and lived his post war years in the Edinburgh zoo and died there in 1963 and there is a statue of him in Scotland. Here is a link to information about him. https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=6EbpXtTBGMSF9PwPr5eU-Ak&q=wojtek+the+soldier+bear&oq=wojte&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQARgDMgUIABCxAzIFCAAQsQMyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADoFCAAQgwFQxRBY2R5g6z9oAHAAeACAAWqIAbgDkgEDMy4ymAEAoAEBqgEHZ3dzLXdpeg&sclient=psy-ab
There are some longer videos in Polish of his story and there is also a book (in English) about him. The best video is a rather long one partly in English and partly in Polish. Unfortunately, I can no longer find the link.

Hope you enjoy the story.

Dave
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Piotr Zelny
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Post Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2020 6:56 pm      Post subject:
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Hi Michelle,

I might be wrong. This interpretation is based mainly on one word "Jolanda", uncertain reading of one of the paragraphs, and lack of information (this’s also information) on the course of service and stay on the front.

Facts:

1st Document:
Until 1939 he studied at the Polish school in Ozorków (paragraph VIII)
1939 - 41 at the German school in Ozorków (paragraph VIII)
15.08.1945 he reported to the "Jolanda" camp from the camp of Allied /Forces/ Book sł. (?) Number 34566/45 (paragraph XXVI)
29.08.1945 decision of the Headquarters of Recruitment No. 3: "capable of military service as a volunteer. Category "A" (paragraph XV)
31.08.1945 incorporated into the "B" Guard Battalion of the 7th Infantry Division of the 2nd Polish Corps (paragraph XV)

4th Document:
paragraph 19 Military history: nothing
paragraph 20 Administrative and court penalties: Autumn 1944 – April 1945 “Niem. wien." very difficult to read and I'm not sure at all, I read this abbreviation as “Niemiecki więzień” "German prisoner" but in fact it can be a completely wrong interpretation.
paragraph 23 Front stay, participation in battles: nothing

Explanations:

“Jolanda” Prisoner-of-Transition Camp located south of San Basilio in Italy near Naples. Base of the 2nd Polish Corps. The camp was supervised by the 7th (Vicarious) Infantry Division of the 2nd Polish Corps. Waldemar Roder was sent to this camp from the unknown Camp of Allied Forces. He was recruited to the 7th (Vicarious) Infantry Division. To the Guard Battalion "B". In that time, there were created four such battalions A, B, C, D. They served on the terrain of the whole Italy guarding warehouses, hospitals, bases, etc. The "Jolanda" camp was intended for Poles, prisoners of war from the German army and deserters from the German army. Polish prisoners of war (from the German army) from France were gathered in southern France in St. Raphael. Polish prisoners of war (from the German army) from Italy were gathered in San Basilio in the "Jolanda" camp. Poles, former soldiers of the German army constituted the largest part of reinforcements of the Polish Armed Forces in the West, over 40% (89,300 soldiers). In 1945, over 18,500 Poles, former German soldiers, were recruited to the 2nd Polish Corps, mainly to the 7th (Vicarious) Infantry Division.

These soldiers, as prisoners and deserters from the German army, were not subject to the Geneva Convention. If they were captured and identified by the Germans, they were considered as traitors and shot. Another aspect was the protection of families. Which could have been sent to a concentration camp on the basis of legally sanctioned collective responsibility towards the family in the Third Reich (the so-called Sippenhaft).

In the event of being caught by the Germans, every soldier (formerly serving in the German army) had a fabricated life story, including his place of birth (e.g. the village of Niespodzianka “Surprise”). They were called Kesselrings from the name of the commander of the German forces in Italy, Albert Kesselring.

A lot of Poles were forcibly drafted into the German Infantry Division Ostpreußen formed in April 1944 near Mława north of Warsaw (Ozorków is quite nearby). In July 1944, the division was incorporated into the 65th Infantry Division. This unit fought in Italy against the 2nd Polish Corps. Poles massively moved to the Allied side.

There are many such stories, people did not want to talk about it. It has changed now. Most often, they kept silent or invented different versions of their life stories.

Waldemar escaped from a labour camp in France to the French Resistance. So why he wasn’t sent to the camp in St. Raphaël in France but to the camp of San Basilio in Italy? May be he wasn't in France but in Italy.

He was taken from the Auschwitz concentration camp to a labour camp in France. But the trains to Auschwitz came full but left Auschwitz empty. The Auschwitz was the and.

He was born in the village of Niespodzianka “Surprise”. Did he want to cover the place of living of his family?

There is nothing in his Polish files about the previous course of service, participation in battles e.g. Monte Cassino - but there were two sids in this battle, not only Polish but also German.

"Jolanda" Transition Camp - the camp for Polish enlistees, former soldiers of the German army.

Best regards
Piotr
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marcelproust
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Post Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2020 1:06 am      Post subject:
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The documents that You have attached inform that, before Your grandfather was drafter, he lived in Maszkowice and attended elementary school in Ozorków.
I think it would be a good idea to contact the State Archive in Łódź and ask for a research. Maybe they keep the census records from Ozorków commune and school documents.

If he did not hide the place of living before he was drafted and the place where he was a student and the address of the person to contact with, why he made up the place where he was born? Maybe he wasnt romancatholic? Maybe he changed his real name?

I made a phone call to Ozorków Town Hall and they told me that they do not have any documents prior to 1939 and they suggested contact with the State Archive in Łódź. Maszkowice in that time belonged to the commune of Leśmierz, nowadays it is the part of the commune of Ozorków.

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My translations are voluntary, but they take a lot of time and effort, so whenever you want to send money it will be a very nice "Thank you" gift to me.
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Sophia
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Post Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2020 6:11 am      Post subject:
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Question for Piotr, Marcel, Dave, Cynthia,
How do you read the first name of Waldemar's mother? It is on the first page. Michelle saw it at first as Lidia. I thought it might be Julia. I understand the rest of it, "z domu nie pamieta" that Waldemar did not remember her maiden name.
Thanks,
Sophia
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Piotr Zelny
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Post Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2020 6:36 am      Post subject:
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At first I read it automaticcaly as Lidia but now I see that it is Julia. There is no L at the beginning but J. "z domu nie pamieta" that Waldemar did not remember her maiden name - correct.
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Sophia
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Post Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2020 5:40 am      Post subject:
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Piotr Zelny wrote:
At first I read it automaticcaly as Lidia but now I see that it is Julia. There is no L at the beginning but J. "z domu nie pamieta" that Waldemar did not remember her maiden name - correct.


Thank you, Piotr! I am happy that we can provide Michelle with some certainty as to her great-grandmother's first name, Julia.

Michelle, I want to add a few thoughts regarding the first page of the documents you posted. No one has commented yet about Waldemar's birthdate. He actually provided two different ones. The birthdate on this first document says "urodzony dnia 2, miesiaca lipca, roku 1928" which means 2nd of July, 1928. In the fifth document, where it asks for "data urodzenia, dzien, miesiac, rok" he answered 2nd of March, 1928. So, a four month difference. I just want you to keep both of those dates in mind, until you are able to finally find a birth/baptism document that provides more certainty. I also want to observe that he is consistent when asked where he LIVED in Poland; he said Maszkowice, gmina Lesniesz, powiat Leczyza, wojewodztwo Lodz. When asked where he was BORN he said Niespodzianka, which Piotr has pointed out is a humorous way of saying he did not know. If the family lived in Maszkowice when he was born, then yes, as Piotr pointed out, his record should be in the church in Modlna. If, however, they moved there some time after he was born, there's no way of knowing which church to look in. His schooling was all in Ozorkow. The first document also gives his religion, "wyznanie, rzym.-kat." therefore Roman Catholic.

As an aside, do you know if his sister was older, or younger than Waldemar? Have you any records for her? That could help steer you towards the correct parish in which to search.

Sophia
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Piotr Zelny
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Post Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2020 11:08 am      Post subject:
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Yes. At least this, although even the name is written with a grammar mistake.

I was able to decipher another important fragment of the text. It appears in the documents several times but the most important is the point where it is written, perhaps: "German prisoner" (4th doc., Paragraph 20). After the abbreviation "Niem. wien." we have some strange signs. At first, I thought it might be a symbol of some camp of the Allies. I noticed that such signs appear several times in the text, one of them turned out to be legible (doc. 1st, paragraph IX) "wg. wł. zezn.”, that is “według własnych zeznań” - “according to his own testimony". This means that the official who filled out the form did not copy it from another document, but only knew it from Waldemar's account. The statement "German prisoner" is very ambiguous. If an official prescribes it from a different document, it sounds like someone was a German and was in prison (of the Allies by default). But when someone says something like that in the first person, "I was a German prisoner," it sounds like someone (e.g. a Pole) says that he was in German prison, in hands of the Germans.

So according to Waldemar's testimony from autumn 1944 to the April 1945 he was in prison. In this context, it sounds like he was in a German prison (or German labour camp), not in a prison of the Allies. Anyway in April 1945, he did not have to flee from German labour camp to the French Resistance because there were no more Germans in France, neither in Poland nor in Italy, only in shrinking Germany. Somehow he got to San Basilio throug a camp of the Allies. There is nothing about this camp, no name, no character. It seems that for the official this story was not special one. He used the abbreviation in the summary to sum up his testimony: “Niem. wien." - "German prisoner". So such a record was common, so there were many such cases. We still don't know much. There is nothing certain about this story just more or less probable speculations.

Waldemar left a clue, who to contact in case of an accident - the Dobrzyńki family from Ozorków.

Best regards
Piotr


Last edited by Piotr Zelny on Fri Jun 19, 2020 1:12 pm; edited 2 times in total
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Sophia
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Post Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2020 11:19 am      Post subject:
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Piotr Zelny wrote:
Yes. At least this, although even the name is written with a grammar mistake.

Best regards
Piotr


Hi Piotr,
What is the grammar mistake, here?
Thanks!
Sophia
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Piotr Zelny
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Post Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2020 11:27 am      Post subject:
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There is Jolia while should be Julia. We have got "ó" (we call it o with a line) and just "u". Both of them sounds identically. It's the bigest curse of pupils becouse many times it is uncertain which one to use. Some one who wrote Jolia (may be wonted to write Jólia) instead of Julia had to spend many years abroud.
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Sophia
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Post Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2020 12:45 pm      Post subject:
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Piotr Zelny wrote:
There is Jolia while should be Julia. We have got "ó" (we call it o with a line) and just "u". Both of them sounds identically. It's the bigest curse of pupils becouse many times it is uncertain which one to use. Some one who wrote Jolia (may be wonted to write Jólia) instead of Julia had to spend many years abroud.


Hi Piotr,
Yes, I do see the letters as Jolia. I understand what you mean about U otwarte and U zamkniete. I agree, it is a mistake he could make, if he had not been writing Polish for several years. Also, we should understand, his schooling in Polish was interrupted when he was about 11 years old.
Thanks!
Sophia

P.S. It is all very interesting, what you are explaining about the prisoner situation.
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