My fathers possessions

**Jan Szczygie** · 06-05-2015, 07:50 AM

I wanted to show you the documents and other items I have belonging to my father, I was unsure whether to post in AK section or Polish forces in the west as there are connections to both. I decided to post here!

His ID from occupied Poland, it states he was a mechanic, but he was at college studying to be an Accountant when war broke out and after they closed the colleges and Universities he was placed in forced labour at a BMW factory.

He joined the resistance through the scout movement, and progressed to Senior Rifleman. He served in Zgr. "Sosna" bat. Chrobry 1, during the rising of Warsaw he fought in the old town "Stare Miasto" including "simons passage", escaped through the sewers when the old town fell and then his unit was attached to Chrobry 2 for the remainder of the rising.

The only medal he ever claimed was the AK Cross, and then not until 1970, don't know why!

After capitulation he was a POW at Lamsdorf 344/318 and then Nuremburg XIIID, taking part in one of the infamous death marches.

during the march he was liberated when the Germans ran away and left their POW's when the Americans were approaching. Went to Berlin with the Americans, presumably in American Uniform.

Smuggled himself to Italy and joined a Polish Commando unit under British command. He completed his training in Italy and then went to England. was transferred from the Commando's to the Polish Resettlement Corp, finally being demobbed in 1949.

He never returned to Poland because of the political regime there. When he died in 1990 a contingent of Polish ex-combatants attended the funeral placing a Polish flag over his coffin with a Commando green beret with Polish Eagle badge. Afterwards one of the contingent gave me a Polish Eagle badge and a Commando flash.

Although he lived in England until 1990, he never claimed British citizenship. This was his protest to what happened to Poland after the rest of the world thought the War was over. He remained a displaced person until his death and never had a passport etc. he instead had "travel document" which allowed him to travel overseas.

He never spoke much about his experiences when I was young but when I was older we would discuss things especially if he had indulged in a little "Wyborowa". When we knew he was dying I tried to find out a much as I could but (lesson for others!) it was little late to cover all he had experienced. I am very proud of my father and the part he played in Polands struggle for freedom. I keep searching to try and find out more, to pass on to my children, but although the internet continues to provide more information the number of people who were there at the time continues to diminish.

I hope this isnt to long and that some find the documents etc interesting

**LizardKing** · 06-05-2015, 08:12 AM

Very nice story accompanies your families' name! My grand father was a young boy when the germans occupied Greece and I have managed to get him record every memory he has on video!

**ironcross13** · 06-05-2015, 08:19 AM

wow what a story. forced labor was he jewish or did that happen to any one?
sad he could not go home after the war,
RIP

**Adrian Stevenson** · 06-05-2015, 09:46 AM

Thanks very much for sharing these super items with us.

I wonder if he changed his occupation to mechanic for good reason. The Germans valued people with practical technical skills. They would not want accountants and might even consider him "Intelligentsia" and that could have been a death sentence.

Cheers, Ade.

**Jan Szczygie** · 06-05-2015, 10:53 AM

Thank you for the comments,

LizardKing I wish I had thought of videoing his accounts but I'm not sure he would have said as much to a camera.

ironcoss13 he wasn't Jewish, I believe it happened to all those who weren't already in a job. His mother wrote to him after the war to advise that if he came home he was likely to be shot or sent to Siberia, as this is what was happening to any resistance fighters that weren't communist.

Adrian I believe he was termed mechanic because of working at the BMW factory (motorbikes I seem to remember). He turned 16 just after the war started so doubt he would have been classed as "Intelligentsia", I think he left school at 14 and went to college so would have only been there for a year or so.

**ironcross13** · 06-05-2015, 11:04 AM

so he was kept in a camp because he had no job

and yeah best staying in England rather than go back the Russians where very paranoid the NKVD

real shame he could not go home after the war

Martin

**HPL2008** · 06-05-2015, 11:27 AM

by Jan Szczygie

Adrian I believe he was termed mechanic because of working at the BMW factory (motorbikes I seem to remember). He turned 16 just after the war started so doubt he would have been classed as "Intelligentsia", I think he left school at 14 and went to college so would have only been there for a year or so.

Very likely.

Note that he is actually not identified as a mechanic: He is referred to as a "Mechanikergehilfe" - meaning "mechanics' assistant" - both by training and by his then-current occupation.

This would be not a qualified craftsman, but basically an unskilled laborer with only informal/on-the-job training; a description that would fit a young man taken from school and sent to work at a motorcycle factory straight away.