Rena,
many thanks for your kind message - I will let you know what I find.
regards
Peter
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Rena Verlander" <rena_verlander@...>
To: <Kresy-Siberia@...>
Sent: Monday, October 25, 2004 9:21 PM
Subject: RE: [Kresy-Siberia] Introduction
Dear Peter, I wish you good luck in your searches, I only found out my
dads
story from astranged family after he died so I empathise with your need to
find out the past. Apparently a brief story of my father leaving poland
was
in find a fortune the tv programme some years ago, as his last wish was
for
his family home to be found, a lot of information was gleaned from
knocking
on a door in a last ditch effort by the researchers and the gentleman that
answered apparently worked for my grandfather and was able to pin point
the
land for them. They were also introduced to chilhood friends who were not
deported (for whatever reason). I hope that you too find the right
door/people and the information you seek. Good luck in your travels.
Rena
From: "Peter Grabowski" <peter@...>
Reply-To: Kresy-Siberia@...
To: <Kresy-Siberia@...>
Subject: [Kresy-Siberia] Introduction
Date: Mon, 25 Oct 2004 20:08:54 +0100
Hi everyone.
My father never talked about the war or even his family or his child
hood.
As far his new family was concerned he was a Pole who fought against the
Germans who invaded his homeland and who ended up in England to start a
new
life. The impression we got from my father was that the past was too
painfull for him to talk about.
It wasn't until just before he died in 1997 at the age of 77 that I
managed
to get him to talk a little about his past and he didn't tell me that
much.
His parents were Polish - Bernard & Maria (nee Brzusinska) Grabowski they
lived in Odessa. His father was a shoe maker and he had two younger
brothers - Piotr and Leonard. He wrote down an address in Odessa where he
lived and I believe that this address still exists.
When he died I had to sort out his affairs and I found a black box
(apparently he stole this from a German - it has a swastika imprinted on
it) in the box I found about 30 photographs mainly connected to his
travels
through the war years. One is a photograph of the Polish army unit I
believe that he fought in - Destazowana Kompani Saperow. I have obtained
his army records from the 24th August 1942 when he served with the Polish
forces under British Command. In these records it states; " Together with
the Polish Army he crossed the Soviety-Iranian frontier, was evacuated to
Iran, thereby came under British Command with effect from 15th August
1942". Via Iraq was transferred to Palestine. and then on to Italy
He fought at Monte Cassino and I am proud to have in my possession his
"Cross for Monte Cassino".
On the 8th November my Polish friend Marian Rabczak has agreed to go with
me to Odessa to start my quest to try and find out anything I can about
my
father and his family. I am going to start by simply knocking on the door
of the address my father gave me - I have to start somewhere!
I did not know anything about the Kresy-Siberia group and its reason for
being in existence but I am pretty sure that I am about to learn a lot
more.
Peter Grabowski
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KRESY-SIBERIA GROUP = RESEARCH REMEMBRANCE RECOGNITION
"Dedicated to researching, remembering and recognising the Polish
citizens
deported, enslaved and killed by the Soviet Union during World War Two."
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