Dear Barney,
I concur with Mr. Lachocki that Jews were not mistreated in Anders
Army. I would strongly suggest you read the book, General Anders
and the soldiers of The Second Polish Corp. by Harvey Sarner,
himself Jewish.
Mr. Sarner examines Polish/Jewish relations at length and found it a
non-issue. In addition, if anti-semitism in the Second Corp was so
bad then why did at least eight hundred to a thousand Jews continue
to serve with the Second Corp until the end of WWII. They too could
have deserted in Palestine as several thousand other Jews did.
Interestingly, the largest identifiable group of non deserters were
Jewish physicians. Aproximately 60% of medical doctors serving in
the Polish Second Corp in Italy were Jewish.
In 1984 I had the pleasure of visiting Italy with my father, a
veteran of the Second Corp. At the cemetaries of Bologne, Loreto
and Monte Cassino,I was struck not only by the many Christian
crosses but by the Jewish stars of David as well as the Crescents of
Poles of muslim descent. Their gravestones testified to the eternal
devotion these individuals paid to their roots in Poland.
Rich Widerynski
