Description
Object description
Polish cadet served with 40th (Children of Lwów) Infantry Regt, 5th Lwów Infantry Div in Poland, 9/1939; prisoner of war in Soviet Union, 9/1939-6/1941; officer cadet served with 6th (Lwów) Infantry Regt, Polish Armed Forces in the East in Soviet Union, Iran, Iraq and Palestine, 1941-1944; officer served with 6th (Children of Lwów) Armoured Regt, 2nd (Warsaw) Armoured Bde, II Polish Corps in Italy, 4/1944-5/1945
Content description
REEL 1 Background in Poland, 1921-1939: family; education. Aspects of operations as cadet with 40th (Children of Lwów) Infantry Regt, 5th Lwów Infantry Div in Poland, 1939: start of German attack, 1/9/1939; move to Lwów, 12/9/1939; surrender of Lwow to Soviets, 24/9/1939; attempt to walk to Romania, 9/1939; his interception by the Soviets at Tarnopol. Recollections of period as prisoner of war in Poland and Soviet Union, 1939-1941: arrival at Volochysk Camp, Soviet Union; nature of train journey; overcrowded prisoner of war accommodation; removal of Polish prisoners of war to Kozielsk Camp, Poland, 11/1939; digging graves for Katyn Massacre.
REEL 2 Continues: fate of Polish officer prisoners of war in Kozielsk Camp, Poland; ration of salt fish at Kozielsk Camp, Poland; Polish doctor's treatment of frost bitten Soviet troops from Winter War, winter 1939-1940; removal from camp prior to Katyn Massacre; his personal survival strategy; removal to Rowno Camp, Poland; supply of eggs he received from Dr Cohen; his work in kitchen of work camp; duties building airfield; start of German attack, 22/6/1941; move to Zborov Camp, Soviet Union to escape German advance, 23/6/1941; German attacks on Zborov, Soviet Union, 23/6/1941.
REEL 3 Continues: behaviour of The People's Commissiariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD) guards towards Polish prisoners of war, 6/1941; retreat to Starobielsk Camp. Soviet Union; no water punishment at Starobielsk Camp, Soviet Union. Aspects of period as officer cadet with 6th (Lwów) Regt, Polish Armed Forces in East in Soviet Union, Iran, Iraq and Palestine, 1941-1944: move to Polish Army camp at Totskoye, Soviet Union; improvised method of heating tents at Totskoye, Soviet Union, winter 1941-1942; move to Uzbekistan, Soviet Union, 2/1942; state of health of Polish troops in Uzbekistan, Soviet Union; contracting typhoid and recovery; journey from Uzbekistan, Soviet Union to Caspian Sea; voyage across Caspian Sea to Pahlevi, Iran; contrast between Soviet Union and Iran.
REEL 4 Continues: story of food shortages in Soviet Union; kitting out by the British Army; training in Iraq and Palestine; guarding oil fields; armoured role of his unit. Recollections of operations as officer with 6th (Children of Lwów) Armoured Regt, 2nd (Warsaw) Armoured Bde, II Polish Corps in Italy, 1944-1945: move to Taranto, 4/1944; how Sherman Tank performed against German 88mm Guns at Piedimonte San Germano, 5/1944; German units faced and his attitude towards them; contrast between single and married troops towards being in action; treatment of German prisoners of war.
REEL 5 Continues: fate of Piedimonte San Germano as result of battle; transfer to Adriatic coast; question of suitability of Italian terrain for armour; question of error in extending tank tracks in mistaken anticipation of soft terrain during Bologna campaign, 4/1945; sight of mass killing of German airborne troops at Bologna, 4/1945-5/1945; contact with Jewish Infantry Bde Group; story of disruption caused by mutiny of Greek troops in Alexandria, Egypt, 4/1944; attitude towards Yalta Agreement and reason for choosing to go to GB.