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THE ROAD OF NO RETURN
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We didn’t trust the Soviets and for obvious reasons. The NKVD
officers came and told us to stay put and wait for transportation to Poland. We thought, “Poland? Hello; how about Siberia?”
Half of our group (of 40) decided to return to Poland on their own, so they stole tractors and lorries from the local Germans,
looted whatever they could, and went to Poland. The second half of us decided to go to the Americans. It was very risky because,
of course, we were in uniform, and very funny uniforms too; they were American uniforms of World War I vintage.
We
were stopped many times by Soviet officers who asked us who we were; we told them we were Polish prisoners heading east, going
back to Poland. We then proceeded to go west, but not a single Soviet soldier or officer knew where east or west was so nobody
stopped us. After three days we reached the American lines. The first American said, “Why are you going west? Poland is in
the other direction!” Most people thought it was too dangerous to return to Poland. Maybe it was naïve, but they were
hoping that things would change, either through gradual pressure by the Allies or through another war.
Andrzej Kazimierz
Sławinski
b. 1929, Łodowa
1944-45, Germany
1945-46, Italy
1946-present, England
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My parents knew they would never return to Poland. Once the
War ended and Poland was joined to the Russian block, they knew it was impossible. That was very difficult for them. My
uncle, who had been imprisoned in France for the entire duration of the War, did return, but after their experiences in Russia
my parents would not go back – they couldn’t endure being under Russian rule again.
Jadwiga Krzysztoporska Piasecka
b.
1935, Warszawa
June 1940, deported to the Soviet Union
1942, Iran
1944-68, England, Scotland
1968-present, USA
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We received a letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from
Bevin, encouraging us to return to Poland, now that Poland was free, but the Poland I knew no longer existed; home was now
part of Ukraine. Poland was under Soviet Communist rule. We had news of those who had returned to Poland and what had happened
to them. Thankfully, Churchill realized what had happened and it was thanks to his initiative that the Polish Resettlement
Act was introduced in 1947. We all had wanted to return to Poland; that is, after all, why we had been fighting. Unfortunately
it became apparent that this was impossible.
Mieczysław Juny
b. 1913, Lwów
1939-45, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Greece,
Lebanon, Syria, Palestine,
Egypt, Iraq, England, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Scotland
1945-present, England
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