Being Polish and meeting a number of other Poles in Western New York I must say that I have never met a prouder group of people. At the appropriate festivities we draped ourselves in "Proud to be Polish" tee shirts and buttons, as all the Polish Prince and Princesses celebrate and embrace their heritage like no other. And with good reason, as there is much rich history and tradition in Poland which should be recognized and celebrated.
As many know the population of Western New York has a very large Polish community. But what many don't know is how or why many of them came to settle in Buffalo. Over the weekend the Polish Legacy Project (an organization that devotes much attention to the preservation of Polish history) held of conference marking the 70th anniversary of Poland being invaded by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union and the start of World War II. At first thought it may seem like a strange thing to celebrate, you may ask "Why would you celebrate Poland getting invaded?", but you must recognize why it is being celebrated. It marks an important time in history for Poland and the world alike. What the Polish Legacy Project in trying to do is preserve that history with the facts before they are forever forgotten. Facts and stories that aren't talked about in the classroom or shied away from due to ignorance. Chairman, Andrew Golebiowski, and a number of others with the Project recognize this and are determined to see that nothing is forgotten.
The very first annual international conference titled, Untold Stories Come Alive: Poland to Buffalo through World War II, was held on both Saturday October 3rd and Sunday October 4th. Saturdays agenda, which was the most involved, consisted of history lessons and special presentations from those who survived the journey from the homeland to Western New York. Held at WNED studios in downtown Buffalo a room full of eager participants awaited to hear the struggles and determination of the Polish survivors whose heartbreaking stories quieted the room as all ears were seeking to hear every detail. With a panel of five survivors, Mr. Zdzislaw Goralski, Mr. Stanislaw Markut, Mrs. Krystyna Romaniak Pieńkowska, Mrs. Julia Swacha Senko and Mr. Henryk Ścigała, with moderator Hon. Carl Bucki, stories and emotions were relived through their words as they described the sentiment of their experiences. Mr. Goralski at 19 years old joined the Warsaw Uprising in 1944. He felt an obligation to join the uprising after seeing his city destroyed and neighbors murdered by the Nazis when he was a young man at 14 years old. After being liberated by the U.S. Army he served in the Polish Guard until 1957 when he immigrated to Buffalo. Mr. Markut was deported like many via cattle trains out of Poland and forced to hard labor in northern Russia. After being liberated from the Soviets he joined the Polish Army, fought on D-Day and was burnt in a tank battle at Falaise. Mrs. Pieńkowska also was transported via cattle train and relocated in Kazakhstan. Settling in Buffalo after serving in the Polish Air Force, I couldn't believe that the reason she usually didn't share her stories was because a neighbor of hers didn't believe the story. She described the wretched sanitation conditions on the train. When asked by Hon. Bucki to share her memories about it she seemed a bit embarrassed or hesitant to reveal what it was like. But with a little encouragement she continued to describe the overcrowded train and how she fell into the hole which was considered a toilet with no where to wash. Seems to be a miracle to her how she survived the ordeal with such a scarce food supply and freezing temperatures. As she spoke of her arrival in Buffalo, I could almost imagine the feeling of reprieve as she saw the happy people walking through the street as she then felt it was the place to stay. Mrs. Senko had one of the most emotional stories as she told about how her and her family hid from Nazi's in the tall wheat fields of her village in Poland. They were captured by the Nazi's and held at gunpoint while the solider awaited orders to execute. She believed the sobbing of her and her family convinced the commanding officer to spare them their lives and were instead shipped to a concentration camp. After being in the concentration camp then sent to Laar, Germany to work on local farms they were eventually liberated by the U.S. Army and immigrated to the U.S. in 1949 where a new life awaited her. And Finally, Mr. Ścigała. He also was shipped in cattle trains and forced into labor in a lumber yard. As Hitler turned on the Soviets he was released traveling to the Middle East where he trained and served in the 12th Polish Podolian Lancers. After being wounded in battle he resided in English where he married eventually immigrating to Chicago in 1959.
The survivors were then honored at a mass in historic Polonia's Corpus Christi Church on Sunday October 4th followed by the documentary film "Exiles" which played at the Dom Polski Hall on Broadway.
Truly incredible stories to hear from the mouths of those who experienced it. One couldn't even imagine the torture and struggle for survival as they wondered if they were going to live through these events. When asked what the survivors learned from the experience they offered very subtle advice like "never forget who you are", "no more wars" or "no unjust wars". Which made some sense to me but experiencing things as they went through maybe they could have gave more of a life lesson. But in the same sense maybe that's all you need to know. Maybe there isn't a big picture or answer to surviving tragedy, you just never loose hope or yourself and understand your options through hard times.
Bravo to the the Polish Legacy Project for making their vision come to life and taking charge to preserve an important part of Polish history. It is a part of Poland's history that not only should be known by Poles but history buffs and students around the globe. Everyone deserves the privilege of knowledge of where they come from and how ancestors ended up geographically where they did. These stories are as important as any other and are very relevant to the way today's world is. It is a true uprising of Polonia to restore facts of an almost forgotten part of heritage.
