Man with Three Names

Wincenty Sosna

Description

When does any war end? Is it simply when the fighting stops? Or is it perhaps when a family or a community comes to terms with loss...or when the rebuilding process is finally complete...or maybe when a veteran finally comes to terms with physical or mental handicap? Any of these processes can take years - sometimes decades - sometimes the damage is permanent and life-changing. This book describes the transformative and damaging effects of the Second World War on the author's Polish father who was only a 12-year-old boy in Warsaw when the bombs started to fall on 01 September 1939. For the next 5 years - his adolescent years - he was exposed to the ever-increasing horrors of the Occupation, joining the Resistance and ultimately fighting in the ill-fated Warsaw Uprising in 1944 during which he was badly wounded. After the war, he found himself in a Polish hospital in the UK, exhausted by his wounds and by his years in the Resistance. All he had left was hope. But this hope was finally crushed by the Western Allied leaders who secretly betrayed Poland, agreeing to leave the country occupied by the Soviet Union and by doing so, leaving over 200,000 Polish soldiers with no home to safely return to. For many families, this situation turned the stresses of war directly into the post-traumatic stresses of the post-war decades. This unthinkable outcome of the war for Poland became a wound that for many soldiers, like the author's father, simply could not heal.

Sujets

• Lettres et linguistique

Informations

• Publié par: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Date de parution: 29 mai 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781528970587
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

The Man with Three Names
Wincenty Sosna
Austin Macauley Publishers
2020-05-29
The Man with Three Names About The Author Dedication Copyright Information © Acknowledgement Polish Child’s Confession of Faith Introduction Prologue Regarding Polish Names and Pronunciation Part 1 Politics at War Chapter 1.1 Chapter 1.2 Chapter 1.3 Chapter 1.4 Chapter 1.5 Chapter 1.6 Chapter 1.7 Chapter 1.8 Chapter 1.9 Chapter 1.10 Chapter 1.11 Chapter 1.12 Chapter 1.13 Chapter 1.14 Chapter 1.15 Chapter 1.16 Chapter 1.17 Chapter 1.18 Part 2 Family at War Chapter 2.1 Chapter 2.2 Chapter 2.3 Chapter 2.4 Chapter 2.5 Chapter 2.6 Chapter 2.7 Chapter 2.8 Chapter 2.9 Chapter 2.10 Chapter 2.11 Chapter 2.12 Chapter 2.13 Chapter 2.14 Chapter 2.15 Chapter 2.16 Chapter 2.17 Chapter 2.18 Chapter 2.19 Chapter 2.20 Chapter 2.21 Chapter 2.22 Chapter 2.23 Chapter 2.24 Part 3 My Father at War Warsaw Uprising – 63 Days Part III Chapter 3.1 Chapter 3.2 Chapter 3.3 Chapter 3.4 Chapter 3.5 Chapter 3.6 Chapter 3.7 Chapter 3.8 Chapter 3.9 Chapter 3.10 Chapter 3.11 Chapter 3.12 Chapter 3.13 Chapter 3.14 Chapter 3.15 Chapter 3.16 Chapter 3.17 Chapter 3.18 Chapter 3.19 Chapter 3.20 Part 4 Mind at War Chapter 4.1 Chapter 4.2 Chapter 4.3 Chapter 4.4 Epilogue Appendices Appendix 1 General Bibliography Appendix 2 Key Polish Place Names and Other Polish Words Appendix 3 Names of Polish Combatants Mentioned in the Text Appendix 4 A Brief History of the Scout Movement in Poland End Notes
About The Author
Wincenty Sosna is a British-born architect, photographer and keen gardener. He shares his life between Poland and Great Britain.
Dedication
To my mother—for her enduring love
Copyright Information ©
Wincenty Sosna (2020)
The right of Wincenty Sosna to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
Austin Macauley is committed to publishing works of quality and integrity. In this spirit, we are proud to offer this book to our readers; however, the story, the experiences, and the words are the author’s alone.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781528941044 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781528941051 (Hardback)
ISBN 9781528970587 (ePub e-book)
www.austinmacauley.com
First Published (2020)
Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd
25 Canada Square
Canary Wharf
London
E14 5LQ
Acknowledgement
The writing of this book has been a long, difficult and sometimes painful process. It is not easy to bare one’s soul. When I began, I did not know where the journey would take me. I did not know what form the book would take. I did not know what it would contain. I did not even really know its purpose. I began my research open to whatever I could discover, on the basis of which I would try to make sense of it afterwards.
It was in this frame of mind that I began working with the Polish journalist and writer Patrycja Bukalska, who bravely did not question my approach. She simply arranged numerous meetings where she tirelessly translated as I struggled with my almost non-existent Polish; she took me to many places based on the smallest references in books; she trawled the second-hand markets and bookshops with me and helped gather my now large library of material; she organised visits to talk to many survivors of the Warsaw Uprising…and so much more. It is impossible to sufficiently thank her for her tireless support over many years, especially as she had no idea if it would actually lead anywhere! I would also like to thank the many people I met during this process who freely gave up their time to talk to me. This book would not have been possible without their willingness to discuss painful subjects, their patience and their understanding.
My own memories go back to my earliest years. I am fortunate in this aspect and it seems my brain recorded many of my father’s anecdotes – but sadly not all. To try to fill in the blanks I turned to my two brothers and two sisters and I would like to thank them for their contributions. It is true to say that one never knows how even the smallest piece of information can contribute to the clarity of the overall picture.
The manuscript was read by a number of colleagues and I would like to thank them for their invaluable comments and support, particularly Gilbert Chalmers who painstakingly reviewed the first version of the text.
Finally, I should like to thank all of those unsung photographic heroes, some of whom did not survive the war, whose work now fills the many books and albums that record the way Warsaw was before 1939, the suffering of its people during the war and its subsequent transformation to the vibrant Warsaw that exists today.
Polish Child’s Confession of Faith Kto ty jesteś? Who are you? Polak mały. A young Pole. Jaki znak twój? What is your sign? Orzeł biały. The white eagle. Gdzie ty mieszkasz? Where do you live? Między swemi. Amongst my people. W jakim kraju? In what country? W polskiej ziemi. On Polish soil. Czym ta ziemia? What is that soil? Mą Ojczyzną. My motherland. Czym zdobyta? How was she gained? Krwią i blizną. Through blood and scars. Czy ją kochasz? Do you love her? Kocham szczerze. I love her sincerely. A w co wierzysz? And in what do you believe? W Polskę wierzę! I believe in Poland! Coś ty dla niej? What are you to her? Wdzięczne dziecię. A grateful child. Coś jej winien? What do you owe her? Oddać życie. To sacrifice my life.
Introduction
When does any war end? Is it simply when the fighting stops?
Or is it perhaps when a family or community comes to terms with loss…or when the rebuilding process is finally complete…or maybe when a veteran finally comes to terms with physical or mental handicap? Any of these processes can take years – sometimes decades – sometimes the damage is permanent and life-changing.
This book describes the transformative and damaging effects of the Second World War on my Polish father and how this affected family life for me, my brothers and sisters and my English mother, living in Great Britain in the decades after the war. It was written long after my parents had passed away and was prompted by my own need to try to discover what my father went through that made him the man he became. It is told ‘through my own eyes’ – from my first vague childhood memories in the late 1950s to the present day.
It is written in four Parts. The first Part considers the impact of the post-war years – the tragic political outcome of the war for Poland left isolated behind the ‘Iron Curtain’ and how this left a very bitter emotional legacy for many Poles like my father, trapped outside their own country. The second Part briefly reviews my father’s comfortable life as a boy in Warsaw where he lived before the war. It then describes his slow immersion into a life of violence during the five years of German occupation – his adolescent years – leading up to the start of the Warsaw Uprising in August 1944. The third Part provides a day-by-day account of my father’s time during the 63 days of relentless fighting that was the Warsaw Uprising itself. The fourth Part briefly considers the issue of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), not only in relation to my father and my family, but also in relation to the people of Poland as a whole.
Like many veterans, my father was very reluctant to talk about his part in the war and he refused to sit down and discuss his experiences in a chronological way despite frequent pestering by all of his children at different times. But he did, from time-to-time, mention specific actions when something was triggered in his mind. On such occasions, he would suddenly describe some harrowing moment but would then close the subject equally abruptly. There was rarely any meaningful discussion. However, these short anecdotes stayed with me and it is mainly these that now form the basis of Parts 2 and 3. I was able to check and confirm most of my father’s stories in the many books that have now been written about the Second World War in Poland and specifically about life in Warsaw during the Warsaw Uprising itself. In doing so, I also discovered a great deal of new material which is also included. Both my father and grandfather are mentioned in a number of books and also in written testimonies contained in the Warsaw Uprising Museum. The facts can therefore be independently verified.
In addition to the facts concerning my father, this book is also an account of my own personal life growing up with a psychologically damaged individual and everything that is written in this regard is therefore my own version of events. I have never-the-less tried to ensure that what is written is accurate and in no circumstances have I tried to modify events for other reasons.
My father’s war was unusual. Before the Warsaw Uprising in 1944, it was a clandestine war, fought from the shadows over a period of several years. It was not an open battle. During this time, he was an operative in the Warsaw Underground and was therefore bound by the secrecy that enabled the organisation to function under the noses of the Gestapo and the German Police. It was only after the Warsaw Uprising began that he went into open combat as a soldier with other members of the Polish Home Army.
I have described as carefully and as frankly as I can what he experienced during those traumatic times and the things that he was actually required to do. This story does therefore describe the ultimate act of violence – killing in ‘cold-blood’. I hesitate to use this expression as little was done i