The Grodynski Brigade: The story of ‘The Grodynski Family’ through World War II

179 Pages·2013·1.43 MB·English

by  Mr Andrzej ST Grodynski

The Grodyński Brigade

Andrzej S T Grodyński

Translated with commentary by
STANISŁAW A A GRODYŃSKI

Copyright © 2012 Stanisław A A Grodyński
All rights reserved.
ISBN-10: 1481283677
ISBN-13: 978-1481283670
FOREWORD by Stan Grodyński, son of the Author

My father (“Tatuś”) was a stranger to me as my parents effectively separated
when I was only two years old and as a result my brother and I were raised by
my mother alone. However, through meetings later in our lives, through his
letters and through my attempt to convey his thoughts by sensitively translating
the unfamiliar Polish words of his book, I believe I gathered a perception of the
person that was my father. This was a man whose early life was characterized
by his Polish upbringing in a country that was still shaping its vision of
independence when, while he was only sixteen, it was invaded by two of the
mightiest military powers of the twentieth century. The full impact of the
tumultuous events that followed on the life of someone who had to grapple with
the realities of forced deportation to a hostile Soviet labour camp and then the
emotional devastation of the surrender of his country to the same despotic foe
that led that barbarous Soviet regime at the end of the Second World War
(WWII), can never be served justice in words. That said, this book, through
describing pivotal periods in the lives of a family of four people who fought
against events forced upon them by Poland’s tyrannical imperialist neighbours,
does perhaps, in a small way, provide further testament to the valiant spirit of the
many Poles who over the centuries have fought to keep their nation alive and
free, on the map as well as in their hearts.

In a broader context the perspective of a post-war immigrant may resonate with
others who have settled in a foreign country. Perhaps some also see scope for
improvements in positively developing local communities, social and
commercial structures, as well as financial systems governing world trade and
international aid, all within a coordinated global framework of proactive
environmental policies.
The strong feeling of national identity that permeates my father’s writings
certainly finds resonance with me. While working abroad for many years and
perhaps through seeing Great Britain from an external vantage, an increasing
belief arose in me that self-determination for Scotland would be the best way
forward for all constituent countries, including England, given the decline of the
British Empire and the increasing influence of the European Union on everyday
lives. My grandfather, Stanisław, apparently spoke six languages fluently and
another three languages in passable conversation, yet his understanding of the
increasing interdependence of people around our planet never diminished his
belief in an independent Poland that sadly, like many Poles who fought along
side the British and Allied Forces in WWII, he did not live to see.

Finally, in spite of my own research efforts and the valued assistance of others,
there are still some fundamental questions that remain unanswered regarding my
Polish ancestors, such as why did my great grandfather change his name and
why to Grodyński? What was the maiden name of his first wife and was he
related to, or associated with, Jerzy or Tadeusz Grodyński, both of whom gained
national prominence in Poland? Can my own ancestral roots in fact be traced
back to Scotland, my ‘Homeland’?
LIST OF CONTENTS

Introduction
Basic Family Tree
Ancestors
Halina Marja Grodyńska
Personal Data
Stanisław Sylwester Alfonzy Grodyński
Personal Data
Marjan Stanisław Ryszard Grodyński
Personal Data
Andrzej Stanisław Tadeusz Grodyński
Personal Data
Recollections of Poland
Recollections of the ‘Soviet Union’
Recollections of Great Britain
Appendix I – Grodyński Family Tree
INTRODUCTION

I commence the writing of this account of the lives of members of ‘The
Grodyński Family’ in the hospital for Polish patients in Penley, North Wales, on
Sunday 20th February 1977. The occasion of visiting my Mother seems to me an
appropriate time, not just for sentimental reasons, to begin the long-term
undertaking of writing this book.
Events, experiences and views adduced by me in this book are based on facts
that I have attempted to objectively analyze. Personal experiences and memories
which I describe are my own and personal impressions convey my own points of
view.
This work provides an historical account of ‘The Grodyński Family’, one of
a number of Polish families that chose to continue living in exile from their
Homeland, and expresses truths and opinions that remained in each of their
hearts through long years of war, as well as through later struggles and
endeavours for Poland.
It is with the young generation in mind that I am writing this book, members
of our family born in Great Britain to whom I wish to bequeath a legacy of ‘life
sketches’ of their forebears, the native land of their forebears and the struggle of
the Polish nation in its fight for freedom and justice around the world. Our
actions and views, I do believe, were right and noble. Hopefully the experiences
of the past will give all of them trust in the future and in a better tomorrow.
My wish is also that this work shall spark the writing of new volumes of life
histories of our families. Each new generation of Grodyński family should add a
new book with its experiences, a subsequent undertaking which in future years
might become a highly original, and possibly unique, work in Polish literature.
COMPLETED IN LONDON IN 1985
BASIC FAMILY TREE
ANCESTORS

Bulczyńska Family

The parents of my grandmother Teodozją Bulczyńska, great-grandfather
Karol Bulczyński and great-grandmother Ludwika Bulczyńska, née Urbańska,
were landowners and lived in Pobiedziska (near Poznań), where great-
grandfather Karol died around 1867.
After the death of her first husband, Leo Jaruszewski, whose family also
owned land near the city of Poznań, my great grandmother married for a second
time, on this occasion marrying Karol Bulczyński. My great grandfather Karol
had only one brother, Marceli. The marriage of my great-grandfather was
blessed with three children, a son Bolesław, a daughter Praksedą and a daughter
Teodozją, my grandmother. The son, Bolesław Wojciech Bulczyński, who
married Anielą Głowacką, was an apothecary and died in Poznań in September
of 1933. The daughter, Praksedą Bulczyńska, married Kazimierz Malski, who
was a merchant. The second daughter, Teodozją Bulczyńska, married her
cousin, Wacław Bulczyński, a son of great-grandfather Karol’s brother, Marceli
Bulczyński, after they received a permit to contract a marriage from the Vatican
in Rome.
There were three Jaruszewski sons from the first marriage of my great-
grandmother Ludwika; Wacław, Stanisław and Tadeusz.
Before the Second World War, the descendants of my great-grandfather and
great-grandmother owned the largest huntsman store and the movie theatre
named the ‘Slonce’ (Sun) at the Plac Wolności (Freedom Square) in Poznań, as
well as a large estate in the Głuszyn Leśną (Gwushin Forest) near to Poznań. A
couple of years before the war I spent a very nice holiday there, hunting deer and
game in the woods surrounding the mansion.
Bulczyński Family

Great-grandfather Marceli Bulczyński, the father of my grandfather Wacław,
was an administrative official of the railroad. His wife’s name was Walerja, nee
Mierzejewska. They had two children, a son Wacław Zbigniew, my grandfather,
and a daughter Halina, who died in Warszawa (Warsaw) in 1886 at around
fourteen years of age.