We need to understand more of what the Poles achieved and sacrificed

In November, the British author Irena Kossakowski launched her moving book about the extraordinary life of her father Waclaw, who was a Polish war hero. The book is based on the stories Waclaw told Irena of his harrowing journey from Poland to a forced labour camp in Siberia, before travelling to the Middle East, fighting on the Italian battlefields and then finally settling in Britain. In this interview with Brin Best Irena explains more about why she wrote A Homeland Denied.

What led you to write A Homeland Denied?

“My Dad had nightmares all his life. As children we would ask Mum what he was shouting about, but it was in Polish and she could only say it was ‘war stuff’. Years later, my son was working on a school essay about his granddad, and my Dad drew a map and told a little of his incredible journey. But the teacher said it wasn’t interesting enough. Dad rarely mentioned it, other than perhaps to cry if something reminded him of those days, so I decided to keep a record of everything he said, as none of us knew anything about it. This record would be for his grandchildren; we would make a scrapbook but it got too big and the idea of a book came to mind. The more I found out, the more amazed I was he survived at all, and it’s surprising how little people know of this period of history, as it wasn’t taught in schools.”

Did you find any new things out about your father as you researched the book?

“Yes, lots of things. For example, about the notorious Kozelsk labour camp and the Tatiszewo resettlement camp in the Soviet Union; he just said he was ‚offered amnesty, so was freed’, but it was far more traumatic than that and truly awful. One day I found him burning lots of his war stuff: photographs and some propaganda, now included in the book as I grabbed them before they were destroyed. Later, when asked, he said he was thinking not of the labour camp but of Tatiszewo, the resettlement camp. A truly awful and very sad place.”

How did you deal with the challenges of going deep into harrowing family history?

“This wasn’t easy, as my Polish family speak only Polish (and my Polish is not that good). My great aunt’s [Henja in the book] brother was shot and killed by the Germans in his village aged just 12, and she didn’t like to talk about it. My cousins did their best, but it was very difficult. It was especially difficult because so little of that period is recorded on the Internet.”

What do you hope your book will achieve?

“I hope people can learn from this story and the forgotten history, which is not taught in schools. This is a story which is familiar to Poles today, and it’s vital that people do not lose interest over time, now that those directly affected are mostly dead. My Dad said no-one will care in the future, because they didn’t during this lifetime. He never forgot what the teacher said to his grandson. However, now I think interest is returning at last. I hope more will be taught in schools; that’s why this is a book for everyone, it’s a story of an ordinary man, and it’s not just for World War II military history buffs.”

What do you think the key messages of your book are?

“That we need to understand more of what the Poles achieved and sacrificed. To never give up on what you want to achieve and what you really want in life, as even with all hope lost, the spirit can never be broken.”

What has the reaction to your book been like?

“The response in the UK has been amazing, because so little is actually known about stories such as my Dad’s. I’ve been invited to give talks with displays of my Dad’s items at Polish Clubs, libraries and schools. Many people also write to me if they’re unable to come to the events, asking for a signed book to be sent to them. I’ve also received several letters and cards from people in similar family circumstances to me, and who have bought my book to help find out more about this period and its history. They have expressed their gratitude for the work I’ve done, which has helped them to learn more about their own family history. Recently I gave a talk in London for the annual Kresy-Siberia luncheon, which was attended by the Polish Ambassador Arkady Rzegocki. He congratulated me and complimented me on my book, saying it was a very worthwhile thing to do to help promote the achievements of Poles during the war – and to maintain good relationships between the two nations now.”

You recently took a trip to Australia to promote your book. How did this go?

“Australia was wonderful and there was a huge amount of interest there – I was quite overwhelmed. I had a very favourable review in the Tygodnik Polski, Polish paper, and have invitations to more events next year, including a visit to the Polish Museum and a talk at the Polish Club and library. So I’ll definitely be going back.”

FURTHER INFORMATION

A Homeland Denied (published by Whittles Publishing, 2016) is available now via Amazon and from all good bookshops.

Irena’s website can be viewed at http://ahomelanddenied.com

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This interview was carried out as part of the ‘Poles in the UK’ project, and is linked to the book Poles in the UK: A Story of Friendship and Cooperation (by Brin Best & Maria Helena Żukowska, 2016).

For more details see the Poles in the UK Facebook page and www.polesintheuk.net.