by Cindy K.
Stewart
Mietek
Rymaszewski was a young teenager when the Soviet Union invaded Poland in 1939. The Soviets arrested him on trumped up
charges in 1940 and sent him to the slave labor camps of Siberia. Today’s
post begins more than a year after his capture. His earlier adventures were
shared in these previous posts: “A Young Man’s WWII Survival Story,” “Survival in Siberia – A Young Man’s Continuing Saga,” and “A Siberian Miracle.”
The Soviets sent
Mietek back to camp and tried to persuade him to join their army, but he carefully
responded that he hadn’t been educated in Russian and wouldn’t feel right in
the Russian Army. Instead, Mietek and a
group of other former prisoners boarded a cattle truck and rode south to join
the Polish Armed Forces in the East. They rode the same rail line they had previously
built and relished the freedom of travelling unguarded in Russia for the first
time.
Obtaining food became an immediate priority. Along the way, the former prisoners were
occasionally given boiled fish and a piece of bread, and at some stations they
obtained all the boiled water they wanted. At one stop Mietek exchanged his
shirt for a small bantam hen and a few potatoes. He plucked and cleaned the
hen, confiscated a large can by a well, gathered nettles, and made four gallons
of soup. Since the train never stopped for long, Mietek built a fire at each
stop, gradually cooking the broth until it was ready to eat.
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Mietek's Travels - Courtesy of Franek Rymaszewski |
Mietek traveled
from Kotlas in northern Russia through Svierdlovsk and Kyubishov to Buzelluk on
the southern Russian frontier, each time
expecting to find a Polish recruiting station but only to discover the offices
had moved. He and his companions travelled through the Soviet Republic of Kazakhstan
and entered Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, also under Soviet control. While
waiting at a stop further south, Mietek attempted to do some trading. He went
to the closest hamlet and knocked on a door. He was invited in and discovered a
poor Russian family of three sharing a meal of tiny potatoes. Observing their
plight, Mietek only asked for water, but after the family learned that he had
been recently released from the labor camps, they insisted he share their meal.
With tears in her eyes, the Russian woman gave Mietek a half glass of milk from
their meager stores.
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Courtesy of Franek Rymaszewski |
Continuing
south, Mietek and his companions arrived in Samarkand (outer Mongolia) and
slept outside for a few nights until barges arrived and took them to Nukus near
the Aral Sea. They walked behind an
Uzbeki riding an oxen-driven cart to a collective farm 120 kilometers away and
stayed with the Uzbeki families. They slept in a tent-like accommodation
covered with homemade felt, ate sesame flat bread, rice and sesame meal noodles
with some meat, and drank boiled water. Mietek’s host was the local school
teacher who was embittered because the Red Army had killed his father, confiscated
his father’s lands, and eaten his herds of livestock without compensation. He vowed
to one day get it back.
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River Amudarya - by joepyrek at Creative Commons |
After news
arrived that the Polish recruiting office had reopened in Bukhara, Mietek and his fellow travelers spent a day
and a night walking back to Nukus where they soaked their blistered feet in the
river. They sailed on barges down the River Amudarya to Farab near Samarkand and were encouraged by
the majestic flight of three white eagles above the river. Mietek also witnessed
the reunion of a Polish husband and wife who’d been separated since 1939 and
had survived the labor camps. In Farab they stayed in rail trucks and were
given a dead dog to eat. While Mietek was with an NKVD officer getting soup
(boiled water with a few green tomatoes), some of his companions stole millet.
After he returned, they were all
arrested by the local militia and sent to the Samarkand Prison.
A number of
Russians and Uzbekis shared Mietek’s cell. One Russian was imprisoned for being
fifteen minutes late to work (his wife was sick). Mietek and his companions
went to court where his charges were dropped but three others were given the
maximum sentence (death penalty). Then a
man spoke, pleading that the men had been brought up in a capitalist country
and didn’t know the difference between right and wrong and they should be
allowed to repay their crime by joining the army. The court released them with
a warning to be out of Samarkand within twenty-four hours.
Mietek and a
friend walked to Bukhara, surviving on weeds and desert tortoise eggs. When
they arrived, the recruiting office was empty, but after two days a Polish 2nd
lieutenant arrived and took them to the railway station. He shielded them from
Soviet agents who were in the area conscripting the local men for the Russian
Army. They traveled to Kermine where the Polish garrison was stationed, and Mietek gave his true name for the first
time since he had been captured by the Soviets in Poland. Despite reaching
the Polish Army, forty men died daily from the prolonged starvation they had
endured. Even Mietek collapsed and spent two days in the hospital where he was
put on a special diet.
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Mietek in 1943 - Courtesy of Franek Rymaszewski |
As the Polish
recruits gained strength, their military training increased. For a time the Soviets
refused to provide the Polish garrison at Kermine with transportation to Persia
(Iran) where they planned to connect with the British Army. Instead the Soviets tried to persuade them
to fight on the Eastern Front with the Russian Army. The Polish military leaders objected,
and the troops prepared to march out. The Soviets didn’t have enough forces in
the area to stop them, so they provided transportation to
Krasnovodsk on the Caspian
Sea.
The Polish
troops and civilians at Krasnovodsk crossed the Caspian Sea on rusty, old ships,
fighting dysentery and dehydration. One day while standing in line for his water
ration, Mietek noticed a pair of bright, young eyes watching him through the gaps
in the steps. Then he heard a young voice say, “Mum, it’s Mietek.” She was the daughter of the station master
from his home town in Poland! The girl’s mother appeared and greeted him,
sharing that they had been deported to Siberia with his mother, brother, and
grandfather. She gave Mietek his mother’s address, and he was able to make
contact with her.
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Courtesy of Franek Rymaszewski |
In Pahlavi,
Iran, the troops showered, obtained haircuts, and were powdered with
insecticide. They burned their uniforms and were issued new tropical uniforms. Mietek
was posted to Iraq where he defended a refinery and later an airport and served
as a driving instructor. His unit transferred to Palestine and then North
Africa. In Egypt, Mietek volunteered for the infantry and fought in Italy. He was wounded in a battle on the the Kenti
River and was hospitalized in Taranto and in Scotland. He recuperated and
returned to Italy where he guarded German POW’s following the war.
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Mietek (far left) Serving in Italy - Courtesy of Franek Rymaszewski |
After his time of service, Mietek settled in England and worked for the forestry commission. He married Stephanie Burnett, an English widow. The Soviets resettled Mietek’s mother in western Poland, but they didn’t see each other again until 1963, twenty-four years after parting.
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Mietek & Family in England, 1961 Courtesy of Franek Rymaszewski |
So fascinating! I absolutely love the pictures....so wonderful seeing him smile. Thanks so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you enjoyed the post, Debbie. Thank you for following Mietek's story the past several months. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for continuing the story about Mietek Rymaszewski. The pictures added so much. Inspiration from his faith, strength and determination.
ReplyDeleteHi, Marilyn. Thank you for taking the time to read and comment about Mietek's story. I believe he's still living (in England) and wish I could meet him.
DeleteWow! What a story of survival!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Betti! There are so many fascinating stories about Polish men, women, and children who were exiled to Siberia at the beginning of WWII and survived to tell their stories.
Delete