Bronislaw (Bronek) Sokolowski was a teacher and reserve artillery officer who fought against the German invasion in September 1939 and eventually became a prisoner of war on September 22, 1939. Following his almost immediate release he made his way home, near Lwów, by then under Soviet occupation. On February 10, 1940, he was deported to a slave labour camp in Siberia, together with his family, by the Soviet security police (NKWD). Following the invasion of the Soviet Union by Germany in the summer of 1941, Bronek was unfortunate to be jailed by the NKWD for “counter-revolutionary activities.” He languished in prison in Tiumen for 5 months. Upon his release in December 1941, he rejoined the Polish army at Guzar, Uzbekistan, in April 1942. He was able to get his family out of the Soviet Union and proceeded to train with the army in the Middle East until his unit was transferred to Italy. He participated in the Italian campaign as the firing officer for a battery of the 9th Medium (later Heavy) Artillery Regiment Polish Second Corps, being transferred to teaching duties as the end of the war came near. In England, he was the vice-headmaster of the Polish school and immigrated to Canada in 1947. He continued to fight against the communist takeover of his homeland, raising funds for the Polish Government-in-exile, in London, England. He was a much-decorated patriot for his wartime bravery and devoted service to the cause of Poland’s independence.

author : Robert Stanczyk

source : archives of Orliński Museum, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada