Born: February 13th, 1912, Osowiec (Szczuczyn region, Białystok Province, Poland)
Died: September 28th, 1999, Canada
Buried : St. Catharines cemetery
Military Rank: sergeant
Witold Zwoliński was born on February 13, 1912, in Osowiec (Białystok Province, Poland). He joined the Polish military service on March 6, 1937, where he joined the communications section of an Artillery Regiment. He and his unit were interned in Lithuania after the invasion of Poland by the Soviet Union on September 17th, 1939. After the Soviet Union annexed Lithuania, his unit was sent to a Soviet POW camp where he spent a lot of his time creating a handwritten Russian-Polish dictionary. After the Sikorski–Mayski agreement was signed, Zwoliński along with many others was granted amnesty. He joined the 5th Wileński Light Field Artillery Unit under the 5th Kresowa Infantry Division Polish 2 Corps. He served as a radio station commander. As part of this unit, he was part of many major battles in the Italian campaign including Monte Cassino. After his military service, he immigrated to Canada in 1949 and worked at General Motors for 30 years. He died on September 28th, 1999 and was buried in St. Catharines.
author : Robert Stanczyk
source : archives of Orliński Museum, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Witold Zwoliński – professional Polish soldier, Vilnius, 20.08.1939; source: Witold Zwoliński collection, Orlinski Museum, CanadaWitold Zwoliński with friends from the regiment in Vilnius, 05.01.1938; source: Witold Zwoliński collection, Orlinski Museum, CanadaPolish soldiers interned in Lithuania, Wiłkowiszki, 27.03.1940 – Witold Zwoliński – first from the left in third row from the top of the photo; source: Witold Zwoliński collection, Orlinski Museum, CanadaPolish soldiers interned in Lithuania, Wiłkowiszki, 18.04.1940 – signatures on the photo at the back: Jan Staniszewski, Świderski (?), Marian Balcewicz, Antoni (?) Orłowski, A. Zawadzki, Witold Zwoliński (first from the right in first row); source: Witold Zwoliński collection, Orlinski Museum, CanadaIdentity card of Polish Forces in Soviet Union soldier – cover; source: Witold Zwoliński collection, Orlinski Museum, CanadaIdentity card of Polish Forces in Soviet Union soldier – Witold Zwoliński – page 2 and 3; source: Witold Zwoliński collection, Orlinski Museum, CanadaIdentity card of Polish Forces in Soviet Union soldier – Witold Zwoliński, pages 4 and 5, issued in Dzalal-Abad (Kirgistan), 01.08.1942; source: Witold Zwoliński collection, Orlinski Museum, CanadaPolish soldiers in Kirkuk, Iraq, 13.06.1943 – Witold Zwoliński standing in the middle of the photo; source: Witold Zwoliński collection, Orlinski Museum, CanadaWitold Zwoliński in Polish 2 Corps, 1944; source: Witold Zwoliński collection, Orlinski Museum, CanadaOn the Italian front near Pesaro, 01.09.1944 – Witold Zwoliński at the top of the photo – source: Witold Zwoliński collection, Orlinski Museum, CanadaPolish 2 Corps’ soldiers in Vatican, 23.08.1944; source: Witold Zwoliński collection, Orlinski Museum, CanadaPolish 2 Corps’ soldiers on the ship to Great Britain, Naples (Italy), 23.09.1946 – Witold Zwoliński second from the right; source: Witold Zwoliński collection, Orlinski Museum, CanadaWitold Zwoliński, Nettlebed (Oxfordshire, UK), 20.04.1947; source: Witold Zwoliński collection, Orlinski Museum, Canada
