Jenna shares details of this new book about a Polish soldier who lived in Sandown for 20 years. Ed
A Homeland Denied, In the Footsteps of a Polish POW by Irena Kossakowski was published this week, in time for Remembrance Day which is also Polish Independence Day.
This is a compelling and poignant story based on the memories of Waclaw Kossakowski and recounted vividly by his daughter, Irena.
Former Sandown resident
Waclaw, a former resident of Sandown for almost 20 years, was held in a prison camp at Kozelsk, Russia, was a survivor of a forced labour camp in the Siberian Arctic Circle and also a veteran of the Battle of Monte Cassino.
The Foreword written by Pawel Warczynski from the Katyn Museum, Warsaw reads,
“…As a forced labourer in one of the most inhospitable places in the world he became part of the tragic Polish history under Stalin’s regime and Soviet brutality.
“Irena Kossakowski undertook the challenging journey of recording her father’s story to encourage new generations to understand Polish history during World War II and how the Polish people had been denied their homeland for so many years.
“Meeting Irena in Katyn Museum was an amazing experience and truly the completion of much hard work to once again unite Polish survivors of Soviet dictatorship from all over the world. If only more descendants of Polish refugees would be as engaged as Irena.”
If you are interested in reading , you can purchase through the Whittles Publishing Website
