On the 29th August 1939, under General Mobilisation my poppy, Leonard Gacka, was recalled to his unit, the Polish 16th Infantry Division stationed on the border with East Prussia. A day later on the 1st September, the German's launched their blitzkrieg on Poland, beginning World War 2.
Pop's unit felt the full force of this new lightning war and was subjected to constant bombing, artillery and tank attack. As they fell back in disarray, he found himself cut off from behind enemy lines and then captured by German Soldiers, who were going to shoot him. At that time he said to them in perfect German "You are German Soldiers, you fight for your country...... I am a Polish soldier, I fight for mine". A German officer nearby who overheard the conversation asked Poppy where he had learnt to speak German so well and was convinced he was a German Pole. The officer told him to disappear over the hill if he knew what was good for him. Pop needed no further prompting, and he tore up that hill and towards a forest where he found a Polish Cavalry horse, jumped on and galloped back towards the Polish lines. A further 2 weeks of confusion followed for Pop, during which time he was buried in rubble then rescued with his uniform in tatters.
Capitulation soon followed and together with thousands of Polish POW's he was marched hundreds of kilometres through Poland and into Germany where he was interned in Stalag 2A, North of Berlin. Along the way an interesting incident took place, a German NCO strode through the crowds of POW's asking for a barber who could give him a good shave and he would pay them 6 cigarettes. Although not of that trade, Pop obliged and cut him up so badly the poor bloke almost bled to death. However, he was unaware of this until he made it to a mirror some time later. For 3 days the Germans hunted that demon barber but he was hidden by his mates.
There, then followed years of internment with frequent beatings. During the severe winter of 1941, with his uniform in tatters and only a ragged blanket he almost perished had it not been for the gift of a pair of Long Johns sent through the Red Cross by his former employers wife, who informed him that her husband had been executed by the Nazi's.
In 1942 the Germans moved many POW's out of Stalag onto farms where they were used as Forced Labour. Farms meant food so they could supplement their meagre ration of 1 boiled potato a day by pinching the odd egg, chicken or a bit of pork.
Pop also joined the camp choir who sang as they marched to work each day, much to the annoyance of the German population who complained to the Commandant, "How can you allow the prisoners to sing at the top of their voices while our boys are dying on the Eastern Front in Russia".
Poppy often recounted how only 3 nations were marked by the Nazi's during those terrible times, Poles C who had to wear a P , Jews C a Star of David, and Russians a similar emblem, failure to do so could result in summary execution.
One day towards the end of the war while being marched out to work, Pop passed another P coming from the opposite direction, she was a young girl named Lola, as they passed they exchanged greetings and pledged to meet sometime in the future. Lola too had had a harrowing time. Arrested in a Warsaw street round-up in 1940, she was taken to Soldau Concentration Camp where she was interred for a year then released to work as forced labour to a German family who treated her very badly with frequent beatings. Enduring enough, she removed her letter P and ran away only to be caught soon after and sent to prison for 6 months. On release, she was placed with another German family who told her to behave and obey her Nazi Masters.
Both Pop and Nanny, were liberated by the British Army near Lubeck, North Germany in 1945. Pop and Nanny married in early 1946. Poppy got a job with the British Army as a Police Interpreter and even acquired his own Jeep. He also played soccer with a Polish team. They beat an RAF side 7-1 in a friendly, and he also played the drums in a dance band. At the time of the birth of their first child Uncle Lenoard in 1946, they lived in the Falinbostel Camp together with thousands of other displaced persons.
They then planned a return to their native Poland, however a letter from Pop's mother changed all that. She wrote, "Dear Son, it may be best for you to remain where you are at present, Soviet Occupation Forces are arresting Polish soldiers and Home Army Officers as they return home. Already 15,000 Officers have been executed and hundreds of thousands of Poles have been deported to Siberia." It was clear that the Russian regime wanted no opposition to its plans for their new Poland.
In 1949 Pop took the family to France, but returned to Germany 9 months later disillusioned by the unfriendly attitude of the French to outsiders. On their return to Falinbostel, Nanny gave birth to her second son Edward (my dad) in 1950. Poppy had also heard that a delegation of Australian Immigration Officials were scouring the Camp for potential New Aussies, he couldn't find them quickly enough. Within months they had set sail from Bremerhaven on the SS Skaugum bound for Port Melbourne and arriving in November 1950. From there it was bus to Bonnegilla, then Cowra Migration Centre.
Pop found a job with the NSW Railways and also supplemented his income by playing drums in a dance band. They played a lot of Country Dances in Cowra, Forbes and Orange districts. Times were difficult at first, but poppy loved the freedom and the friendly Aussies. This was akin to his Polish Soul. Often work took him hundreds of miles away and he could only return to the family on the weekends. Also, he had to pay lodgings for the family in the camp as well as his lodgings close to work. However, he always ensured his family was well fed and clothed and even bought the children an occasional gift.
In 1953, Nanny sadly gave birth to a stillborn girl Halina, this was followed by a move to Scheyville Migrant Centre near Windsor, where another son Tadeusz was born, but sadly also died at 10 months of age from convulsions. Then, in 1957 Uncle Peter, the baby of the family came along and Nanny decided that was enough. She often lamented the lack of a daughter to help her with the housework.
By 1959, Poppy had saved enough money for a house in Blacktown and the family moved. At the same time, Pop joined his beloved Blacktown Workers Club while it was still a tin shed. His badge number was 63.
In tribute to Poppy and Nanny they raised a great family through some very difficult times. Early in their arrival they learnt English and assimilated well into Australian Society. In fact, English has been the first language at home for more than 50 years, even though poppy was a bit hard to understand in later life. My poppy sadly passed away in 2008 with his family surrounding him. He will be greatly missed.
