Na drodze stromej oraz śliskiej… i ku wolności

ON A STEEP AND SLIPPERY ROAD… AND TOWARDS FREEDOM. THE WARTIME LIVES OF JÓZEF KOWALSKI FROM RYCZÓW AND JAN FOLGA FROM BACHOWICEThe history of Poland and the Poles in the 19th and 20th centuries was characterised by a constant struggle to regain and then maintain independence. The inhabitants of the Spytkowice municipality have been involved in this struggle for many generations. They had a particular contribution to make during the Second World War, when they fought against the occupying forces on almost all European fronts. This article tells the turbulent fate of two soldiers: Józef Kowalski from Ryczów and Jan Folga from Bachowice. Both defended Poland during the September campaign and were taken prisoner by the Red Army after the Soviets entered the country. While on „inhuman soil”, they were forced to do hard labour to extract iron ore in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, and then in the Komi Republic in the north of the USSR, in the Northern Railway Line Camp, or the so-called SiewŻiełDorŁag. After the Sikorski-Mayski Agreement was signed, they became part of the Polish Army in the USSR. With the so-called‚ Anders Army’ they evacuated through Kyrgyzstan to the Middle East. In 1944, they fought on the Italian front. They both took part in the bloodiest campaigns in Italy, most notably the Battle of Monte Cassino, for which they received numerous military decorations. After Britain ended the war, they returned to their homeland, to their families. In People’s Poland, they faced persecution from the new authorities. The proper honouring of these two heroes did not take place until after the political transformation in 1989. The younger Jan Folga still had the opportunity to personally experience historical justice. Józef Kowalski did not live to see it. He died in 1981.