Josef Kowalewski

My father, Josef Kowalewski, born Brzozowka, Barglow, 15 march 1915, to Boleslaw Kowalewski and Ludwika Belbot. My father had two brothers (Jan and Francizek) and six sisters (Janina, Klementyna, Helena, Aniela, Anna and Cesarea).
My father was farmer with his Brzozowka family until the military training.

Militar training was 2 years-long, and 11 months after he went out of the army, he had convocation (1939). 2 weeks after, when he was in the first chivalry regiment of Augustow, he watched nazi airplanes in the sky, alerting the porucznik. 2 hours later the pulkownik ordered the evacuation of the regiment, and everybody hided in the forest. I don`t know exact date, maybe end of the summer to the beginning of the autumn, 1939.

## 1939

After area recognizing mission, the porucznik ordered the troop to Kolnica, and then to Jozefow, then to Augustow again. The troop continued riding in the forest, and was attacked by russian airplanes. And it became routine; when they were not attacked by russians, were by german airplanes. Happily, no losses in this time. The pulkownik was well-experienced in tactics in the previous World War. He prefered keep the troop in the forest because russians and nazis had superior belical technology. Days after, the troop came near to Warta river, where nazis keep the local village under siege.

The troop received orders from General, via the pulkownik, to get out from there. Some kilometers after, the troop, in the darkness, faced a swamp, and only trepassed it by throw drewno (lumber) in the water (lumber proprietary is unknown).

After the swamp, the artillery gang was sent in recognizing mission, with anti-tank cannon, being attacked by a german patrol in a near village. The soldiers, including my father`s neighbour, Eduardo Karpio, hided behind a house and destroyed the nazi machine gun with a cannon (possibly Pepanz). Explosion alerted other nazis, who came out from the villages houses in underwear (Were sleeping). The nazis tuned on a spotlight (reflektor), lighting the acampment. my father and others was digging rowy (trenches), other soldiers was hiding horses. My father watched the spotlight lightning the nazi tanks, and the pulkownik sent the heavy artillery, who was yet in the forest. After 4 hours of shots, where the nazi tanks jumped as matchboxes with the polish cannon blasts, my father`s troop fled to the forest, and after a week riding, they were confronted by the nazis near Lublin.

Then the riot (zamieszki) happened. A polish troop soldier was shooting in a dangerous way to the own allies (standing, using machine gun tripod, which is appropriate to use lying down). The pulkownik then killed him. In retaliation, the friend of the soldier killed the pulkownik. Without leader, two nazi officials came to the troop in diplomacy. The ultimate: rendition or showdown. The porucznik accepted, to despair of the polish troop.

Everybody rode to Stoczek, where give the weapons to the nazis, and then rode one day more until a ancient fortress yet in Poland. This fortress had a great wall 8 meters long, rounded by water. There, my father`s troop give the horses.

The treatment in this place was sub-human, some soldiers died by starvation. After 7 days they came out the fortress and walked 35 kilometers until Czestochowa. After the night, they were transported by train until Radomsko, where were feed by the natives. After were transported to Viena, Austria. Was cold, autumn.

They traveled then circa 24 hours by train to south of Germany. They were hosted in sub-human conditions in a barak. My father was there until be offered forced work to him in a group of 30 men in the city Holchauzen.

Here my father and the rest of the workers ate the same food of the nazi soldiers, but yet were dressed with the military uniforms, now in rags. Existed jews in this work camp, but they were departed to other places, after. Some time after, my father and his colleagues were returned to the barak place, now different, with masonry houses.

Again my father was sent to work in a farm in Grencach (I don`t know exact letters, Wikipedia don`t say nothing about a place with this name). It was near the frontier between Germany and Switzerland. After my father try report to the authorities about the bad treatment severity of the farm owner, my father was jailed instead. 2 days he was sent to a prision in Lörrach, where he was 5 to 6 days, making coffe packs. After he was sent to a work office, yet in Lorrach. In the office my father was pushed to return to Grencach, but he reffused strongly.

Under insistence, my father was sucessive in be sent to other farm, in Wilen. The farm owner was named Richter. Before a compassive man, he was changed by the aryan ideologies. In this farm, the old clothes was exchanged by civil clothes, with the blue P inside yellow square, which was used to indicate polish prisioners.

## 1942

In 26/june/1942, my father and a group of 15-18 other men fled from the farm to the Swiss frontier. When they were 2 kilometers near the frontier, the most part of the group felt fear and returned. Only my father and friends Jan Soppel and Waldemar Wozniak were able to continue, trespassing the frontier by cross a barbed wire and the Rhine river. Seems as in that day, had a local party, and had few sentinels. My father and his 2 friends had very courage- and the God`s hand at his side.

After some initial confusion and mistrust, swiss soldiers sent My father and his friends to a Uchodżca camp (Refuges camp). To my father and friends were given documents concernents to this refugee camp. My father never had swiss citizenship.

My father was sent to work in another place, irrigating fields by digging the snow in the mountains (In this time, being paid). After my father worked in other city, lumberjacking. My father came to Zurich to live in a house with 30 persons, and begun to work in a company named Orion Werk, fixing cars. After a finger poisoning with the chemicals used in this place, he received medical assistance and leave the Orion.

## Latter 1940s

My father then worked in the international garage Rizbah, washing cars, by 2 years. In this place he knew Ella Straub, his first wife. In december 1948 (?), was born Jan, his first son. After a time the swiss authorities begun to push my father to leave Switzerland, because he had no swiss citizenship. My father feared return to Poland, now under communist regime, because World War II soldiers were being murdered, at example the Katyn massacre. My father`s uncle was killed by russians in this way. Then my father had no choices.

## 1950s

A "uncle" of my father, who was living in the Brazil, envited him to work in his farm in Rio Verde, Sao Paulo. (In the truth, this man was not really his uncle, but a family friend with same surname). My father, his wife and son then came to Brazil by ship in 28, july, 1950. (It was common in that time, persons from various countries immigrated to Brazil to work in farms, at example italians, japaneses, portugueses, germans, and even poles. The World War II devasted various countries, and to various persons they had no option. Until today, these foreign persons keep his traditions in small villages from Brazil)

Precary conditions in the farm forced my father and his family to leave this place. They begun to live in his friends houses, until a tropical fever leave the little Jan very sick, and under medical recomendations, he needed return to Switzerland, and his mother went with him.Since then, my father begun to live alone in Brazil. During the Cold War, paranoia and histeria taken the world. Jan`s grandparents feared the boy could convoked to fight in the Polish Army when in major age, because our father was polish. His mother, Ella, then requested divorce from my father to avoid the same war experiences to the son. The surname Kowalewski was purged from Jan, who was given the maiden surname of his mother, Straub. Even with Ella vowing return to Brazil to renew his relationship, my father felt resentful, and They never met again. Ella Straub never married again, and have no new sons.

Between the years which my father divorced from Ella until he meet my mother I have almost no informations. What I know he worked as mechanic in the Brazil.

Me
--

I was born in Nova Iguacu, district of the Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 26, april, 1978. My mother was Dalvina Dantas de Araujo, born in Jardim do Serido, city in Rio Grande do Norte state.
My family lived very time in Street Cirilo, 364, President Juscelino, district neighbour to Nova Iguacu.
My parents never married, but kept stable relationship until my father dies in 11 June, 2001. Causa mortis was prostatism, pneumonia and advanced age.
My father never had brazilian citizenship, only permanent visa. My father was buried in Bom Pastor II cemetary.