This site is connected to ‘A Forgotten Odyssey’, a recent documentary film by Jagna Wright and Aneta Naszynska. It deals with the forgotten tragedy of 1.7 million Polish citizens of various faiths and ethnicities (Polish, Ukrainian, Belorussian, Catholic, Orthodox, Jewish) deported from eastern Poland (Kresy) in 1940-42 to special labour camps in Siberia, Kazakhstan and Soviet Asia. Some 120,000 of these escaped through Persia in 1942 as soldiers of Anders Army and their families – and eventually made their way to the West because their pre-war homeland was consigned by the Allies to remain under the hated Soviet regime.
A Forgotten Odyssey
- English
- Version Française
Table of Contents
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Frantisek Smietana-Czarkovsky
Frantisek Smietana-Czarkovsky, a Polish officer of the 1st Independent Rifle Brigade, served in wartime Britain—his quiet courage and mystery endure.
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Polskie Skrzydła / Polish Wings 15: Supermarine Spitfire IX
A comprehensive book review highlighting Matusiak's detailed portrayal of Polish Spitfire squadrons and their WWII operational legacy.
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Mass Deportations
Caught between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, millions of Poles were deported, enslaved, or killed—victims of genocide, forced labour, and shifting borders that erased their homeland.
Read ArticleOperations
Forces
- The Technical and Non-Technical Services for the PAF
- Operation BARRIER (Bariera)
- Training Bases for the Polish Section S.O.E & Cichociemni
- Cichociemni & The Role of Couriers
- Trial of the Sixteen
- Polish Batallions
- The Wellington Crew No.304 Squadron (NZ-B) W5627
- Special Planning Unit 22
- Polish Resettlement Corps 1946 – 1948
- The Independent Carpathian Rifle Brigade
People
Events
Places
Other
- Threads of History: Selected Chapters from First to Fight
- Press Release: First to Fight and the Polish Contribution to WWII
- History of the Stole
- Enigma
- Gallery of Photographs from the Victory Parade (10/07/05)
- Letter from 10 Downing Street (18/06/03)
- Translation of Article in The Polish Daily (11/09/03)
- Press Release – Poles at Victory Parade (9/07/05)
- Excerpt from A Question of Honor
Book Reviews
- Two Paths One War: A Journey of Polish Resilience & Service throughout World War Two
- Sunlight & Shadow: Memoirs of childhood in Poland and exile in Siberia.
- Project Eagle: The Top-Secret OSS Operation That Sent Polish Spies Behind Enemy Lines in World War II.
- Threads of History: Selected Chapters from First to Fight
- Press Release: First to Fight and the Polish Contribution to WWII
- Poles in World War II as seen in British fiction
- Poland Betrayed: The Nazi-Soviet Invasions of 1939
- Market Garden: The Island
- V Weapons Hunt: Defeating German Secret Weapons.
- Through Hitler’s Back Door: SOE Operations in Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria 1939 – 1945.