[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 18463-18464]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING TADEUSZ NITKIEWICZ OF TOLEDO, OHIO

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 10, 2008

  Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker. Today, I stand to recognize an outstanding 
American, soldier and gentleman Tadeusz (``Ted'') Nitkiewicz of Toledo, 
Ohio. In honoring Ted, though, please let us honor so many Polish 
soldiers and citizens who cherished the idea of freedom and valiantly 
fought for it during World War II. Polish citizens who eventually 
settled in America valued democratic principles, as when they assisted 
our nation in its Revolution and determinedly sought during their years 
of occupation to cast off the cloak of oppression.
  In recognizing Ted Nitkiewicz, we also recall all those young men and 
women from nations like Poland and Ukraine whose lives were changed 
forever as they found themselves caught between the grips of the Nazi 
and Soviet regimes. Poland became one of the fiercest battlegrounds of 
the deadliest and most gruesome fighting in World War II. In fact, 
Poland became a pawn in war between two tyrannical regimes, joined in a 
war friendship by the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact. Poland, Ukraine, Belarus 
and other eastern European countries would be invaded with their 
destiny switching from the East, then the West, then the East again. 
Ted, like so many of his Polish compatriots, first served in the Polish 
Army resisting the Soviet invasion. Eventually, the Soviets joined the 
Allied powers, at which point Ted then fought valiantly and earnestly, 
hopeful to secure a homeland for his Polish people that was not to come 
until a half century later. His life would be transformed forever by 
political conflicts beyond his control.
  Tadeusz Nitkiewicz was born in Wizna Province, Warszawa, Poland on 
January 6, 1919, to parents Franociszek and Anna. He studied hard to 
become a pharmacist. He loved this occupation. However, the peaceful 
and free existence he enjoyed came to abrupt halt when Adolf Hitler's 
Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the West on September 1, 1939. Two 
weeks later, Joseph Stalin's Soviet Union invaded Poland from the East. 
Ted was taken prisoner and sent to a forced labor camp in Russia. He 
was one of 1.7 million Polish citizens that were forcibly deported by 
cattle wagon. They worked at back-breaking jobs in quarries, on 
collective farms, and in tree-felling forests. They toiled during cold 
winters with little food. Their only shelter was what they built 
themselves in the forests by cutting down trees. They had minimal 
medical care and little food. Constantly, the Soviet guards taunted the 
Polish slave laborers that this was their life forever and reminded 
them that Poland ceased to exist as a state. Out of the deported 1.7 
million, less then one third or 500,000 people were known to survive.
  Ted recalls successfully escaping these inhumane conditions as a 
prisoner from the labor camps. The first time, the Russian civilians he 
encountered were afraid of retribution for taking in a prisoner of war 
(POW). At his second attempt, he and a fellow POW were taken in by a 
Cossack family, until they could no longer provide enough food for the 
escapees and their own family.
  After Germany invaded the Soviet Union, Winston Churchill persuaded 
Stalin to release the Polish prisoners to organize and fight against 
the Nazis. In March and August of 1942, 115,000 soldiers and civilians 
were evacuated from the Soviet Union to the Middle East, crossing the 
Caspian Sea. Because they were already in poor health because of the 
inhumane conditions as POWs, many died in Persia. The remaining 
soldiers established the Polish Army, 2nd Corps with two infantry 
divisions: ``Kresowa'' and ``Karpacka''. One was an armored brigade. 
The other army artillery group was organized in Iraq and Palestine. 
Under General W. Anders' command, these 47,000 soldiers became the 
largest Polish army formation on foreign territory during the Second 
World War. Warmly received by the British and American armies, they 
fought for their country under British command.
  Ted joined the Polish forces, in the USSR, on May 28, 1942. After 
crossing the Russo-Persian border with his unit, he came under the 
British command in the Middle East on August 15, 1942.
  The Polish Army was motivated by the promise and hope of fighting 
with the Allies to take back their country. The 2nd Corps was attached 
to the British Army and for a short time provided security in Iraq to 
guard the oil fields from attack by the Germans. They eventually were 
sent to Italy in 1944 engaged in an Allied Offensive against German 
forces commanded by Marshall Kesselring. They fought with the famous 
British 8th Army and the USA 5th. Ted took part in the Italian campaign 
January 18, 1944 until May 2, 1945. While he was in Italy, Ted married 
his wife Mary, who he met in the labor camps in Russia. She also served 
in the Army, in transportation, as a truck driver.
  The mountainous country on the Allied road of advance was extremely 
difficult, perfect for the German defense. The Polish Army under the 
command of General W. Anders made the final assault in front of the 
strong German fortified line, called the Gustav Line with its key 
point--Monte Cassino. In the battle of Monte Cassino, the Allied forces 
suffered heavy casualties. They continued fighting in Italy along the 
Adriatic Coast liberating many cities until the end of the war in 1945. 
Ted was awarded

[[Page 18464]]

the Bronze Cross of Merit with Swords, Army Medal, and Cross of Monte 
Cassino from Poland for his bravery, valor and service. Britain also 
recognized his courageous acts by awarding him the 1939-45 Star, Italy 
Star and Defense Medal. Ted served with the Polish Resettlement Corps 
in England until February 16, 1949.
  For Ted Nitkiewicz and the other Polish soldiers, victory was 
bittersweet. First, during the sixteen month campaign in Italy, the 2nd 
Polish Corps lost 809 officers. Another 10,570 of other ranks were 
killed or wounded in action. Second, because the Allies gave control of 
most of Poland to Stalin's Soviet Union, officially confirmed at Yalta, 
Poland, the country they remembered, did not exist. In effect, these 
Polish survivors became homeless. As a result, they scattered across 
the world, mostly settling in the USA and Britain.
  Early in 1950, Ted Nitkiewicz immigrated to the United States and 
moved in with an uncle in Toledo, Ohio. There was little work available 
at that time, but he eventually landed a job in Textile Leather 
factory. He made enough money to pay his rent, buy some food and still 
had a little left over. For all of these opportunities, he felt 
grateful. He became a U.S. Citizen in the 1950s.
  When asked how he was able to survive the terrible ordeal, Ted 
responded, ``someone was praying for me and God answered their 
prayer.''
  Originally, this story was recorded in part for the Library of 
Congress Veteran's History project. Because Ted was not a U.S. veteran, 
but a veteran of the Allies, his story cannot be accepted by the 
Library of Congress, as yet. However, Joseph Walter, the local Toledo 
archivist for the project and the University of Toledo, has graciously 
accepted his story as part of our local history. The valiant 
accomplishment of Ted Nitkiewicz and his compatriots should not be lost 
but should be recorded as freedom's legacy. Three million Polish 
Christians died in the death camps alone should never be forgotten. The 
Poles suffered greatly at the hands of the Nazi and Soviet oppressors. 
We commemorate their noble struggle. We honor those who made the final 
sacrifice, in hopes that those who followed could live in a peaceful, 
democratic world.
  On September 1, 2008, we mark the 69th anniversary of the invasion by 
Nazi Germany of an independent Poland that commences the Second World 
War. Let us not forget our brave Allied soldiers and citizens who made 
our Western world safe from the tyranny of Fascism and Communism to 
inspire our nation to its highest ideals. May their eternal memory 
shine down onto our world and inspire us to work toward an everlasting 
peace and freedom.

                          ____________________