Scribd
Upload
22 views2 pages

War Story 4

Uploaded by

kaapro11
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as TXT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
22 views2 pages

War Story 4

Uploaded by

kaapro11
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as TXT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

For many people in Brabant, it was the Polish who were the real liberators, as well

as the British, Canadians and Americans. What was less well-known then, as now, is
that many Polish men were also involved in the battle in the air. Just after
midnight on 28 August 1942, two of them floated down on parachutes above the
darkness of the Brabant countryside, towards an uncertain future.

Kassel was the target

The Vickers Wellington, registration SM-D, from No. 305 (Wielkopolska) Squadron of
the Royal Air Force had left England a few hours earlier to bomb factories in
Kassel. They missed their target. The twin-engine bomber was hit above the
Netherlands, and just after midnight, the crew had to abandon the burning plane not
far from Eindhoven. Only gunner Sergeant Frankowski and Flight Lieutenant
Kiewnarski, who was the navigator and also the commander, managed to do this. The
other three, Flight Sergeant Jan Pytlak, gunner Sergeant Jozef Janik and radio
officer Sergeant Feliks Gawlak were all killed when their plane crashed onto houses
in the Woenselsestraat in Eindhoven. In the crash and the ensuing fire, five
civilians lost their lives and seventeen were injured. Meanwhile Frankowski and
Kiewnarski landed several kilometres from each other.

Prisoners

Kiewnarski, known as ‘Tony’, landed next to the road from Nederwetten to Nuenen and
was found there by the local police. He was unfortunate to have been wounded in the
face and on his left hand and he had broken his ankle. Escape was therefore not an
option. The 43 year old Pole was in every sense a veteran. This was his third war,
after the First World War and the Polish-Russian War. He had been injured before,
but now fate was not as kind to him as it had been the first time round. After
being treated by the local doctor he was handed over by the military police to the
German authorities. He ended up in the notorious Stalag Luft III, the prisoner of
war camp for British and American airmen close to Sagan (now the Polish Zagan) as
prisoner 42801. Because of his (relatively old) age he became the leader of the
Polish community there.

The Great Escape

It would seem that Kiewnarski’s spirit was not broken, because he was soon involved
with various escape attempts. On 24 March 1944 these attempts resulted in the
legendary ‘Great Escape’, which was later made into a film, in which 76 men
escaped. ‘Tony’ Kiewnarski was in the first group who managed to escape along the
long tunnel they had dug themselves, and they reached the station disguised as
workmen. The men managed to get aboard various trains. The Polish lieutenant and
fellow countryman Kaz Pawluk got as far as Hirschberg (now: Jelenia Gora), where
they were immediately detained. Hitler was furious at the escape and demanded
revenge. In total no fewer than fifty escaped prisoners were added to a list to be
executed by the Gestapo. One of those was Kiewnarski. The executioners captured him
on 30 March 1944 and he was shot dead. After the war his ashes were buried in
Poznan.
Conclusion

Compared to his commander, Frankowski had more luck. He landed uninjured just
outside Woensel and with the help of civilians, he managed to get across the
Belgian border and come into contact with a ‘pilot line’. Two months later he was
back in England. The story of Kiewnarski and his crew is made even more tragic
because ultimately the Polish were the great losers of the Second World War. Unlike
the rest of Europe their country was occupied again in 1945 by the Soviet Union.
Despite this, the Poles who had served with the Royal Air Force did not harbour any
resentment. They remained true to their motto: ‘I fought the good fight, I did my
duty, I kept the faith.’

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy