This memoir is a genuine account of some of Matthew Sawicki's experiences as a child during the Great Depression in America and as a young man during the Invasion of Poland by the opposing forces of Nazi Germany and Communist Russia in World War II. It also includes his final return to America in 1947 where he settled down and started a family.

Matthew Stanley Sawicki was born during World War I on June 4, 1917, in Rochester, New York. After World War I ended, in 1922, his family packed up and sailed on the open sea to Poland. They did not foresee the challenges of their future. They returned to America in 1926 after experiencing unhealthy living conditions in Poland that caused their whole family to become ill. When Matthew was in the fifth grade in Rochester in 1929, tragedy hit everyone in the country. The stock market crashed as businesses and people lost all of their money. The Great Depression started in 1930. In September 1931, the Sawicki family left the United States on the ship M.S. Batory to go back to Poland to escape economic hardship. On September 1, 1939, Hitler invaded Poland from the east, and the Russians attacked the Polish army from the west on September 17, 1939. The front line of the Invasion of Poland took place near the Sawicki's residence.

Being torn by the roots and forced to start over three times because of unforeseen incidents in history was unsettling to Matthew. Mostly, it was very difficult for him to comprehend the heartbreaking effects of World War II. His family never knew what tomorrow would bring. Matthew had a few close calls during World War II that could have turned out very badly. Luck was on his side when he was released from a German labor camp in Gorlitz, and the Russians tried to induct him into their army without success. Nevertheless, Matthew believed that God watched over him and his family during those uncertain times. Throughout his time in Europe, his only desire was to return to his birthplace, America, where he yearned to be a free man.

Accordingly, Matthew kept a positive attitude throughout his time in Poland during the war and always looked for the good in a situation. The true human nature of people had clearly shown during that war. There were some powerful leaders who took advantage of innocent people; and on the other hand, there were kind people on both sides of the conflict who were ready to help people in need. He never failed to mention that a few exceptional people on the enemy side showed compassion to him and his family during the war. Those individuals set aside their own government affiliations temporarily to help those who experienced some frightening incidents during World War II. Those helpers could have been punished or killed for their random acts of kindness.

In 1945, World War II finally came to an end. On October 23, 1947, Matthew Sawicki returned home to America to live a quality life of freedom and dignity with his family. Those experiences in Poland during World War II shaped the person he became as an adult living in Rochester with his wife and children. His dreams were fulfilled. In 1989, the communist rule had ended its hold on Poland and the government became a liberal democracy much like America today.

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• Biography & True AccountsMemoirs

• Publication Date: April 13, 2022
• Text-to-Speech: Disabled
• Lending: Disabled
• Print Length: 68 Pages
• File Size: 30 KB