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Details
of Michal Krzywoszanski's early life are vague; what is known is that he
was born on November 22, 1910 near the village of Zborów in central
Poland. Michal was rambunctious and mischievous child who was always in
trouble with his father. At age fourteen he lied about his age and
joined the Polish army somewhere between 1924-25. As a recruit Michal
recalled being often yelled at and bullied by drill instructors, on one
occasion being punched in the face several times while standing to
attention for an infraction. After completing his basic training Michal
was trained to drive trucks, he was taught theory and given practical
instruction. Later He was given instruction in the service and repair of
various types of heavy trucks and vehicles. During Poland’s invasion in
1939 Michal endured aerial bombings, strafings and the indignity of
German capture. He was part of a large group of Polish soldiers who
escaped German captivity and tried to make their way to either
Czechoslovakia or Romania. There were several deaths among their group
as they moved through the Polish countryside pursued by elements of the
Russian army. Michal related how at a farm they were befriended by a
young Polish girl who gave the exhausted soldiers food and water.
Unfortunately Michal and the rest the escapees were captured by soviet
troops and sent to Russian labour camps in Siberia.
In 1942
Michal was part of the mass evacuation of Polish civilians and soldiers
from Russia to Iraq and Iran. Michal in later years would tell his
nephew Stanley Michaleski that during his time in the Siberian labour
camp Polish communist overseers would attach food to a vicious dog and
set it loose among the hungry prisoners. When beef was delivered to the
camp so much would have been cut away by Russian guards that there was
little left for the prisoners. Michal in later years would say that if
he had stayed in Russia six more months he would have died of starvation
or illness. It was in the Middle East that the Polish 2nd Corps was
organised as part of the British 8th Army. In the Regiment 4th Armoured
“Skorpion”, Michal received extensive training in the repair of British
and American armour and became part of the regiment’s LAD “C” (Light
Assistance Detachment type C). These armoured types were the American
Sherman and Canadian/British built Valentine Tanks, others included the
British Matilda, Cromwell, Crusader and MK VI Light Tank. Michal was
very impressed with American technology, so much that in Italy he traded
his British BSA motorbike with an American soldier for his Indian
motorbike. For a period he and other Polish mechanics were lent to a
South African Air Force squadron or repair depot where they overhauled
landing gear on Spitfires, Wellingtons and B24 Liberators. Polish
soldiers often fell prey to thieves in the Middle East; even their
blankets were not safe. Michal related how thieves would sneak into
tents at night and quietly whistle in a sleeping soldier’s ear to make
him turn over so as to take his blanket. On a stop in Jerusalem, Michal
purchased a small gold necklace medallion in the pattern of a Maltese
cross which in 1947 he gave as a gift to his fourteen year old niece
Diana Michaleski in Montreal. In trying to get the necklace blessed
Michal narrowly missed catching a ride out of Jerusalem with his platoon
as the regiment made its way to Egypt.
In April
1944 Michal arrived in Italy and quickly grew to enjoy the warmth and
hospitality of the Italian people, he and other Polish soldiers thought
the Italians were very much like themselves. Italian families would
often share what little they had by offering food and place to rest when
his platoon of mechanics stopped in a town or near a home. Through these
interactions Michal learned to speak Italian, a talent he retained in
his later years. In May 1944 at the battle of Monte Cassino, Michal’s
skills as a tank mechanic were put to trial. As part of the LAD he was
never far behind the 4th Armoured Regiment’s assaults on the monastery,
often times in midst of the fighting being called forward to move
destroyed or damaged Sherman tanks off steep roads. Sometimes Michal had
no choice but to drive a damaged but operable tank off the road and over
the side. He would jump off at the last moment before the tank tumbled
down the hill, in one instance the wreck falling among advancing Polish
troops. Often times these tanks contained dead crewmen or were burning;
Michal suffering burned hands from climbing on the hull of one of these
tanks. These images among many others haunted Michal for the rest of his
life.
Months
later after the capture of the monastery Michal took part in the
construction of the tank memorial at Albaneta farm, one of his tasks
being the assembly of a cross made of tank treads which he welded
together and erected within its wrecked hulk. He later took part in its
dedication ceremony and took photographs of the monument during the
unveiling. In another incident either during the Monte Cassino campaign,
or after as the 2nd Corps advanced north on German strongholds, Michal
and the mechanics of his platoon were captured by a German patrol while
recovering a damaged armoured vehicle. An attempt was made to shoot the
prisoners but Michal escaped. Among his other duties Michal spent time
as a motorcycle dispatch rider and also acted as interpreter during
questioning of German prisoners.
In 1947
Michal came to Canada where he was reunited with his sister Mary in
Montreal, it was an emotional reunion as he had not seen his sister
since her immigration to Canada in the early 1930’s. In 1948 his wife
Stacha and son Mietek were located in Poland; because of the war he had
lost touch with them. They soon immigrated to Canada and were reunited.
Michal settled in Montreal and worked for a transport company fixing
heavy transport trucks where specialized in air brake systems until his
retirement. Throughout his life in Montreal Michal was an active member
of the Polish Veterans Association SPK branch # 7 Montreal, the Polish
Society for Mutual Aid and spent many years on the board of
administration of a Polish retirement home. In addition Michal also
severed as Vice President of the branch of the local Polish Credit Union
(SPK) for ex Polish soldiers.
Even in
his later years Michal could still happily relate in detail the finer
points of changing the engine on a Sherman tank and how to adjust its
transmission and clutch. While visiting family in Brampton Ontario in
1982, Michal met their Italian neighbour Tony who as a young boy grew up
near the town of Cassino. Tony recalled to Michal the violent shaking of
the ground beneath his feet as he watched the monastery’s destruction
from aerial bombing. Michal also recalled the extensive destruction of
the abbey and to everyone’s amazement continued his discussion in fluid
Italian with Tony. With a smile rarely seen on Michal, he walked with
Tony to his home and spent the rest of the afternoon drinking cappuccino
and talking, they later switched to red wine and talked into the early
morning. In April 1987 Michal passed away from a stroke and was buried
wearing his military dress tunic. He was laid to rest next to his wife
Stacha in Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery in Montreal.
This
short biography was drawn from the family recollections, pictures and
memoirs of Michal’s granddaughter Barbara Krzywoszanski and her cousin
Chris Wroblewski. |
