Fonds 551 Walter Mazurkewich fonds

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Summary information

Administrative history / Biographical sketch

Walter Mazurkewich’s roots in the Peace Country originated with his father’s move to the Codesa area (between Wanham and Eaglesham) in 1930. John Mazurkewich had immigrated from Poland to Canada in the 1920s. His wife died in Poland and it is possible that his son Walter was left in Poland, from where he was sent to a concentration camp in Russia when the Soviets and Germans invaded Poland in 1939. When Germany invaded Russia in 1941, the pact between the two countries ended, and thousands of Polish people were released from the camps. A Polish-Russian Military Agreement was signed two months later, allowing for the formation of a Polish Army on Soviet soil.

Other Polish servicemen escaped to England, France, after Germany and the Soviet Union conquered Poland in 1939, and created “Free Polish Army” units which fought alongside the Allied armies. They also served with Canadians after D-Day in the First Canadian Army. Walter’s family remembered that he spoke of marching across Poland and through Italy. This was through the high mountains (Alps) and many men died due to frigid temperatures or from falls. The Polish Army took the treacherous high mountain route to avoid Mussolini’s troops and civilian sympathizers in the valleys. He and many of his comrades were also exposed to toxic gases.

The Polish II Corps was created in 1943. From the insignia on Walter’s uniform, it appears he was in the Polish 5th Kresowa Infantry Division of the Polish II Corps, formed in March 1943. It was affiliated with the Western Allies, and was transferred from Egypt to Italy in 1944, where it became an independent part of the British Eighth Army under General Oliver Leese. The photographs in Walter’s collection also support this theory.

During 1944-1945, the Corps fought with distinction in the Italian campaign, most notably in the fourth and final Battle of Monte Cassino, the Battle of Ancona, and the Battle of Bologna during the Allies’ final offensive in Italy in March 1945. The Battle of Monte Cassino, in 1944, was the greatest victory won by the Polish Free Army in World War II. Polish soldiers who fought there received a special victory medal, a Polish Cross. The Corps suffered heavy losses in these battles. Walter was wounded and lived with a steel plate in his head afterwards.

After the war, Walter returned to the Peace Country and began working in oil camps as a cook’s assistant. In the late 1940s he married Lena Podarunok, who was also cooking in an oilfield camp. They settled in Grande Prairie, but later bought a farm in the Wanham area, where they worked the farm together. Walter was an active life member of the Legion, and a member of the Masons and Elks Club. He loved to play the horses in Grande Prairie and whenever he went to Edmonton. He loved family and enjoyed playing cards and dancing at Legion events. His hobbies included reading history and rug hooking. He passed away in 1983.

Scope and content

The fonds consists of 15 photographs of the Polish Free Army in Italy, collected by soldier Walter Mazurkewich during World War II.

Notes

Title notes

• Source of title proper: Title of fonds based on contents

Access points

• Graphic material – photograph (documentary form)
• Military (subject)

Series descriptions