11-13-2010, 09:02 PM
jm01 Wrote:I was speaking with an old family friend who fought with the British forces under General Sikorski who tells me that the Polish Government stripped all Poles serving with the allies outside of Poland of their Polish citizenship in 1944, effectively preventing their return to Poland after the war.Actually that happened a bit later - I think in 1946, since it maust have been after Mikołajczyk became a deputy prime minister, as there's a (true and not funny at all) anecdote about that law:
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So, a project arises and all the members of the government are given the compleate list of soldiers to be stripped of polish citizenship. Mikołajczyk asks for the right to speak and is admitted. Everyone thinks that he, as the former emigration government prime minister is going to protest (which could still have some short-term effect at that time). But he says: 'There's one name missing from that list. I demand general Anders to be added.'
Many soldiers of the Armed Forces in the West have returned before the law was introduced (for many of them it wasn't the best decision, story of an Air Force hero Stanisław Skalski is a good example of those stories), and the justification for that law stripping the soldiers of the AFi/W of citizenship, was that since they haven't returned yet, it means that they don't want to and if they ever decide it means that they come as spies and that kind of bul***it.
Anyway, thanks for sharing the great story. When were Your father's memoires published? I would gladly read them if they are still available.
