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A Regina group is working to preserve the stories of Polish veterans and war-displaced families who survived the horrors of the world wars before rebuilding their lives in Saskatchewan.
The Polish Canadian Cultural Club is raising money for what organizers say will be Saskatchewan’s first memorial dedicated to Polish veterans and displaced Polish people affected by the First and Second World Wars.
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The monument is planned for Riverside Memorial Cemetery near Regina’s Field of Honour.
“They came with nothing other than these horrific memories and images,” said Bron Nurkowski, a director with the Polish Canadian Cultural Club.
Poland was the first country invaded during the Second World War. In Sept. 1939, Nazi Germany attacked from the west while the Soviet Union invaded from the east under an agreement between Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin to divide the country.
The invasions led to mass arrests, deportations, executions and forced labour. Millions of Polish citizens were killed during the war, while many others were sent to labour camps in Siberia or Nazi camps across occupied Europe.
Nurkowski said Polish families often faced terror from both sides of the country.
“From the west, it was the Germans and the Nazis. From the east, it was the Russians,” he said. “People were hauled away at gunpoint in the middle of the night to labour camps, to Siberia, to German labour camps.”
Nurkowski said many Polish families who later settled in Saskatchewan survived those experiences before eventually starting over in Canada.
“My dad and his family, and this is very reminiscent of a lot of families, where the Russians came in from the east and basically at gunpoint, you know, ‘You have half an hour to pack your belongings,’ and you got hauled off to the train station,” he said.
“You got thrown onto a cattle car and you’re going somewhere. You had no idea where you’re going.”
Nurkowski said many survivors arrived with no belongings, no documentation and no certainty about the future.
“A lot of these people have no records of birthdays or marriages or anything else,” he said. “Churches were burnt. Everything was basically wiped and they had to start afresh.”
Despite the trauma they endured, Nurkowski said many Polish newcomers went on to help build communities, churches and cultural traditions across Saskatchewan.
“Through their commitments to the Polish culture, commitment to their religion, commitment to trying to build a better place for the future they helped establish and maintain the Polish culture here in Saskatchewan,” he said.
According to Nurkowski, about five per cent of Saskatchewan residents reported some Polish ancestry in the most recent census. He also pointed to historical research showing Polish communities helped establish around 50 churches and parishes throughout the province.
Maps and site images show the proposed location for the Polish Canadian Veterans Monument at Riverside Memorial Cemetery in Regina near the Field of Honour section. (Bron Nurkowski/Submitted)
The memorial project began after members of the club noticed more veterans and war survivors were passing away.
“We thought, what better time than now to do something to commemorate it for future generations?”
The monument itself symbolizes both suffering and resilience.
Nurkowski said the cylindrical steel structure represents the guns used to force many families from their homes, while a laser-cut Polish eagle rests near the top.
“The eagle is the Polish symbol,” he said. “It represents being able to see through the hardships into the future for something that’s a little bit better.”
The memorial is expected to stand about six feet tall and will be placed near the veterans section at Riverside Memorial Cemetery. Nurkowski said the City of Regina donated the plot for the project.
The club is trying to raise $16,000 for fabrication, engineering, plaques and installation. Nurkowski said the group is about halfway to its fundraising goal.
He added that one of the most emotional parts of the project has been hearing from surviving war-displaced Poles and veterans themselves.
“For them, it’s actually probably more touching that we’re doing something for them and to be able to keep their memories and their hardships alive for future generations,” he said.
He hopes the memorial will be unveiled on Nov. 11.
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