THE HISTORY OF THE
MIŁOSZEWSKI AND RAFALĄT FAMILIES
8. Refugee
By September 1942, the Miłoszewski family, without Celina, were now safe in Iran away from the horrors of the Soviet Union. However, the family had to be separated. Jan and Leokadia were assigned to the Polish Army and sent to Iraq and Palestine. Ryszard, now old enough to join the Junaks (the Army youth), was sent to Palestine. Czesława with her remaining children, Teresa and Roman, were sent to a refugee camp in Tengeru in Tanganyika, East Africa, where they would live peacefully until 1947. They were then reunited with the rest of the family in England.
Life in the Polish 2nd Corps had its human and amusing moments. One example is of an orphan baby bear given to the soldiers in Syria. He was christened Wojtek and adopted by the army.
Wojtek grew and was given army rations and was loved by all. He was even willing to help the soldiers unload artillery shell from trucks and help around the camp in exchange for beer and cigarettes. Wojtek survived the war and ended his days in Edinburgh zoo.
In February 1945 the Yalta agreement was signed by US President Franklin D Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin. The three leaders demanded Germany's unconditional surrender and made plans for a post-war world. As a direct result Poland became part of the Soviet Union.
In 1943 Jan was assigned to the 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division of the Polish 2nd Corps, now under the overall command of the British Army in the Middle East. The division was based in Iraq, near Erbil, and was training and defending the oil fields. Meanwhile the German advance in the Soviet Union was halted at the battle of Stalingrad. At this point the Polish 2nd Corps was sent to Italy to take part in the Allied advance north. Jan, at the age of 46, was a warrant officer in the Polish army and served as a quartermaster, responsible for food and supplies distribution to the front line. He was at the Battle of Monte Cassino in Italy in May 1944. The 2nd Corps continued to advance north until the war ended in May 1945.
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