Moczulski, Edward

Edward Moczulski was born in Brest, Poland.  Edward’s family ended up in the Soviet zone of occupation after Poland was divided in the 1939 Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact.  Life continued in these new circumstances, but then in 1940 a Red Army officer appeared at the family’s door, looking for Edward’s older brother.  The family did not know where he was, so they were detained and soon they were deported to Siberia, along with more than one hundred thousand other Poles.  The conditions were very difficult there, and the family survived on little food and traded where they could with the local peasants.  The German invasion of the USSR in June 1941 radically changed the situation.  The imprisoned Poles were given an “amnesty” by Stalin and they began to make their way south, the first stage in an odyssey that would take them through Persia and Iraq on their way to Egypt:  they were now part of Anders’ Army, trained and equipped by the western Allies.  The teenaged Edward was able to enlist, and he was on his way to fight the Germans in Italy, part of the 7th Anti Tank Regiment of the Second Polish Corps.  Edward was a signalman in the regiment, and it was his job to keep the lines of communication open.  He saw intense action in and around Montecassino, where he provided valuable support to the frontline troops.  When the war ended, Edward went to England for a few years, and in 1949 he chose to emigrate to Canada, where he fell into the rhythms of postwar life, marrying and raising a family.  Edward Moczulski was interviewed at his home in Kitchener, Ontario in May 2022 by Scott Masters and Rishi Sharma.