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Background history
The exhibits on display are precious mementos connected with Captain Franciszek Dąbrowski, a hero of the fights in Westerplatte, who is attributed managing the defense of the military transshipment base, a prisoner-of-war in Oflag XVIII A Lienz and Oflag II C Woldenberg (Dobiegniew). Cpt. Dąbrowski came from an aristocratic family. His father, General Romuald Dąbrowski became famous for fighting for Poland’s borders in the years 1918-1920. The Captain’s brother, Romuald, who was older by 3 years, was also a professional officer. At the moment when the September Campaign of 1939 began, both brothers served in the army with the same rank. Already while in Oflag XVIII A Lienz, Cpt. Franciszek Dąbrowski turned to Deutches Rotes Kreuz (The German Red Cross) [GRC] with his request of aiding him in looking for his nearest. The postcard and the questionnaire form which are presented on the exhibition are an example of the role which the GRC played in searching for POWs’ families. POWs applied to the GRC by way of correspondence, then filled in the questionnaire form, giving the most important information to allow the organization to launch the search procedure. The answers received from the GRC varied: from cheerful, confirming the fact that the person requested had been found to painful notifications of the requested person’s illness, displacement to Siberia, or having been sent to do forced labor in Germany, or death. Cpt. Franciszek Dąbrowski endeavored to obtain information about the fate of his parents and the brother. He learnt that his father, who was residing in Stanisławów, after 17 September 1939, was arrested by the NKVD and that his mother was displaced to Kazakhstan, where she died in unknown circumstances in 1944. Cpt. Dąbrowski never received any information about his father’s fate. Today we know that the name of General Romuald Dąbrowski was among those on the so-called Ukrainian Katyń List and that he was executed on the power of the order issued on 5 March 1940, like the other Polish officers isolated in the special NKVD camps. The brother, following the defeat of the Polish Army in the September Campaign, managed to get to Hungary, from where he set out to re-join the Polish Armed Forces. After the end of World War II, Cpt. Franciszek Dąbrowski returned from captivity to Poland to serve in the Polish People’s Army. Despite his initial promising career, he was soon dismissed. Lonely, deprived of means of living, he died of tuberculosis in 1962. Following the socio-political transformations, the memory of Cpt. Franciszek Dąbrowski and his participation in the defense of Westerplatte was restored. The presented documents cast light on the tragic history of his family, who – like many others – were crippled, having been involved in the mechanisms of two totalitarian systems.
Prepared by: Bartosz Janczak
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In search of the family
Source of acquisition
The items were given over by the Chief Commission for the Investigation of Nazi Crimes in Poland.
Description of the item
A postcard of the standardized form of 10cm x 14.5cm; the obverse features the title Kriegsgefangenenpost in the middle, crossed through; beneath – the address of the Hungarian Red Cross in Bucharest, written in the German language and the GRC in Berlin. Besides, turned vertically to the address, space to write the name and surname of the POW sending the letter, with his POW number. On the reverse side, in the top right hand corner, the date and text of the letter in German.
The standardized questionnaire including questions about the basic information concerning the persons searched for (written in German and Polish), signed by Cpt. Franciszek Dąbrowski; the dimensions 30cm x 21.5cm.
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