In this episode of Monte Cassino 80, with thanks to Kresy Family Polish WWII History Group, we meet Jan Zajaczkowski. Jan is a volunteer at Kresy Family who has become an authority on navigating the available archives as well as adding to the tools to help you find your Polish Roots. In this podcast he explains what is accessible if you are researching a family journey from Kresy, through Siberia, Drugi Korpus 2nd Corps and service in the Italian campaign.

KRESY FAMILY RESEARCH LINKS PAGE

https://www.kresyfamily.com/family-research-links.html

KRESY FAMILY VIDEO Family Research Webinar I - Pre war records, Maps, Deportation Lists (Siberia, Kazakhstan, etc)

https://youtu.be/rlFiPVpkXKE?si=soyDH2QfM8gc-YxY

KRESY FAMILY VIDEO Family Research Webinar II - Evacuation from USSR to Persia, Military service, Refugee camps

https://youtu.be/ytJjs_yqkhs?si=PghN_nwl09FRUjn8

THE POLISH ARCHIVE AND SIKORSKI MUSEUM WEBSITE

https://pism.org.uk/how-to-use-the-archive/

JERRY KUBICA MONTE CASSINO WEBINAR:

https://youtu.be/xBm5kYG2KZ4?si=A6weTplE_ZNSN53_

Jola reads an excerpt from the document "W sprawie z plebiscytu urządowego przez Sowieckie władze w październiku 1939" which was written her aunt, Zofia Nowińska on the 10th of April 1943. Ochotniczka Zofia Nowińska went on to serve in 316 Transport and at Monte Cassino delivered supplies to the 2nd Front Line, she drive on the treacherous supply road under cover of darkness, with only the battle to light up the sky.

The document is one of thousands of other similar testimonies recorded in 1943, scanned and held in the Hoover archive. Zofia's document had been unread by anyone in her family until it was discovered by Jola in June 2024 after she followed the advice given by Jan Zajaczkowski while recording “How to Find your Polish Roots”.

"The piece of advice he gave me was that once you have located the folder number, download the folder and you will find that it is uncatalogued. Don't give up - go through every document until you find the one you are looking for, it takes time but it is in there."

Ognisko Polskie’s Monte Cassino 80 podcast is presented by Jola Piesakowska

Supported by the Polish Cultural Institute

Produced by Salt and Pepper Productions in association with #MyLondyn

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