"...because Polish people are actually very brave and they fight well... even the women"

Marking the 80th anniversary of the battle of Monte Cassino in May 2024, Pani Sawicka spoke to me for this podcast at her home in South West London. At 101 years old, she looks back on her military career in World War 2 and reflects on how as a 16 year old, the invasion of Poland in September 1939 shattered her idyllic life. With grit, determination and luck Pani Sawicka survived forced deportation to Siberia and commanded respect in the Polish Pomocnicza Służba Kobiet, Women's Auxiliary Service. Highly intelligent and a multi linguist, Pani Waleria Sawicka was promoted to the Superintendent of the Polish advanced base in Mottola, Italy during the Italian Campaign, serving as a corporal in the 2nd Corps Signals regiment. Her work in Signals work was highly classified: sending morse messages, responsible for secure telephone military communications between allied generals as well as encrypting military commands to Allied bases in Gallipoli, Italy.

Monte Cassino 80 is supported by Polish Cultural Institute in London.

With many thanks to Marek Mrozek volunteer at Polish Institute Sikorski Museum, London.

If you would like to learn more about Pani Waleria Sawicka

listen to the Swiat Sybiru 3 part podcast:

https://swiatsybiru.pl/pl/ze-swiecian-do-kazachstanu-cz-1/

and her personal collection of photographs 1935 - 1946 can view viewed in the Karta archive

https://www.foto.karta.org.pl

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Colonel Romuald Lipinski is a veteran of the battle of Monte Cassino and the last surviving soldier of the 12th Podolski Lancers Regiment, 12 Pułk Ułanów Podolskich. 2nd Polish Corps. Drugi Korpus. In this podcast he describes the moment on the 18th May 1944 when his regiment the 12th Podolski Lancers, 12 Pułk Ułanów Podolskich raised their pennant over the Monastery of Monte Cassino…

Recorded in April 2024, marking the 80th anniversary of the battle of Monte Cassino, Colonel Lipinski spoke to me for this podcast, from his home in in Virginia in the United States he offers us a first hand account, a unique perspective on this pivotal moment in history and of the 2nd Corp, Drugi Korpus whose bravery and sacrifices continue to resonate 80 years later.

This is Ognisko Polskie’s Monte Cassino 80, supported by Polish Cultural Institute - a podcast series where, in this 80th anniversary year we reflect on the Battle of Monte Cassino in the second world war, and consider the contribution of Poles to the battle itself as well as to the broader Italian Campaign – We hope to examine how 80 years on, the battle of Monte Cassino still reverberates - and consider its cultural and its emotional impact on Poles down the generations.

I’m Jola Piesakowska and in this episode of Monte Cassino 80, with thanks to Kresy Family Polish WWII History Group we meet Colonel Romuald Lipinski.

of the 12th Podolski Lancers Regiment, 12 Pułk Ułanów Podolskich. 2nd Polish Corps. Drugi Korpus. It was the troops of the 1st Squadron, 12th Podolski Lancers Regiment who on the 18th May 1944 were the first patrol to reach the peak of Monte Cassino and who raised their regimental pennant above the captured monastery as a signal that it had finally been taken by Polish forces.

At Monte Cassino Colonel Lipinski was just 18 years old, he was the youngest in the mortar squadron, fighting throughout the Italian Campaign on the front line.

Romuald Lipinski's journey from forced deportation from Poland, enduring the privations of Siberia, joining the Polish Army after the Sikorski Majski Agreement to the battlefields of Italy is a testament to the resilience and determination of the Polish people during World War II.

Forced deportation from his home in the eastern Polish borderlands to Siberia by the Soviets, and ultimately joining the Polish Army after the Sikorski Majski Agreement exemplify the hardships faced by many during that tumultuous time. Colonel Lipinski's experiences, from recovery from the privations of Siberia to following the trail of the Polish 2nd Corps through the Middle East and into Italy, including the intense Battle of Monte Cassino, highlight the sacrifices made by individuals like him in the fight against tyranny and oppression. His story adds depth and humanity to our understanding of the war and the lasting impact it had on those who lived through it.

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

Colonel Lipinski's in depth memoirs

https://www.kresyfamily.com/romuald-lipinski-intro.html

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