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When God Looked the Other Way: An Odyssey of War, Exile, and Redemption
Often overlooked in accounts of World War II is the Soviet Union's quiet yet brutal campaign against Polish citizens, a campaign that included, we now know, war crimes for which the Soviet and Russian governments only recently admitted culpability. Standing in the shadow of the Holocaust, this episode of European history is often overlooked. Wesley Adamczyk's gripping memoir, When God Looked the Other Way , now gives voice to the hundreds of thousands of victims of Soviet barbarism.
Adamczyk was a young Polish boy when he was deported with his mother and siblings from their comfortable home in Luck to Soviet Siberia in May of 1940. His father, a Polish Army officer, was taken prisoner by the Red Army and eventually became one of the victims of the Katyn massacre, in which tens of thousands of Polish officers were slain at the hands of the Soviet secret police. The family's separation and deportation in 1940 marked the beginning of a ten-year odyssey in which the family endured fierce living conditions, meager food rations, chronic displacement, and rampant disease, first in the Soviet Union and then in Iran, where Adamczyk's mother succumbed to exhaustion after mounting a harrowing escape from the Soviets. Wandering from country to country and living in refugee camps and the homes of strangers, Adamczyk struggled to survive and maintain his dignity amid the horrors of war.
When God Looked the Other Way is a memoir of a boyhood lived in unspeakable circumstances, a book that not only illuminates one of the darkest periods of European history but also traces the loss of innocence and the fight against despair that took root in one young boy. It is also a book that offers a stark picture of the unforgiving nature of Communism and its champions. Unflinching and poignant, W hen God Looked the Other Way will stand as a testament to the trials of a family during wartime and an intimate chronicle of episodes yet to receive their historical due.
“Adamczyk recounts the story of his own wartime childhood with exemplary precision and immense emotional sensitivity, presenting the ordeal of one family with the clarity and insight of a skilled novelist. . . . I have read many descriptions of the Siberian odyssey and of other forgotten wartime episodes. But none of them is more informative, more moving, or more beautifully written than When God Looked the Other Way .”—From the Foreword by Norman Davies, author of A History and Rising ’44: The Battle for Warsaw
“A finely wrought memoir of loss and survival.”— Publishers Weekly
“Adamczyk’s unpretentious prose is well-suited to capture that truly awful reality.” —Andrew Wachtel, Chicago Tribune Books
“Mr. Adamczyk writes heartfelt, straightforward prose. . . . This book sheds light on more than one forgotten episode of history.”—Gordon Haber, New York Sun
“One of the most remarkable World War II sagas I have ever read. It is history with a human face.”—Andrew Beichman, Washington Times
Adamczyk was a young Polish boy when he was deported with his mother and siblings from their comfortable home in Luck to Soviet Siberia in May of 1940. His father, a Polish Army officer, was taken prisoner by the Red Army and eventually became one of the victims of the Katyn massacre, in which tens of thousands of Polish officers were slain at the hands of the Soviet secret police. The family's separation and deportation in 1940 marked the beginning of a ten-year odyssey in which the family endured fierce living conditions, meager food rations, chronic displacement, and rampant disease, first in the Soviet Union and then in Iran, where Adamczyk's mother succumbed to exhaustion after mounting a harrowing escape from the Soviets. Wandering from country to country and living in refugee camps and the homes of strangers, Adamczyk struggled to survive and maintain his dignity amid the horrors of war.
When God Looked the Other Way is a memoir of a boyhood lived in unspeakable circumstances, a book that not only illuminates one of the darkest periods of European history but also traces the loss of innocence and the fight against despair that took root in one young boy. It is also a book that offers a stark picture of the unforgiving nature of Communism and its champions. Unflinching and poignant, W hen God Looked the Other Way will stand as a testament to the trials of a family during wartime and an intimate chronicle of episodes yet to receive their historical due.
“Adamczyk recounts the story of his own wartime childhood with exemplary precision and immense emotional sensitivity, presenting the ordeal of one family with the clarity and insight of a skilled novelist. . . . I have read many descriptions of the Siberian odyssey and of other forgotten wartime episodes. But none of them is more informative, more moving, or more beautifully written than When God Looked the Other Way .”—From the Foreword by Norman Davies, author of A History and Rising ’44: The Battle for Warsaw
“A finely wrought memoir of loss and survival.”— Publishers Weekly
“Adamczyk’s unpretentious prose is well-suited to capture that truly awful reality.” —Andrew Wachtel, Chicago Tribune Books
“Mr. Adamczyk writes heartfelt, straightforward prose. . . . This book sheds light on more than one forgotten episode of history.”—Gordon Haber, New York Sun
“One of the most remarkable World War II sagas I have ever read. It is history with a human face.”—Andrew Beichman, Washington Times
288 pages, Paperback
First published May 15, 2004
About the author
Wesley Adamczyk
2 books10 followersIn 1940, Wesley Adamczyk was deported at age 7 from his native Poland to Siberia with his family. He was among more than a million poles who were exiled, imprisoned, or enslaved at hard labor. His father was murdered by the soviets in the Katyn Massacre; his mother died of disease and starvation while leading her children to freedom. Adamczyk became the voice for the thousands who suffered a fate little known on the west side of the Iron Curtain. The testimony of survivors and the opening of the archives of the former Soviet Union following the collapse of communism in 1989 has led to a retelling of the history of World War II
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
September 16, 2016
I've read many fiction and nonfiction books about WWII and the Holocaust, but any that dealt with Poland dealt with the Jews in Poland. I don't remember ever reading about the horrific treatment of the Poles by the Soviets. It was eye-opening, frightening, thought-provoking, chilling, and yet an amazing tribute to the resilience of the human spirit and survival in unimaginable circumstances.
Adamczyk's memory of the events of his childhood is remarkable. It seems impossible that he could recall conversations in such complete detail (more likely that discussions with his older siblings influenced his memories), but that did not detract from the content for me. Writing from the point of view of his younger self, he creates a compelling narrative that kept me turning pages even though I knew he had survived and thrived after reaching the United States. I do wish he had briefly told us what happened between his enrollment in school and his return to Poland, but that is a minor issue in a book that lays bare the brutality of Marxist philosophy and the complicity of FDR and Churchill in the cover-up of war crimes.
Perhaps the most telling quote from the book is in the Afterword on page 240:
". . . the early Russian Communists were committed to the Marxist conviction that 'the workers of the world' were brutally oppressed by the upper classes. Undeniably, in many cases they were. But under Lenin and Stalin, this philosophical assertion was quickly turned into a political principle that claimed that all persons in the upper classes were oppressors. Anyone in a position of power or authority or who owned property became a target for vengeance. Eventually even the local baker and shoemaker, who were eking out a living, were suspect in the eyes of the Communists; whoever did not toil for the state was perceived to be an 'oppressor' and an 'enemy of the people.' Intoxicated by this principle, the Russian Communists attempted to eradicate their 'class enemies' in the hopes of creating a paradise for the downtrodden workers."
The propaganda and omissions for political expediency, power, and stability that this book reveals force us to face the fact that humanity has not learned from past experience. The desire of philosophically driven political ideologies to take revenge on those they blame for their oppression -- and the attempt to "justify" such behavior -- is as strong today as it was in the past.
Adamczyk's memory of the events of his childhood is remarkable. It seems impossible that he could recall conversations in such complete detail (more likely that discussions with his older siblings influenced his memories), but that did not detract from the content for me. Writing from the point of view of his younger self, he creates a compelling narrative that kept me turning pages even though I knew he had survived and thrived after reaching the United States. I do wish he had briefly told us what happened between his enrollment in school and his return to Poland, but that is a minor issue in a book that lays bare the brutality of Marxist philosophy and the complicity of FDR and Churchill in the cover-up of war crimes.
Perhaps the most telling quote from the book is in the Afterword on page 240:
". . . the early Russian Communists were committed to the Marxist conviction that 'the workers of the world' were brutally oppressed by the upper classes. Undeniably, in many cases they were. But under Lenin and Stalin, this philosophical assertion was quickly turned into a political principle that claimed that all persons in the upper classes were oppressors. Anyone in a position of power or authority or who owned property became a target for vengeance. Eventually even the local baker and shoemaker, who were eking out a living, were suspect in the eyes of the Communists; whoever did not toil for the state was perceived to be an 'oppressor' and an 'enemy of the people.' Intoxicated by this principle, the Russian Communists attempted to eradicate their 'class enemies' in the hopes of creating a paradise for the downtrodden workers."
The propaganda and omissions for political expediency, power, and stability that this book reveals force us to face the fact that humanity has not learned from past experience. The desire of philosophically driven political ideologies to take revenge on those they blame for their oppression -- and the attempt to "justify" such behavior -- is as strong today as it was in the past.
June 7, 2009
An excellent insight on the plight of Poles during WWII. The work follows a seven-year-old boy, Wes Adamczyk, whose father was murdered by the Soviets in the Katyn Massacre and the rest of his family deported to Kazakistan. The reader is taken directly into young Wes' world, and through his eyes witnesses the torture and killings that became so commonplace in everyday life. Very little is known about the horrors endured by Poles who found themselves under Soviet rule. Their story (as with other nations that fell under Stalin's boot) must be told and retold and never forgotten.
This must have been extremely painful for Wes to relive such a horrific time and to put it into words.
This must have been extremely painful for Wes to relive such a horrific time and to put it into words.
May 16, 2010
This book is a first person account of Wiesław Adamczyk and his family’s struggle to survive their deportation to the Soviet Union which finally gives voice to the hundreds of thousands of victims of Soviet barbarism. It deals with the Soviet Union's quiet yet brutal campaign against Polish citizens, a campaign that included, we now know, war crimes for which the Soviet and Russian governments only recently admitted culpability. The nature of this first person narrative brings a vivid reality to learning survival in the workers’ paradise, where collective farmers are forced to steal slop from pigs, and people lack the basic necessities of life – like food. It is one thing to read about the mass arrests and deportations of Poles in histories, it is quite another to have a human face put on this travesty.
Wiesław was six years old when the Nazis and Soviets divided Poland in September 1939 –one of several partitions and divisions that have plagued Poland over the centuries. His father, Jan, had been an officer in the Polish army and was a prosperous financier when Soviet troops took over eastern Poland, at which point Jan rejoined the Polish army and was captured. His family received letters stating that he was safe in a prison camp. These abruptly stopped. Because the family was prosperous, it defined them in Soviet eyes as enemies of the people; their bank accounts were seized and they were designated by the NKVD for expulsion to the Soviet Union. After a horrendous train ride of many hours where they had to relieve themselves in a communal bucket and during which they were fed what I estimated could not have been much more than 300 (disgusting) calories per day. The Polish refugees ran out of food and hoped to re-supply during rest stops but they soon discovered that the locals had nothing to trade and that many approached the incoming train to beg for food themselves. The family began a nomadic existence through the Soviet empire, moving from one impoverished and hostile place to another. The accounts of their struggles, as well as the description of grinding poverty and deprivation is truly stunning. All through their exile they dreamed of reuniting with Jan, but unbeknownst to them, he was among the twenty thousand plus Polish POWs murdered by Josef Stalin's men in the Katyn massacres of 1940.
Wiesław’s mother, like others, had baked bread in which she hid family jewelry and had sewn gold coins and jewelry into the lining and hems of clothing. This helped the family survive the deprivations of a collective Kazakh farm, where they shared a small hut. They moved from place to place, but hunger accompanied them at every turn. Years of starvation followed and life in the workers’ paradise was characterized by hunger, humiliation, disease, and ever present fear as NKVD and party officials created a culture of intimidation and deceit. The Soviets who were expert at bullying millions into submission, could not provide even the most basic elements of hygiene, and the family lived in filth and stench for years.
When the Soviet Union was attacked by Germany, in June 1941, Polish POWs were released from prison camps and set up an army headed by General Władysław Anders – my godfather. The Kremlin, knowing how the Poles hated them, did not want an autonomous military force on its soil. And, Anders, who was no fool, refused to let himself be persuaded to fight with the Russian army under Soviet command, took his army and as many civilians as possible under the protection of this army which assembled in Soviet Turkmenistan and left the Soviet Union via Iran, Iraq, and Palestine to fight under the British High Command in the Middle East. Since Wiesław's brother Jurek enlisted to serve in Anders's army, his mother and siblings joined the exodus and escaped to Iran. Like my own grandparents, Wiesław's mother, although having survived the privations of her exile, died of the terrible effects of these privations and died. She and my grandparents are buried in Tehran.
The family emigrates to the U.K. after the war, where they are treated poorly, but at least they are free. Wiesław eventually is brought to the U.S. by an aunt (his father’s sister who had emigrated many years before) and settles in Chicago. He has survived to see the Katyn massacres finally exposed as being perpetuated by the Soviets and he lays a marker at the place of his father’s murder.
So – this is a harrowing but illuminating account that had great meaning for me. My father’s family was exiled to the Soviet paradise in 1939 as well and this story could have been theirs. My grandmother (and mother) also hoarded their jewelry and hid it to barter for food and to survive during the war. This book certainly explained a lot in terms of my mother’s life long obsession with making certain that I had gold charm bracelets – in case of war.
My father never told me what happened in 1939. I knew only the basic facts. This makes me angry and sad – I suppose he was trying to spare me the details. In a sense I understand because this was not necessarily easy reading. But it is so important for those left behind to know these things and to understand and be proud of those who struggled against all odds.
The book is very well written and compellingly so. This was a pleasant surprise as I did not know what to expect. English is not the author’s first language – and he is a chemist (not a profession that I associate with good narrative!)
I would have given it 5 stars but I think that I could have done without the jingoism and extreme Polish nationalism that infuses his telling. I find it hard to believe that life in Poland was wonderful prior to 1939, that Poles are wonderful, intelligent, that Polish culture is wonderful. I am a Pole and I know that we are people like any other, perhaps more courageous and stubborn than most – because we have had to be – but human nevertheless. Of course, he was remembering a Poland that he idealized from the memories of a 7 year old child, so I suspect he can be forgiven for this. My father did the same.
Wiesław was six years old when the Nazis and Soviets divided Poland in September 1939 –one of several partitions and divisions that have plagued Poland over the centuries. His father, Jan, had been an officer in the Polish army and was a prosperous financier when Soviet troops took over eastern Poland, at which point Jan rejoined the Polish army and was captured. His family received letters stating that he was safe in a prison camp. These abruptly stopped. Because the family was prosperous, it defined them in Soviet eyes as enemies of the people; their bank accounts were seized and they were designated by the NKVD for expulsion to the Soviet Union. After a horrendous train ride of many hours where they had to relieve themselves in a communal bucket and during which they were fed what I estimated could not have been much more than 300 (disgusting) calories per day. The Polish refugees ran out of food and hoped to re-supply during rest stops but they soon discovered that the locals had nothing to trade and that many approached the incoming train to beg for food themselves. The family began a nomadic existence through the Soviet empire, moving from one impoverished and hostile place to another. The accounts of their struggles, as well as the description of grinding poverty and deprivation is truly stunning. All through their exile they dreamed of reuniting with Jan, but unbeknownst to them, he was among the twenty thousand plus Polish POWs murdered by Josef Stalin's men in the Katyn massacres of 1940.
Wiesław’s mother, like others, had baked bread in which she hid family jewelry and had sewn gold coins and jewelry into the lining and hems of clothing. This helped the family survive the deprivations of a collective Kazakh farm, where they shared a small hut. They moved from place to place, but hunger accompanied them at every turn. Years of starvation followed and life in the workers’ paradise was characterized by hunger, humiliation, disease, and ever present fear as NKVD and party officials created a culture of intimidation and deceit. The Soviets who were expert at bullying millions into submission, could not provide even the most basic elements of hygiene, and the family lived in filth and stench for years.
When the Soviet Union was attacked by Germany, in June 1941, Polish POWs were released from prison camps and set up an army headed by General Władysław Anders – my godfather. The Kremlin, knowing how the Poles hated them, did not want an autonomous military force on its soil. And, Anders, who was no fool, refused to let himself be persuaded to fight with the Russian army under Soviet command, took his army and as many civilians as possible under the protection of this army which assembled in Soviet Turkmenistan and left the Soviet Union via Iran, Iraq, and Palestine to fight under the British High Command in the Middle East. Since Wiesław's brother Jurek enlisted to serve in Anders's army, his mother and siblings joined the exodus and escaped to Iran. Like my own grandparents, Wiesław's mother, although having survived the privations of her exile, died of the terrible effects of these privations and died. She and my grandparents are buried in Tehran.
The family emigrates to the U.K. after the war, where they are treated poorly, but at least they are free. Wiesław eventually is brought to the U.S. by an aunt (his father’s sister who had emigrated many years before) and settles in Chicago. He has survived to see the Katyn massacres finally exposed as being perpetuated by the Soviets and he lays a marker at the place of his father’s murder.
So – this is a harrowing but illuminating account that had great meaning for me. My father’s family was exiled to the Soviet paradise in 1939 as well and this story could have been theirs. My grandmother (and mother) also hoarded their jewelry and hid it to barter for food and to survive during the war. This book certainly explained a lot in terms of my mother’s life long obsession with making certain that I had gold charm bracelets – in case of war.
My father never told me what happened in 1939. I knew only the basic facts. This makes me angry and sad – I suppose he was trying to spare me the details. In a sense I understand because this was not necessarily easy reading. But it is so important for those left behind to know these things and to understand and be proud of those who struggled against all odds.
The book is very well written and compellingly so. This was a pleasant surprise as I did not know what to expect. English is not the author’s first language – and he is a chemist (not a profession that I associate with good narrative!)
I would have given it 5 stars but I think that I could have done without the jingoism and extreme Polish nationalism that infuses his telling. I find it hard to believe that life in Poland was wonderful prior to 1939, that Poles are wonderful, intelligent, that Polish culture is wonderful. I am a Pole and I know that we are people like any other, perhaps more courageous and stubborn than most – because we have had to be – but human nevertheless. Of course, he was remembering a Poland that he idealized from the memories of a 7 year old child, so I suspect he can be forgiven for this. My father did the same.
July 25, 2020
I found the Adamczyk family's journey fascinating but the writing was unsatisfactory. On the one hand, the harsh everyday life in exile was described as viewed through a child's eye, which was refreshing; on the other, everything is a reconstruction filtered through half a century between the events and the writing and it shows through, especially in dialogue. The "Sister! - Yes, my little brother?" style of conversation was hard to bear sometimes. Additionally, most things are served in a pretty heavy, pre-war Polish "Bóg-Honor-Ojczyzna" ("God-Honor-Fatherland") sauce, which is easily overdosed if the reader is actually from that part of the world. Overall, it seems like we would be better off with a Wesley Adamczyk biography instead of an autobiography.
September 16, 2024
Dramatic story of a family caught in a vortex of the II World War.
On 1 September 1939 Poland has been attacked from the West by Germany, this event started the war.
On 17 September Poland has been attacked by Soviet Union - this move has been previously agreed in a secret Molotov - Ribbentrop agreement.
Few months after the invasion Soviet authorities deported from occupied territory to Siberia and Kazakhstan some 600,000 Polish citizens.
Among them was the author of the book - Wiesio (Wesley) with his mother, brother and sister.
Their father/husband was away, he joined Polish Army when the war started, it took few years before they learned his fate.
I found the book quite exceptional, it has been written from the perspective of 8 y.o. boy.
It may be some kind of disappointment for readers who expected to find stories written by adults rationally explaining what was happening around them.
Wiesio relies completely on his own memory and on what mother or siblings told him. His experiences are very limited - mother decided not to send him to the Communist school so he spends whole days just wandering around a hut in which they are living, he has no company other than an old man nearing his death.
Fortunately I read some other stories covering these events so I could enjoy a company of very young boy telling me about his passage through the hell.
On 1 September 1939 Poland has been attacked from the West by Germany, this event started the war.
On 17 September Poland has been attacked by Soviet Union - this move has been previously agreed in a secret Molotov - Ribbentrop agreement.
Few months after the invasion Soviet authorities deported from occupied territory to Siberia and Kazakhstan some 600,000 Polish citizens.
Among them was the author of the book - Wiesio (Wesley) with his mother, brother and sister.
Their father/husband was away, he joined Polish Army when the war started, it took few years before they learned his fate.
I found the book quite exceptional, it has been written from the perspective of 8 y.o. boy.
It may be some kind of disappointment for readers who expected to find stories written by adults rationally explaining what was happening around them.
Wiesio relies completely on his own memory and on what mother or siblings told him. His experiences are very limited - mother decided not to send him to the Communist school so he spends whole days just wandering around a hut in which they are living, he has no company other than an old man nearing his death.
Fortunately I read some other stories covering these events so I could enjoy a company of very young boy telling me about his passage through the hell.
October 23, 2016
Frankly I believe this story has been heavily doctored, exaggerated, and even fabricated. I have been told for my whole life and firmly believe that if something sounds too good to be true then it is more than likely untrue. It is a simple historical fact that Polish officers were taken as prisoners of war on both sides of the Nazi/Soviet partition of Poland and their families packed were off to the inner USSR if luck found them on the Soviet side. No one is disputing that life wasn't exactly a bed of roses for the detained Poles. What I do question however is Mr.Adamczyk's personal family saga. How his middle aged widowed mother with very poor Russian skills and little means of survival supposedly managed to outsmart Soviets repeatedly and lead her underage malnourished children on an incredibly long treacherous journey through the steppes of Central Asia. She could not even provide a basic living for her children, but we are supposed to believe she somehow managed to bribe and connive their way out of the USSR completely unscathed. It takes a heck of a lot more than a mother's devotion and strong nationalistic mentality to carry out such a momentous feat. Once they arrived in the Middle East, Mr.Adamczyk and his sister were left to fend for themselves, alright not too difficult to believe I suppose. However Mr.Adamczyk did not have any education because his mother was too proud to allow him to be educated in free Soviet state schools, could only speak Polish unable to read or write any language, and was too coddled to have any street smarts. Common sense tells you that such a child didn't stand a chance in the world,certainly not to run away from orphanages and survive in refugee settlements alone. While it cannot be disputed that both of Mr. Adamczyk's parents died during the war and his family was shipped off to Siberia, everything else is dubious at best and reads much like an adventure novel. There is too much good fortune and too many coincidences in this story to be 100% Gospel Truth. What really threw me for a loop though was that he and his family did so much and were so desperate to return home to their native Poland, but at the end of the war when they were finally free to do so legally and even offered assistance to repatriate, they went elsewhere by choice while still bemoaning their lost homeland. What sense does it make to blame a country for handing betraying your people and motherland, then take up permanent residence in that country and write a long winded adventurous political rant laced with bitterness when you are already 70 years old? Skip this story. It is pointless.
December 11, 2017
When God Looked the Other Way is a beautifully written autobiography that helps give the reader the insight of the conditions in which the Polish people faced under the control of the Soviet Union. Adamczyk was able to capture his story and put it in onto the papers of his book, helping the reader develop an emotional connection between the Adamczyk family and all of the other people they meet through the book.
As the Soviet Union begins its devastating control of the citizens of Poland, Wesley and his family must learn how to adapt to the ever changing conditions him and his family encounter. Being separated from their father, Wesley’s mother refuses to have her family be separated anymore. At the control of the Soviet’s the family is moved around Europe, encountering lice infected huts in the Middle East and bone chilling cold winters in Siberia. The Adamcayk family must learn how to communicate to the natives of the new countries they are moved to, and they must learn to think before they talk because as they soon figure out the Soviets are everywhere.
The family determination is shown throughout the story, even as they are being torn apart they still believe in each other and their faith. When God Looked the Other Way, is a book that should be read and shared. It helps give an insight into a discriminatory war against the Polish that is often overlooked. This story is all told through the eyes of young Wesley, while at the age of 10 should be at school and at home in Poland with his family and friends, but is actually struggling to survive and trying to understand why God looked the other way.
As the Soviet Union begins its devastating control of the citizens of Poland, Wesley and his family must learn how to adapt to the ever changing conditions him and his family encounter. Being separated from their father, Wesley’s mother refuses to have her family be separated anymore. At the control of the Soviet’s the family is moved around Europe, encountering lice infected huts in the Middle East and bone chilling cold winters in Siberia. The Adamcayk family must learn how to communicate to the natives of the new countries they are moved to, and they must learn to think before they talk because as they soon figure out the Soviets are everywhere.
The family determination is shown throughout the story, even as they are being torn apart they still believe in each other and their faith. When God Looked the Other Way, is a book that should be read and shared. It helps give an insight into a discriminatory war against the Polish that is often overlooked. This story is all told through the eyes of young Wesley, while at the age of 10 should be at school and at home in Poland with his family and friends, but is actually struggling to survive and trying to understand why God looked the other way.
January 3, 2012
Many autobiographical memoirs contain emotion-laden descriptions that truly bring to life a historical period. This book, in addition to its valuable content, is also written very well. The writing style did not detract from the contents - on the other hand, Adamczyk told the story masterfully. The content is both moving and disturbing. You will feel sad, frustrated and horrified after reading it. I often wondered what happened to those poor souls, such as the children on the Polish orphan train in Uzbekistan. How many of them were able to escape those horrible conditions? We may never know. But at least the author gave all those millions of souls suffering in silence justice by telling their story. This is one of the best memoirs that I have ever read.
October 29, 2017
A gripping, vivid, personal account of a part of history of which I was ignorant and which should not be forgotten. It made me realize how everything-- home, family, freedom-- could be taken from even a comfortable, seemingly secure middle-class life at the whim of an evil government. I was also dismayed to read in the appendix of the duplicity and lack of integrity of the U.S. and British governments. That reinforces my lack of confidence in any government not to choose expediency over justice.
November 12, 2024
A Must Read!
I am so grateful to God, first that Mr Adamczyk and his two siblings survived their deportation from their beloved homeland to the Soviet Union during the war; and also that he decided to relive such painful memories in order to tell the world what they endured!
I am a mature woman yet I cannot imagine surviving what these children lived through. They were such a strong and loving family, the parents put their children's well-being above all else and did what they were told in hopes of gaining freedom for the children. Forced to endure lengthy cattle car rides without any regard for the prisoners comfort, hygiene needs or even survival, the families and individuals had hopes that once the train stopped, they would have some measure of relief but it was not to be.
They faced the bitter cold and heavy snows of brutal winters, extremely sub-par living conditions, housed in tiny spaces with strangers, exposed to harsh weather, infestations of fleas, lice and bedbugs, as well as serious diseases that spread rapidly. If they refused to work, they didn't eat -- and even when they DID work, the diet was paltry -- a starvation diet with substandard nourishment is putting it mildly! Imagine a meal of bug infested flour boiled in water to make a thin paste. Or fatty boiled mutton on rare occasion, or grain husks.
There is so much more to this story than I can cover here without ruining it for readers. One thing that also stood out is the intense pressure of trying to be polite to the citizens you are living with in a small space and the authorities but knowing that you are in a Communist country, an enemy and that you must be extremely careful how you say things, what questions you may answer etc because "the walls have ears and eyes" and it would take very little for something to be misinterpreted or for someone to falsely accuse you of saying something offensive to the authorities. In which case, they would risk being shipped to Siberia -- or death!
Captivating but horrific story and well written and edited. The things human beings are capable of is frightening and in the current political climate, this true story is even scarier.
I am so grateful to God, first that Mr Adamczyk and his two siblings survived their deportation from their beloved homeland to the Soviet Union during the war; and also that he decided to relive such painful memories in order to tell the world what they endured!
I am a mature woman yet I cannot imagine surviving what these children lived through. They were such a strong and loving family, the parents put their children's well-being above all else and did what they were told in hopes of gaining freedom for the children. Forced to endure lengthy cattle car rides without any regard for the prisoners comfort, hygiene needs or even survival, the families and individuals had hopes that once the train stopped, they would have some measure of relief but it was not to be.
They faced the bitter cold and heavy snows of brutal winters, extremely sub-par living conditions, housed in tiny spaces with strangers, exposed to harsh weather, infestations of fleas, lice and bedbugs, as well as serious diseases that spread rapidly. If they refused to work, they didn't eat -- and even when they DID work, the diet was paltry -- a starvation diet with substandard nourishment is putting it mildly! Imagine a meal of bug infested flour boiled in water to make a thin paste. Or fatty boiled mutton on rare occasion, or grain husks.
There is so much more to this story than I can cover here without ruining it for readers. One thing that also stood out is the intense pressure of trying to be polite to the citizens you are living with in a small space and the authorities but knowing that you are in a Communist country, an enemy and that you must be extremely careful how you say things, what questions you may answer etc because "the walls have ears and eyes" and it would take very little for something to be misinterpreted or for someone to falsely accuse you of saying something offensive to the authorities. In which case, they would risk being shipped to Siberia -- or death!
Captivating but horrific story and well written and edited. The things human beings are capable of is frightening and in the current political climate, this true story is even scarier.
December 8, 2025
This study is both a biography and an analysis of the 60-year war waged by the USSR on Poland. The failure of Stalin to eradicate Polish culture, faith, independence, language and national identity was not for want of trying. What makes the story especially tragic is how willingly the Western democracies acquiesced to Stalin's grand plan to turn Eastern Europe into a political and geographical buffer against the aggression he imagined would come from the bankrupt, ruined nations west of the river Elbe. Even after he diverted massive resources from rebuilding the USSR to building nuclear weapons, he feared that the vastly outnumbered NATO armies would attack the USSR. Proud, Catholic Poland occupied a special place in Stalin's paranoid world view and beginning in 1939 he set out to crush it. His first partner was Hitler who divided Poland with him. Later, Stalin used his agents in the U.S. and the UK to promote his plan for a "peaceful, democratic sphere of Soviet influence in Eastern Europe." In 1945, he set out to create a Polish People's Republic modeled on the USSR. In 1952, his puppet Bolesław Bierut officially declared it, ending the pretense that Poland was free, but it galled him that even the Polish Communists hated Russia. Mr. Adamczyk walks his readers through the strange landscape of the "inhuman land" where his family suffered. Along the way, he tells how two decades saw the Pilsudski Ultra-Nationalist regime give way to Bierut's Stalinist "mini-me" police state. Even after his death, when Stalin's vast crimes came to light, the propaganda campaign waged by Soviet agents and their (far more numerous) fellow-travelers was so successful that today Stalin's name and image carry none of the stigma that coats his ally Hitler. Stalin's career as a mass murderer lasted longer and killed more people than Hitler, and one of his major achievements was the subjugation of Poland for 40 years. In Putin's Russia, and in most of Europe, Stalin retains the aura of jovial Uncle Joe, who genially puffed on his pipe while his faceless, nameless apparatchiks carried out the ruthless liquidation of all his enemies and spread authoritarianism worldwide. This is a painful book to read, but it should be read by everyone who wants to understand the true nature of tyranny.
February 21, 2018
The was the amazing and well written story of a Polish boy and his family deported to the USSR during WWII as told through the eyes of the boy who went through it. He and his family spent years forced to work for starvation rations, battling horrible diseases and bitter cold. Their father disappeared and it was eventually learned that he'd been killed in the Katyn Massacre. This is the shocking saga of a family struggling to survive in unbelievably brutal conditions in war torn Europe, a mother's fierce determination and sacrifice so that her children could live and a young boy's struggle to make sense of the world, his faith and his identity. I learned a lot of things about this time period I'd not been taught in school. I would recommend this to anyone interested in history or just an incredible human story. This is a story you will never forget.
January 10, 2025
Brilliant, Shocking, Heart Rending Read
I rarely give 5 stars, but this historically significant biography was so well researched, well written, beautifully descriptive and poignant…it deserves to be lauded. I am shocked that so much truth and history was hidden for political convenience, but so very glad that the author published and shared his story with such vivid authenticity.
I rarely give 5 stars, but this historically significant biography was so well researched, well written, beautifully descriptive and poignant…it deserves to be lauded. I am shocked that so much truth and history was hidden for political convenience, but so very glad that the author published and shared his story with such vivid authenticity.
January 13, 2025
This book was extremely well-written and very engaging. I had a personal interest in reading Adamczyk's account as my Polish cousins lived through a very similar experience. What I found eye-opening was the complicity in the Soviet cover-up by the Allied leaders. Adamczyk's memoir exposes such deeds by putting names and faces on the human suffering and through it all demonstrates the undying spirit and dignity of the Polish people.
April 10, 2025
I liked the content of the book in the beginning, as I never read a book about how the Polish citizens were undergoing so much trauma through the hands of the Russians.
However, toward the middle of the book it became dry, and some details and chapters were irrelevant. The writing was not high quality, yet it was written with a voice of truth.
However, toward the middle of the book it became dry, and some details and chapters were irrelevant. The writing was not high quality, yet it was written with a voice of truth.
August 14, 2025
Wow. An i Incredible Odyssey
I could feel every single thing this boy's family was going through. The author described everything that was happening to them so excruciatingly and painful physically and mentally.
Trump is doing to people now right here in America what was done to the people in this story. Just short of executing them.
I could feel every single thing this boy's family was going through. The author described everything that was happening to them so excruciatingly and painful physically and mentally.
Trump is doing to people now right here in America what was done to the people in this story. Just short of executing them.
September 28, 2018
This is a book I read in two days. Not only is this a ridiculously well-written memoir, but it shows the depths of oppression that certain groups underwent even after World War II. I don’t think I truly understood how evil the Soviet Union was until I read this and The Gulag Archipelago.
September 6, 2021
This book had been on my to read list for a while — it was one of my grandma’s favorites. It was truly eye-opening & inspiring, strengthened my faith, and helped me recognize how God works in our lives. It was sad and sometimes hard to read, but I’m grateful I did
February 5, 2025
wow what a heartbreaking journey
I was moved to tears with this book. It is an incredible story of one man and his family’s experience in WW2. I have to admit this is a side of WW2 that I had no idea about.
I was moved to tears with this book. It is an incredible story of one man and his family’s experience in WW2. I have to admit this is a side of WW2 that I had no idea about.
November 15, 2025
I thought i new a great deal about WWII history. This was a very enlightening story about the Abuse the Polish people were forced to endure at the hands of the Russian communists. highly recommend reading this story. Very well written.
February 10, 2018
A-MAZING!!!
June 21, 2018
A story of grit, faith and perseverance. This family never gave up hope that they would survive the Russian treatment of Poles during WWII. Very educational. Highly recommend.
October 12, 2021
Great book! A different perspective involving how the Polish were treated by the Soviets. Great details and explanations about what was happening during that time.
March 21, 2024
Dad sent me this book in the fall and just finally got around to reading it now. So awful and so inspiring. And it’s still happening today.
January 7, 2025
A remarkable book that truly shows humankind's remarkable will to survive, as well as its worst capabilities,
January 14, 2025
A heartbreaking story of war and the Soviet propaganda machine. The horrors that the Polish people endured should be remembered and discussed more.
January 22, 2025
Outstanding in every respect.
February 4, 2025
Very informative, really puts into perspective the hardships of poles during WW2
May 30, 2025
The author grew up under a brutal Soviet regime that killed his father, starved his mother to death and separated him from his siblings. A good book about a less written about facet of WW2.
September 29, 2025
A book everyone should read!!!
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