Escape from Siberia, Escape from Memory
An Odyssey Across Two Oceans & Nine Countries to Arrive Home
by Paul Wojdak

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Paul Wojdak’s father, Pawel, was born in 1912 in Novosibirsk, Siberia. During the 1800s, many Polish people were banished to Siberia for rising against czarist Russia’s repressive policies aimed to destroy Polish language and culture, and they eventually lived in Siberia for generations. By the 1920s, war and chaos followed the Russian Revolution, and Poles were cast as “enemies of the people,” fleeing east as refugees. Most died from disease, starvation, cold, or violence, including Pawel’s parents, and many Polish children were tragically trapped in Siberia—a seven-year-old Pawel among them. Later in life, living in Canada with his wife and son, Pawel physically could not speak about his childhood and refused to speak about his life as a young adult, but his memories were sometimes triggered by chance events, leaving mysterious tidbits for his son, Paul. Why could his father sing the Japanese national anthem? How did he come to see a tractor as a young boy in the United States? Inspired by his love for his father combined with a desire to understand Pawel’s complicated life, after his father’s death, Paul takes on the daunting task of trying to piece together his father’s past, determined to uncover the truth in the hopes of learning the story of a man who, despite all his hardships, was respectful, loyal, dedicated, and loving. Only knowing bits and pieces of his father’s childhood and knowing his father fought in World War II, Paul begins by connecting his father’s story with the stories of other Polish children and men in Siberia and Eastern Europe from 1917 to 1945. From there, he brings to light the remarkable story of the Polish Rescue Committee and their plight to rescue Polish children in Siberia after World War I and of the compassion of the Japanese people in harbouring these children. Following records of his father’s trail, he shares the incredible journey these children then took before finally arriving in Poland in late 1922, only to find their lives in upheaval again in 1939, when Poland was invaded by Russia and Germany. Escape from Siberia, Escape from Memory not only shares an extraordinary story of heroism and survival, but also explores the struggle to recapture and preserve cultural and personal memory and the impact of war on children and young adults.

www.paulwojdak.ca

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“In his very personal, sometimes even intimate book, Paul Wojdak takes us on a journey through time and space,…the path the author's father took to emerge from the brutal reality of revolutionary Siberia, the poverty of interwar Poland, and the turmoil of World War II as a man capable of ensuring a happy childhood for his son. [There is] a short period of idyll, the boy, together with other Siberian orphans, goes to Japan ,[…an] episode so deeply imprinted in Paweł Wojdak's memory that as an adult he [is...] able to sing Kimi ga yo - the national anthem of Japan. Thanks to reading "Escape from Siberia, Escape from Memory" we have the unique opportunity to observe not only the thorny trail that Paweł Wojdak traveled but also the enormous amount of work that Paul Wojdak did to learn about his father's complicated past. The author… deeply understands the history and traumas that haunt Poles and other nations that have ever been under Russian rule. I believe, especially nowadays, when Russian imperial dreams are shaping our reality again, reading this book is a must.” —Karol Suchocki Co-founder Jadow Historical Society and Museum, Poland “Pawel Wojdak experienced an odyssey across two oceans and nine countries to arrive home. Paul Wojdak had to travel even more, to consult archives, documents, books and people in several countries to discover his father’s story. The outcome is a fascinating book about the tragedy of a Polish orphan from Siberia, but also about the very strong bond of love between father and son… The book is a mix between a sound presentation of the complicated history of Poles in Siberia, private investigation about his father, interesting psychological thoughts about trauma, and a touching testimony of a Man who, despite many adversities, finally reached his place on Earth. I read it with pleasure and I highly recommend this book for everyone, not only for history fans.” —Bartosz Boleslawski Pilecki Institute, Warsaw (dedicated to analysis of Nazi and Soviet regimes on Poland and all Polish people) “The story of the orphaned Polish children saved by the Polish Rescue Committee and the Japanese Red Cross continues to gain a growing audience and ever greater currency with every retelling, largely through the efforts of such institutions as the Manghaa Museum of Japanese Art and Technology in Poland, the Social Welfare Corporation Fukudenkai of Tokyo, and the Port of Humanity Tsuruga Museum in Japan, but also through the direct engagement of the Siberian Children’s descendants. One of the latter is Paul Wojdak… [He] create[d] a fascinating book, a narrative about a rescued Siberian Child, against the background of Polish exiles and refugees, the search for one’s origins, and ultimately a sense of fulfilled duty towards one’s father.” —Katarzyna Nowak Director, Manghaa Museum of Japanese Art and Technology, Krakow, Poland “Paul’s new book details his father’s life and his own experiences tracing his father’s footsteps, and is an epic that connects Russia, Poland, Japan, and North America. It also contributes to comprehensive study of the history and geography of various countries, packed with valuable information based on his vigorous and in-depth research, and is an essential text for us museum staff. A must-read book without difficult technical terms, but with a gentle and comfortable narrative that is consistent throughout the text and reminds us of Paul’s personality.” —Akinori Nishikawa Director, Port of Humanity Tsuruga Museum, Japan

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Before retiring in 2011, Paul Wojdak worked as a professional geologist for forty years. Along with writing and researching, he enjoys stamp collecting, learning about history, and travelling the world. He currently lives with his wife, Teresa, on Tyhee Lake, in British Columbia, in a home they built together.

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Contributors

Author

Paul Wojdak

Contribution by

Johanna Pfalz

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