Warsaw, 20 September 1989
Engineer Tucholski Esq.
Editorial Office of the “Zorza” weekly
Mokotowska Street 43
00-551 Warsaw
“List of persons reported missing”
Concerning Senior Sergeant Nikodem Hauza from the State Police in Poznań, a prisoner of war interned at the camp in Ostashkov.
Esteemed Sir,
Encouraged by the appeal published by the Editorial Office of the “Zorza” weekly, I hereby send you details concerning the disappearance on the territory of the Soviet Union of my father, Senior Sergeant Nikodem Hauza, a prisoner of war at the camp in Ostashkov. I also take the liberty of sending you his life history.
Nikodem Hauza was born on 7 September 1887 in Słupia, district of Rawicz (Greater Poland), to Bartłomiej Hauza and Marianna née Leciejewska. Since he was resident in the Prussian partition zone, he was conscripted into the German Army, in which he served from 1907 to 1909. Following the breakout of the First World War in 1914, he was once again conscripted into the German Army and took part in military operations in the rank of Corporal. While fighting at Cambrai in 1917, he was taken prisoner by the British and remained a POW until 1919. In 1919, he volunteered for General Haller’s Army and was posted to the 2. Company of the 144. Infantry Regiment of Borderland Rifles, where as a Platoon Sergeant he participated in the battles which took place in eastern Poland. On 12 June 1920 he was demobilized and joined the State Police in Poznań, in which he served until 1939, most recently in the rank of Senior Sergeant. On 3 September 1939 he was ordered by his superiors to leave Poznań together with other policemen from the city.
My father’s decorations:
| – | the Commemorative Medal for the War of 1918–1921 – “Poland unto its defender” (twice), |
| – | the Medal of the Tenth Anniversary of Regaining Independence (1929), |
| – | the Bronze Cross of Merit for services in the furthering of public security (1937). |
I would also like to mention the fact that my father’s rank given in “Zorza” is incorrect – it reads “Senior Constable”, whereas it should be “Senior Sergeant”.
Further information concerning my father’s fate: in December 1939 my mother received a postcard which he had written on 8 December 1939 while interned in Ostashkov. This is the sole communication received from my father. It is telling that families of my father’s friends received the very same postcards, written on the same day and carrying the same return address. My mother was in regular contact with the families of my father’s friends, both during the German occupation and later, indeed until her death. None of these families received any other correspondence from the missing men.
Searches undertaken by the Red Cross turned up fruitless. My mother’s brother, Stanisław Kubiak, who was in England during the War, also made efforts to obtain information through the Red Cross – unfortunately, he too was unsuccessful. A search organized by my mother and conducted by Mr Panasiewicz from Ankara (in 1942) and the Polish Red Cross was just as fruitless.
I have attached photocopies of the following documents:
| – | the postcard sent from the camp in Ostashkov, |
| – | a postcard sent by Mr Panasiewicz from Ankara, |
| – | two postcards from the Polish Red Cross in England, |
| – | rulings of the Magistrates’ Court in Poznań recognizing my father as legally dead (these proceedings were initiated by my mother, Stanisława Hauza, in order to be eligible for a widow’s pension, which however she did not receive). |
I am submitting the above information so that it can be used in your historical research and writings.
With kind regards,
Celina Szymandera née Hauza
PS Since I frequently travel abroad (I accompany my husband on his official trips), I would hereby like to provide the address of my older sister: Zdzisława Kasprzyk née Hauza, resident [at] I Armii Wojska Polskiego Avenue 27, apt. 22, 00-580 Warsaw, telephone 28 05 73.
8 December 1939
Dear wife and beloved children!
I would like you to know that for reasons outside my control I was unable to write you earlier. I am alright and currently find myself on the territory of Soviet Russia. I worry greatly about you, my dearest. I went to Boczki, but I didn’t find you there. It was my intention to make you stay there, or otherwise to send you back to Poznań. I looked for you everywhere, but I was unable to find you. If you have returned, then please tell me – how are you? Władzia promised that she would look after our house. When I was near Warsaw, I learned of mother’s death. [Illegible] nothing about me at the moment. Please write me back. [Illegible] uncle’s yard [illegible] him well. And [illegible]. See you [illegible].
Your father, Nikodem