ABOUT WIKTOR.
Wiktor Kozłowski (May 21, 1912 - 2004) was a high school teacher, author, and survivor of the forced Soviet annexation of eastern Poland. He authored three books in Polish, including "Najdłuższa Droga" (The Longest Journey), a work based on his experience as a Polish prisoner in the Gulag, a network of work camps in the Soviet Union.
In 1939, the Soviet Union invaded and annexed eastern Poland, forming the Kresy region. The region included the city of Białystok, where Wiktor and his wife, Stanisława Kozłowska (1916 - 1990), taught at a high school. Their life in Białystok abruptly ended in June of 1941, when they and their two-year-old daughter, Elżbieta Kozłowska-Kikolska (1939 -), were loaded onto a sealed freight train and deported to a work camp in Tobolsk, Siberia, Soviet Union (now Russia) – over 2,100 miles (3,400 km) away from their home. Over 1.2 million Poles were deported to Siberia from 1940 to the first half of 1941. The Kozłowski family was part of the fourth and final wave of deportations.
At the work camp, Wiktor and Stanisława were selected to perform labor so long as they remained able-bodied. They were subjected to harsh labor conditions, starvation, and disease. The majority of Polish deportees – over 600,000 – died in the camps.
After three years of imprisonment in 1944, Wiktor and his family escaped the camp and made the 2,100-mile journey back to Białystok – on foot. When they returned, Wiktor resumed teaching math and physics and his wife taught geography. He retired in 1972 and began to write "Najdłuższa Droga."
Wiktor’s second book, "Wspomnienia" (My Memoir), is about perseverance in the face of loss and struggle. "Najkrótsza Historia Komunizmu" (A Brief History of Communism), Wiktor’s next book, is a satire of the Soviet Union and draws inspiration from his time in the gulag.
"Burian i więzień 502" (Burian and Prisoner 502)
Wiktor passed away at age 92 in 2004 in Białystok. He rests at the Cmentarz w Dojlidach (Cemetery in Dojlidy, Białystok) with Stanisława and his mom (Wiktoria Kozłowska). He was survived by his daughter (Elżbieta Kozłowska-Kikolska MD), grandchildren (Beata Ruprecht MD, Adam Kozłowski, and Justina Kozłowska), and great-grandchildren (Victoria and Michał Ruprecht).
BOOKS.
- Kozłowski, Wiktor. Najdłuższa droga. Poland, Biblioteka "Sybiraka", 1998.
- Kozłowski, Wiktor. W krainie Sumerów. Poland, Książnica Podlaska im. Łukasza Górnickiego, 2001.
- Kozłowski, Wiktor. Burian i więzień 502. Poland, Książnica Podlaska im. Łukasza Górnickiego, 2001.
- Kozłowski, Wiktor. Wspomnienia. Poland, Alpi s.c., 2000.
LINKS.
