I have been told by my father that my grandfather fought in the german army during WW2 as he was from Silesia. We know he was in the Polish army at the start of WW2 and we also know he fought in the 5 Kresowa Division at Bologna. The bit in the middle is difficult to research - any pointers please.
Also looking for photos of him whilst in the 5 Kresowa Division
Any help would be gratefully accepted
Information on poles in german army
I can't tell you much about Polish units in Italy but...
The 1st Polish Armd Div, which fought in Normandy, suffered fairly heavy casualties and did not have many replacements available in England. However, many of the German POWs turned out to be Poles who had been conscripted and many of them were eager to fight the Germans, so, the (apparently very pragmatic) Poles took on many of these ex-Wehrmacht Poles as replacements. It is possible that the same thing occurred in Italy.
sam
sam
Hello,
Absolutely, the "german" prisonners from Poland were proposed to join the 1rst polish armroed division. The advantage was that these men militaryly trained.
But there were also a lot of "french", polish young men from North of France, area liberated by General Maczek's Division. They were enough numerous also.
Ze-Pole
Absolutely, the "german" prisonners from Poland were proposed to join the 1rst polish armroed division. The advantage was that these men militaryly trained.
But there were also a lot of "french", polish young men from North of France, area liberated by General Maczek's Division. They were enough numerous also.
Ze-Pole