Forced labor badge, yellow with a purple P, worn by a Catholic Polish soldier interned by the Germans

Identifier
irn81106
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 2013.397.2
Level of Description
Item
Source
EHRI Partner

Extent and Medium

overall: Height: 2.000 inches (5.08 cm) | Width: 2.000 inches (5.08 cm)

Creator(s)

Biographical History

Irena Wójcik (later Irene Wojtas) was born on October 25, 1919, in Goluchowice, Poland, to Jan and Franciszka Nowak Wojcik. She was the middle child in a large Catholic family. In the late 1930s, she was living with her eldest sister Wlada Szymczuk in Czestochowa and worked in her sister's tailor shop. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland from the west and, three weeks later, the Soviet Union invaded from the east. Poland was partitioned between the two powers, per the terms of the August 1939 German-Soviet Pact. Germany annexed much of western Poland. The area acquired under the Pact was placed under German administration as the General Government. Irena’s home village was near the border between the General Government and a newly formed German province called Warthegau. On one visit home, she was arrested, with her younger brother, Stanisław, for suspicion of black market activities. She was interrogated and later released. Stanislaw was severely tortured and sent to prison. Irene returned to Czestochowa, although her official address was Goluchowice and she was expected to live there. Around April 1943, there was a round-up in Goluchowice by the Germans, selecting Poles for forced labor. Irena was not there, and the authorities arrested her father, because she was not present to be taken. The family sent word to Czestochowa and Irena returned and reported to the police so that her father could be released. In April 1943, Irena was deported, via Kielce, to Karlstadt am Main, Germany. She was assigned to work on the farm of George Gold, a German farmer in Karlburg. Living conditions were harsh and she was treated brutally. George Gold’s son was a member of the German military. He would occasionally take Irena and the other Polish girls working there to the river to photograph them for his soldier friends. After the war ended in May 1945, Irena lived in a series of displaced persons camps: Wurzburg, Aschaffenburg, Wildflecken, Heilbronn, Ludwigsburg, Waiblingen and Bremen-Grohn. She met Eugeniusz Wojtas in Aschaffenburg or Wildflecken and they married on February 8, 1948. Eugeniusz, also Catholic, had been captured while serving in the Polish military at the beginning of the war. He had been a forced laborer in Germany from October 1940 – April 1945. Their first child, a daughter, was born in Wildflecken on September 24, 1948. They were later sent to Heilbronn, where a son was born on May 10, 1950. In May 1951, the family left Ludwigsburg DP camp for Bremerhaven where they boarded the USS General Harry Taylor. They arrived in New York City on June 1, 1951. From there, they travelled to South Bend, IN. The Parakowski and Kowalski families, whom they had met in the DP camps, had arranged the paperwork for their move to South Bend. The trip was sponsored and paid for by the ACRPDP: the American Committee to Resettle Polish Displaced Persons. Eugene, 67, died in February 1977.

Eugeniusz Wojtas (later Eugene) was born on May 7, 1910, in Medynia Głogowska, Poland, to Catholic parents, Błazej and Zofia Stopa Wojtas. When he was a child, his family moved to Kolonia Józefin, in the Lublin area. He served in the 5 P.S.P. [Pułk Strzelcow Podhalanskich--Podhale Rifles Infantry Regiment], and was stationed in Przemysł. In 1934, Eugeniusz was released from military service and returned home to Kolonia Józefin. During the late 1930s, Nazi Germany remilitarized and annexed Austria, the Czech Sudetenland, and in March 1939, dismembered the remainder of Czechoslovakia. On August 5, 1939, Eugeniusz was recalled to the military as Poland prepared to mobilize its Armed Forces. He was assigned to the 43 P.P. [Pułk Piechoty--Infantry Division] stationed at Dubno. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland from the west and, three weeks later, the Soviet Union invaded from the east. On September 20, Eugeniusz was captured by the Soviets. On November 14, there was a German-Soviet prisoner exchange. Eugeniusz was transferred to German custody because his home town was in eastern Poland, which was designated German territory under the August 1939 German-Soviet Pact. He was then transported to Stalag XIIIC in Hammelburg, Bavaria, Germany. From October 18, 1940, Eugeniusz was registered for various labor battalions, including Arbeitskommando 371 and 1190. After Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 22, 1941, Eugeniusz was most likely used in civilian forced labor. For much of the war, he was stationed for work in the vicinity of Gemunden am Main, in Bavaria. Eugeniusz was liberated by American troops on April 4, 1945. Germany surrendered on May 7. Eugeniusz worked for the US military for twenty-two months. He then went to Wildflecken displaced person camp. He met Irena Wojcik in Wildflecken or Aschaffenburg DP camp. Irena, also Catholic, was born in 1919 in Goluchowice, Poland. In April 1943, she had been selected for forced labor and deported to Karlstadt am Main, Germany, where she worked on a farm until liberation. The couple married on February 8, 1948, in Wildflecken. Their daughter, Elzbieta, was born there on September 24, 1948. They were later transferred to Heilbronn DP camp, where Eugene worked as a camp policeman. Their son, Jan, was born there on May 10, 1950. In May 1951, the family left Ludwigbsurg DP camp for Bremerhaven where they boarded the USS General Harry Taylor in May 1951. They arrived in New York City on June 1, 1951. From there they travelled to South Bend, IN. The Parakowski and Kowalski families; whom they had met in the DP camps, had arranged the paperwork for their move to South Bend. The trip was sponsored and paid for by the ACRPDP: the American Committee to Resettle Polish Displaced Persons. Eugene, 67, died in February 1977.

Archival History

The badge was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2013 by Irene Wojcik Wojtas, the wife of Eugene Wojtas.

Acquisition

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of the Eugene and Irene Wojtas family

Funding Note: The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.

Scope and Content

Small yellow cloth patch with a purple P worn by Eugeniusz Wojtas, while a forced laborer in Germany from October 18, 1940 - April 4, 1945. Nazi Germany invaded Poland on September 1, and three weeks later, the Soviet Union invaded from the east. Eugeniusz, a Polish Catholic, was serving in the 43 Pulk Piechoty [Infantry Division) in Dubno and was captured by the Soviets on September 20. He was transferred to German custody on November 14, and interned in Stalag XIIIC in Hammelburg, Germany. From October 18, 1940, until his liberation by US troops on April 4, 1945, Eugeniusz was assigned to several labor battalions near Gemunden am Main in Bavaria. Post-liberation, he worked for the US military for nearly two years. He then moved to a displaced persons camp. On February 20, 1948, he married Irena Wojcik, also a Catholic, originally from Goluchiwice, Poland, in Wildflecken DP camp. Irena had been deported to Germany in April 1943 and assigned as forced laborer on a farm in Karlburg. The couple lived in Wildflecken and Heilbronn DP camps, where they had a daughter in 1948 and a son in 1950. In May 1951, the family emigrated to America.

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions on access

Conditions Governing Reproduction

No restrictions on use

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Square white cotton cloth badge printed on the front with an upper case purple letter P within a yellow square that is outlined in purple. The badge would be worn in diamond orientation. The frayed, white edges are folded over and hand basted with white thread. The badge is worn, stained, and slightly faded.

Subjects

Genre

This description is derived directly from structured data provided to EHRI by a partner institution. This collection holding institution considers this description as an accurate reflection of the archival holdings to which it refers at the moment of data transfer.