I fought for the Germans and at the same time I hoped that they would lose the war
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Ing. Edvard Polok was born on August 16, 1923 in Prostřední Suchá in the Karviná region. In 1939 he graduated from a Polish grammar school in Orlová and then he became employed as a worker. After the occupation of the Těšín region by Germans in autumn 1939, the local people were urged to sign a so-called Volksliste, thereby registering as German nationals, but the Polok family ignored the call. Edvard’s brother died in 1940 as a result of poisoning while doing forced labour in Germany. Fearing the loss of his second son and the threat of the family’s transportation to Germany to do forced labour, Edvard’s father eventually signed the Volksliste in 1942. Edvard was drafted to the German army shortly after. He was sent to France and ordered to deliver cipher messages between the German units. After the Allied landing in Normandy in June 1944 he deserted from the German army and he got to a POW camp in Marseille. There he joined the new Polish army, which was being formed by the Polish general Wladyslaw Anders in the Italian territory. Edvard Polok then served in Kresowa Infantry Division in Italy as a driver. He took part in combat in the northern Apennine Mountains and near Bologna. Edvard remained in Italy until 1946 when the Polish units were demobilized and then transported by ship to Great Britain in September 1946. He eventually returned home from Great Britain after eight months, taking the northern route via Poland. After the war he studied the College of Agriculture in Brno and the College of Horticulture in Lednice. He specialized in fruit growing, and he worked in fruit orchards in Životice near Havířov. He retired in 1984 and he lives in Horní Suchá.
