THE TRIPLE SOLDIER: And My Mother

By Andrew Faron

A tumultuous story with the invasion of Poland on 1st September 1939 by Nazi Germany; A Polish soldier, Franciszek endures the total humiliation of a paradox and bizarre situations being forced to fight for three different countries in three different uniforms, Polish, German and British in WWII. Being trapped in the war games beyond

• Language: English
• Publisher: Publicious Book Publishing
• Release date: Jan 20, 2017
• ISBN: 9780648010111

Andrew Faron

Escaping Stalinist Poland, Andrew's parents lived in Germany for one year, where Andrew was born in 1946. The family went to England in 1947 as refugees. Andrew grew up in London, where he learnt to speak English from five years of age. Being stateless he became a British citizen with his family in 1959. His formative years from 1947 to 1967 were difficult, with a dual language and cultural upbringing, which was stressful trying to understand where he fitted in. As the years passed by into adulthood Andrew received a rich education, which gave him greater opportunities. He migrated to Australia in 1967 at 20 years of age. Soon after, he sponsored his parents to Australia for a better life. From there his life changed dramatically when Andrew joined Qantas Airways Ltd., as cabin crew in 1971 and resigned in 2002. The greatest education he ever imagined came about from his worldly travels beyond expectations. Andrew is bilingual, English / Polish and has a reasonable understanding of Czech, Ukrainian and basic German. After retiring he lived in Malaysia and New Zealand for several years before returning home to Australia. He is grateful to be here to tell his parents' story, which would have been an emotionally challenging and difficult undertaking to attempt.

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

My Father 1913

Under the Polish Flag:

Franciszek

Faron was born on 27th September 1913 in Orzesze in the prefecture of Pszczyna in Upper Silesia, now Poland, just before WWI. Only ten months later WW1 broke out in July 1914. His father, my grandfather Andrzej Faron:- 28/08/1872 to 17/07/1927 did participate in that war as a home guard. He was a rich property dealer and unfortunately lost his money through selling off property during an unstable currency crisis in Poland in about 1916. From that time poverty took over the family and my father grew up in hardship. I know very little about my grandparents’ history, as all the records are lost in WWI and WWII. Regrettably I never met my paternal grandparents.

One of eight siblings, my father’s early education was at a German school, as that part of Upper Silesia was still under the Weimar Republic, which was later re-incorporated back into Poland. He was a great scholar with a rich education at school. He was also a lover of languages and very gifted in learning new languages quickly. My father became well versed in Polish, Silesian dialect, German, Czech and later in life he had a good command of Russian, Ukrainian, French and Italian.

In his youth he won a scholarship at Grammar School (Gymnasium - in Polish) and was going to study dentistry at The Jagiellonian University of Krakow, which dates from 1364 and was the oldest centre of learning for many surrounding countries in Europe.

At 23 years of age my father fell in love with a pretty young girl named Maria. In that era mutual respect between a man and woman was very strict and important. My parents met in 1936 on one Sunday morning at mass in church. Maria did not want to sit with her father and stepmother and was sitting alone in the same pew, as did my father, with a few people between them. Maria was a young shy 16 year old girl. They noticed each other and my father was enchanted with her and smiled. Maria smiled back and blushed. He wondered how to meet her so he came up with an idea. After mass was finished he quickly walked out, a few paces ahead of her, and drop his handkerchief in front of her, anticipating that she would hopefully pick it up.

Maria picked up his handkerchief, knowing in her heart that he deliberately did so and said.

Excuse me mister. You dropped your handkerchief.

As she handed him the handkerchief, with a coquettish smile, he smiled back taking her hand and kissed the back of her hand and introduced himself.

Thank you. I’m Franus. I’m delighted to meet you. May I have the pleasure of escorting you home?

Maria was blushing noticeably and felt a bit weak in the knees looking at this handsome blue eyed man with her deep brown eyes. She accepted his proposal to be escorted home. They were both radiant and captured in the moment of meeting. She was also enchanted as was my father. That was how they met and fell in love at first sight. They had a very long courtship and engagement.

Politeness and refined good manners was at its height in that era and well understood in the higher classes of society with such a strict culture. Holding hands during a walk in the park was permissible but passionate kissing was unthinkable, being in such a staunch Catholic country. They were both so in love and deeply respectful to each other, that it appears almost ridiculous and laughable in the 21st century.

By the age of 18 years Maria could no longer endure the cruelty of her stepmother and moved out to a bed-sit flat in Podlesie in late-1938. She was strong willed enough to make such a daring move. In that period a woman normally stayed at home until she married, as it was frowned upon for a single woman living alone. This upheaval in her home created a damaging estrangement between father and daughter, as her father was very strict and totally disapproved of such scandalous behaviour.

My father was conscripted in 1934, as it was compulsory in Poland to serve in the army for two years. Being an Officer of 2nd Lieutenant in the Polish Army, my father was ordered to take part in the war. He was called up from the Polish Army Reserve on 30th August 1939. He took part in the September campaign during the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany on 1st September 1939. Poland was invaded by Nazi Germany from the West, as well as by Russia from the East sixteen days later. My father’s aspiration of becoming a dentist was postponed indefinitely.

Suddenly the parting sorrows began between the Polish soldiers and their loved ones and family on the platforms of the train stations throughout Poland. Soon my father was holding his beloved fiancée Maria in his arms at the train station in Mikolow.

Franciszek, Franus in short, expressed his painful heartfelt parting detachment from the love of his life. He was on tenterhooks and stressed about his departure. He looked at Maria’s face with a painful heavy heart having to leave her behind. He so earnestly wanted to show her how much he loved her and this would be the last and only chance left for him to express it, before leaving for the warfront. Never having kissed her passionately before, he knew that it would have to be now or never. Looking at her he said.

Maria, let me take a long look at your beautiful face, so that I can carry you in my heart with me wherever I go. I love you, remember that.

They embraced and held on to each other in desperation, knowing that it could be for the last time. The moment was disappearing quickly and the whistle blew for the train to depart. Franus squeezed Maria into himself and desperately passionately kissed her lips. He felt so relieved and wonderful to be able to do that and prove his love for her.

Maria’s heart was melting with her surrendering lips to Franus with such a confirmation of their impenetrable love for each other, now sealed with one fateful blissful kiss. She stood on the platform embracing him tightly, trembling in gut churning tears of sadness; he let go of her reluctantly and jumped onto the train as it slowly pulled away.

My father was flustered and sat with the rest of the Polish soldiers on the train, looking through the window waving to Maria, but felt so alone suddenly wrenched from Maria’s arms. Once she was out of sight he kept seeing her face in his mind, hanging on to that image of Maria and gained the strength to face the unthinkable, when confronting the invading German forces at the Polish German border. He was experiencing a void of life and despondency in his heart with gut wrenching discomfort as to what to expect at the border.

Waving goodbye, with many others running along the platform with the train, Maria yelled out with a bursting heart.

Franus, go with god’s care, I love you. I will be with you.

Standing alone at the end of the platform, wondering if she would ever see him again would have been a dreadful and empty feeling. As the advancing autumn wind gently caressed her hair she lost sight of him and the train, her soul was already feeling lonesome, lost without him. Maria stood still at the end of the platform staring at an empty train track, wondering what will happen to