Not only was Zdzisław Łukasiewicz the 4th volunteer in the Polish Army under General Anders that formed in the USSR after the Sikorski Mayski Agreement, he was given the job of travelling across USSR to muster Poles who had been incarcerated in gulags and prisons.

In this episode of Monte Cassino 80, we meet Konrad “Radders” Harandon, the grandson of Zdzisław Łukasiewicz member of the Polish 4th “Skorpion” and then 2nd Armoured Brigade who became the editor of “Taran,” the newspaper of 2nd “Warsaw” Armoured Division. Prior to Cassino, Zdzisław Łukasiewicz was transferred to Brigade HQ, and the Referatura Kultury i Prasy / Culture and Press Department.

In this podcast we follow his incredible journey from his childhood as a defender of Lwow, his student life at Jan Kazimierz University, his family links to the Armia Krajowa / Home Army and the Warsaw Uprising. we learn about Zdzislaw's and his wife’s arrest and their forced deportation to the USSR. We hear how Zdzislaw was saved by his artistic skills and how he became a key person in General Ander’s mustering of Poles to the Polish army after the Sikorski Mayski Agreement.

With Konrad we follow his grandfather’s incredible and well documented journey across the battlefields of Italy: Monte Cassino, onwards through Piedimonte and on to victory at Ancona in July 1944.

Follow Konrad "Radders" Harandon's fantastic Twitter feed where he describes himself as an Anglo-Polish history lover. Polish 2nd Armoured Brigade/Division during the Second World War. On his feed, Konrad features some of the amazing photos from his father's archives as well as sharing detailed and fascinating insights into the 2nd Armoured Brigade.

"We spoke about" Links:

Konrad “Radders” Harandon X (Twitter) @konnie83

Tadeusz Szumanski https://twitter.com/konnie83/status/1723648876849078371

Hubal film https://youtu.be/5rbuWiC5iGY?si=JMc-W5OxTzpE1p8O

Stanisław Tabisz („Piotrowski”) https://www.1944.pl/powstancze-biogramy/stanislaw-tabisz,45565.html

Gliwa https://www.foto.karta.org.pl/nasze-zbiory/fotografowie/s-gliwa,63633,zdjecie.htm

http://fototekst.pl/bitwa-o-monte-cassino-najdluzszy-polski-fotoreportaz/

Ognisko Polskie’s Monte Cassino 80 podcast is presented by Jola Piesakowska

Supported by the Polish Cultural Institute

Produced by Salt and Pepper Productions in association with #MyLondyn

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Website: http://www.ogniskopolskie.org.uk/

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