The Ice Road: An Epic Journey from the Stalinist Labor Camps to Freedom

by Stefan Waydenfeld

Overview

In a forgotten chapter of history, 1.5 million Polish civilians—arbitrarily arrested by Stalin as enemies of the people following the Soviet invasion of Poland in September 1939—were deported to slave labor camps throughout the most inhospitable forests and steppes of the Soviet Union. The Ice Road is the gripping story of young Stefan Waydenfeld and his family, deported by cattle car in 1940 to the frozen wastes of the Russian arctic north.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781607720171
Publisher:	Aquila Polonica
Publication date:	07/01/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	400
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Dr. Stefan Waydenfeld (1925-2011), born in a suburb of Warsaw, Poland to a successful, well-educated family. He was 14 years old when the Germans invaded Poland in Sept. 1939 to begin WWII. Rushing to join his father in the Polish defense, young Waydenfeld encountered the Soviet army, which invaded from the east on September 17, 1939. Soon he was dodging the daily tyranny of the Soviet occupiers—until the Soviets caught up with him and his parents, deporting them to a Siberian forced labor camp.

After their escape and long journey to freedom, Waydenfeld trained with the newly formed Second Polish Corps in British-occupied Persia and Iraq. He graduated from the Polish Army Officer School and fought with the Allies on the Italian front, taking part in a number of battles, including Monte Cassino.

Following the end of the war, Waydenfeld studied medicine at the University of Bologna, Italy; the University of Paris, France; and graduated from the Royal College of Surgeons, Dublin, Ireland. He decided to settle in England. A member of the British Medical Association, Waydenfeld was retired from his general medical practice and lived in London.

Fluent in Polish, Russian and English, and with a working knowledge of French, Italian and Latin, Waydenfeld had over forty years experience in the translation of both medical and non-medical texts.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements viii

Foreword ix

1 Before the Havoc 1

2 The End of My Childhood 13

3 Flying the Nest 22

4 Interlude with Father 38

5 The Lesser Evil 53

6 The Sun Is on the Wrong Side 66

7 Siberia—You Will Get Used to It, or Else 89

8 He Who Does Not Work, Does Not Eat! 103

9 The Ice Road 131

10 Changing Fortunes 155

11 The Beginning of the End 173

12 On the Raft 201

13 Journey South Down the Volga 217

14 Wrong Turnings, Wrong Stops 237

15 The Long Haul 257

16 Chirakchi—A Respite 273

17 The Short Haul 288

18 Unpredictable Consequences 302

19 Chimkent—A Restricted City 313

20 Over and Out! 337

Epilogue—by Danuta 365

Historical Horizon: The Soviet Deportations and the Second Polish Corps 371

Interview with the Author 401

Reading Group Guide 406

Editorial Reviews

The author was 14 when Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union divided Poland between them. Many Poles, including Waydenfeld's family, were swiftly deported to Siberian labor camps. Only about half survived. Released in 1941, Waydenfeld and his parents endured a desperate journey across a hostile county and eventually reached the West. A remarkable tale.

Library Journal