From war-torn Germany to Corowa

“To summarise, Pa would be to use the phrase ‘hard worker’,” granddaughter Sarah Cuteri and grandson Nicholas Jaszczyk commented when delivering the eulogy

“He worked hard in Germany, and those efforts probably saved his life. He worked hard when in displacement camps. He worked hard when he came to Australia, at Lindeman’s. Even after he got to retirement age and had to retire from working at Lindeman’s, he went and got a fresh job, at Uncle Toby’s, before retiring a second time.”

Included in the eulogy was the following. “Stan, Stanislaw, Dad, Pa or Great Pa, was born into a world of renewed hope, which had just endured a war (not then known as the First World War, as they would not have envisaged that it would need to be numbered).  

“Stanislaw Jaszczyk, well known as Stan, was born in Burakowka in Poland on the 5 May 1924. He had one older sister, Anna, and his parents Kazimierza and Anastazji. His childhood was concerned with picking the local apples and cherries, skiing in winter, and coping with his siblings, both the older sister Anna and then his younger sister Maria, on their small farm.  

“In 1939 the Second World War began and living in Poland meant that Pa would have to endure horrors of World War two, such horrors I am sure we today could not begin to imagine. 

“The first wave of troops to arrive at his farm were Russians, who took the family’s animals, crops and possessions. 

“Then the German troops arrived in Pa’s village. Pa hid in a local apple orchard for two days by himself, before being located by troops and shipped in one of the thousands of cattle trucks straight to Germany as a slave labourer. 

“He was about 15 years old at the time. He was not with his family. He had not finished school. 

“He ended up in Schweinfurt in Germany during the war, an industrial city near Wurzburg, where he worked in various jobs; as a baker, and also in a factory making ammunitions. Schweinfurt was heavily bombed while he was there, and almost totally destroyed during the war. 

“When the war ended, borders had shifted. He had thought he was Polish, but in the re-shuffle his family farm was now classified as being in the Ukraine. He was without a home to go back too. 

“Pa went to a displacement camp in Germany, Weiden, during which time he worked in an American services Club- serving officers and soldiers. It was at the camp that he met Maria (or Mary, Mum, or Nan), who would be the love of his life. 

“Pa and Nan were married in Weiden - still in a displacement camp, both of them being of Polish origin in their minds, but their homes having become part of the Ukraine, and both of them former slave labourers during the war. They were married on the 15 October 1947. Pa was then 23 years old. 

“They moved to the Polish displacement camp, still in Germany, in the town of Bad Reichenhall. This was a time of great upheaval. It was not until 1949 that they left Germany, four years after the end of the war, only to head to another camp, this time in Naples, Italy. Nan and Pa waited to be processed as displaced persons, hoping to be accepted on a ship to somewhere else to start their lives - it could have been Canada, America, Australia, or even back to Poland. 

“The immigration officials who interviewed them from Australia said that Australia was a place where if you worked hard you could be a millionaire, and that made the decision. The ship they ended up on was the ship called the Goya, which arrived in Australia on Christmas Day, 25 December 1949. 

“At the docks that day, Christmas Day, were two people who would feature heavily in their lives - Dr Eagar and his wife Phyllis. Instead of spending Christmas at home in celebration, they chose instead to meet the refugees arriving at Port Melbourne, to see if they could help any - and met Pa and Nan. 

“Nan and Pa initially were taken to a camp in Bonegilla for all immigrants to be processed in Australia, but within two weeks Dr Eagar and his wife had arranged for Nan and Pa to be released and brought to Corowa, to live with them. This is a generosity which could not be forgotten. 

“Dr Eagar and his family helped Nan and Pa throughout their lives; giving guidance, assistance, helping with language difficulties as well as getting work. 

“They lived with Dr Eagar and his wife for a time. Pa learnt to work in the local wineries, working for Lindeman’s. They bought a house in town, and welcomed their first child, a daughter, Wanda, born in 1950, followed by their son, John in 1953, and later, when the family had built a larger house, they welcomed their third child, Geoff who was born in 1962. 

“Pa loved work, but he also always loved his agricultural background. He loved his chickens, his animals and his vegetable garden. He was renowned for his cherry trees, and possibly also his cherry wine, his ports and muscats. Pa was also very committed to family and home.

“Pa went through a lot in his life, and it is an amazing effort knowing he made it to 95-years-of-age. He left an entire family back in Poland, but created a new one here - and leaves today three children, two children-in-law, five grandchildren and six great grandchildren. But he never forgot those back home.”