GULAG TO SPITFIRE

GULAG TO SPITFIRE 
by Andrew Hubert Von Staufer.


Kazimierz Tomasz Hubert (known as Tomek) was seventeen when the German invasion of Poland began in 1939. But it would be the eventual arrival of the Russians that would change Tomek's life forever.
Taken from his bed he would be questioned, beaten & tortured before being sent to the Russian Gulag at Vorkuta, over 100 miles  above the Artic Circle.
In horrendous conditions with little food, Tomek is now in a hard-labour camp for political prisoners. Here he would endure further beatings and was also raped by a group of guards.
Horrific events that would understandably live with him forever.
Through all this, Tomek still had know idea to why he was arrested.
Almost two years would pass before he is able to walk away from the camp. After all they had put them through, the Russians now expected the Poles to join their fight against the Germans.

Conscious of revealing too much, I move the story on.

Tomek has his heart on flying & not being a soldier. He eventually travels to Britain, where he would officially join the RAF in August 1942.
Training, learning English and falling in love would all follow quickly after.
The young lady in question would soon go on to work at Bletchley Park before the couple married in 1944. 
*One of their many children would go on to be the author of this book!

Far later than he expected, he completed his training and was posted to a Polish squadron flying Spitfires.
Despite being the last year of the second world war, Tomek would still have time to earn awards and commendations. 
I will leave readers to learn more about his time in the air.
His post-war life would be a fight of a different kind as he continually suffered with what we now would recognise as PTSD.

Tomek's extraordinary story is at times harrowing. Few of us could have survived those years in captivity. Many fellow prisoners decided they couldn't.
It is also a story of building a new life, in a new country. 
As mentioned previously, this book is written by Tomek & Angela's son, Andrew. 
What surely must have been a difficult story to share, Andrew has revealed a truly unforgettable one.

The hardback book is available now, published by The History Press. 
I thank them for this review copy.  


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