Many soldiers belonging to General Władysław Anders' Army and families rescued from Soviet Russia by the army, found a place to live in the United States. Some of these survivors became members of the Piłsudski Institute in America.

2nd Polish Corps - Italy

The Polish Armed Forces in Soviet Russia, the so-called Anders' Army, was the Polish Army formed in Russia from citizens of the Second Polish Republic sent by the Russians to the Gulag during the following period: 1939-1941. The army’s commander was General Władysław Anders, who had been in Soviet prisons since September 1939. Released on August 4, 1941, from Lubyanka in Moscow, he traveled to the area of Kuybyshev, which the Soviet authorities designated as a staging area for the Polish Army.

By November 1941, most of the soldiers were shoeless, and in October, snow began to cover the tents and dugouts. General Anders organized a pastoral ministry for the army and created units of the Women's Auxiliary Service of the PSK, saving hundreds of women and girls who very quickly became indispensable, organizing hospitals for the civilian population. The first evacuation of the Polish army to Iran took place at the end of March 1942 and included 4,300 people. General Anders saved civilians, including the sick and children, in addition to soldiers. The journey was made by train to Krasnovodsk on the Caspian Sea and from there by ship to the Iranian port of Pahlevi. The next evacuation took place along the same route at the end of August 1942. In total the number of people saved from Russia was one hundred and fifteen thousand Polish citizens, including thirty thousand civilians and eighteen thousand children. Following the evacuation from Russia to Iran and Persia on November 12, 1942, the Polish Army in the East was formed from the merger of the Polish Army in the Middle East and the Polish Armed Forces in the USSR, numbering roughly 70,000 soldiers. On July 21, 1943, the 2nd Polish Corps was formed from these units, which fought in Italy at Monte Cassino, liberated Ancona, and took part in the Battle of Bologna. Until 1946, the 2nd Polish Corps remained in Italy with General Władysław Anders, who remained with his soldiers until the end.

Polish Women's Service - Russia
The Institute's archives contain many valuable collections related to this period, including photographic collections from the time of the formation of General Władysław Anders' Army. The photos of the formation of units display the army’s difficulties characterized by a lack of equipment. However, these photos also display the great strength of survival. Other photos are related to the fights in Italy. The Polish 2nd Corps left Egypt in the beginning of 1944, with 50,000 troops transported to Italy. The road to Rome was defended by the fortress of Monte Cassino, for which the Americans, French Corps, Indians and New Zealanders had been fighting unsuccessfully since January 1944. The Polish 2nd Corps launched an attack on the night of May 11, 1944, which was bloodily repelled by the Germans. On May 17 and 18, another attack took place, ending with the capture of the fortress. The Polish soldiers placed a white and red banner on the ruins of the monastery at 10:20 a.m. on May 18.

Gen. Władysław Anders i Generał Kazimierz Sosnkowski
Many of these photos have been electronically secured in the form of scans and are available online through the Institute's portal.
Another example related to this time is the collection of Jan Erdman (1906-1986), who was an employee of the Polish Telegraphic Agency and a journalist for "Przegląd Sportowy" and "Kurier". During World War II, he was a soldier in the Carpathian Rifle Brigade. At the start of 1941, he was a press attaché at the Polish Embassy in Kuybyshev.

The Erdman Collection No. 41

This collection includes letters and correspondence from exiles during the following period: 1941-1943. Jan Erdman, after breaking off relations with the USSR, was sent to New York where he worked for the Polish Information Center (the information agency of the Polish Government in Exile), preserving materials from Soviet Russia and transferring them to the Institute. Jan Erdman was consistently intertwined with Polish affairs. His wife Marta (1921-1982) was the youngest daughter of the famous Polish writer: Melchior Wańkowicz (1992-1974).

Co-financed by the Minister of Culture and National

Heritage of the Republic of Poland