The Strange Odyssey of Poland's National Treasures, 1939-1961

Gordon Swoger

oct 2004 · Dundurn

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The Strange Odyssey of Poland’s National Treasures, 1939-1961 tells the story of the Polish national treasures –their evacuation from their homeland under perilous conditions after the German invasion of Poland in September 1939 and their subsequent removal to western Europe and then to Canada. At the end of the war two Polish governments, a Communist one in Warsaw and a non-Communist one in London, vied for control of the national treasures. Before long the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church, the RCMP, and the Canadian and Quebec governments all became involved in the desperate hide-and-seek confrontation between the two Polish governments. Eventually, in February 1961, the release of the historic treasures was negotiated and they were returned to their native land, twenty-two years after their wartime departure. It was indeed a long voyage home!

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Gordon Swoger was born in the Eastern Townships of Quebec and was educated at McGill and McMaster Universities. He spent his working years as a teacher of high school military history. In the 1990's Gord and his wife went to Poland three times to teach English and History in Warsaw. The Strange Odyssey of Poland's National Treasures, 1939-1961 is his first book.