26 Years Apart: A Family Reunited Behind the Iron Curtain

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For twenty-six years, war, exile and the Iron Curtain kept one Polish family apart. Torn from his homeland and sent into Stalin’s labour camp system, Aleksander Jablonski survived hunger, forced labour and a wartime journey through Russia, Iran and Italy before fighting at Monte Cassino.

When the war ended, returning to communist Poland was impossible. He built a new life in Britain, but the family he had left behind remained painfully out of reach. Then, after more than a quarter of a century, came the chance to cross back behind the Iron Curtain.

In this moving episode, his daughters tell a story of separation, survival and a reunion in communist Poland. It is also the story of a Polish community in Britain, the children who inherited its memories, and the enduring pull of a homeland that distance, politics and time could never entirely erase.

Additional thanks to Stefan Hales-Józefczyk and the Leek Polish Connection for welcoming me into their group and allowing me to record this story.

Blackshaw Moor Camp Staffordshire, where Aleksander Jablonski and his family initially lived in the UK

Aleksander's British ID card

Aleksander with his wife Jessie and daughters Linda & Sue

Aleksander with his relatives in Poland

Linda, Sue, their father and another family in Poland.

Local newspaper article about the family's return to Poland

Aleksander with his wife Jessie and daughters Linda & Sue

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