Pages Full text

The estate of Aureli Topolnicki, resident between 1945 and 1951 in the DP camp in Wildflecken (Durzyn)

An original collection of original documents by Aureli Topolnicki from his time in the camp for Polish displaced persons in Wildflecken (Durzyn) between 1945 and 1951, as well as from his time before and during the war, and the years after his emigration and exile in the USA.

The documents all come from his inheritance and were donated to Porta Polonica by the widow of Aureli Topolnicki’s son, Frau Barbara Karbarz from Breslau, at the end of 2016.

A group of men in front of a wagon with the inscription "Emigration". 1. v.r. Aurel Topolnicki, probably at the start of 1951.

Barbara Karbarz and Porta Polonica 2017

Even when it is impossible to say exactly when Aureli Topolnicki applied for emigration to the USA [55], it seems that, despite all their efforts, the family had to wait for quite some time for a positive answer. In February 1950 Topolnicki stated on a staff form issued by the Resettlement Centre in Schweinfurt) that he had a “sponsor” [56] (and destination) in the form of a certain Karolina Talaga, who was clearly a representative of the American Committee for the Resettlement of Polish DPs [57] On 24. March 1950 the said committee sent him the news [58] that they had confirmed the sponsorship and that they would forward the information to representatives of the committee in Germany [59]. On 19. May 1950 the Displaced Persons Commission in Frankfurt informed Topolnicki that he fulfilled all the preconditions and would be able to travel with his family to the USA in the next few months. It also asked him to ask his “sponsor” to take the necessary action. Interestingly enough, the man named in this document as the sponsor is now a certain William E. McGuirk from East Islip in New York State [60]. A few weeks later Ludwika and Elwira Saling, relatives of Topolnicki’s wife Irma, who had already emigrated to the USA, requested the Congress of American Polonia to intervene in trying to speed up the emigration of Aureli, Irma and Otto Topolnicki, since this was still being delayed. At the end of August 1950 the Congress sent some forms to Aureli Topolnicki, requesting him to fill them out and return them so that they could take action [61]. In mid-November 1950 the American General Consulate in Munich instructed Topolnicki to register [62], three weeks after he had been sent back from Schweinfurt to Wildflecken on the grounds of not having the correct sponsorship documents [63]. Finally, in February, the family moved back to the immigration centre in Schweinfurt, where Aureli and Irma were vaccinated against smallpox [64] and took part in an orientation programme [65]. This time their stay in Schweinfurt proved relatively short as witnessed by the fact that Aureli Topolnicki only had five hours of English lessons and attended one preparation film [66]. On 13. March 1951 the Topolnicki family set out from Bremerhaven for New York on a new chapter in their lives – on the freighter “Gen. Muir” [67].

[55] Emigration application to the USA made by A. Topolnicki and his family with additional information; no place, no date, [Inheritance of Aureli Topolnicki, document no. 087].

[56] Persons wishing to emigrate had to urgently name a sponsor. It was impossible to enter the USA without a sponsor.

[57] The form filled in by the immigration applicant, A. Topolnicki with his wife Irma and son Otto at the IRO Resettlement Center in Schweinfurt, dated 08.02.1950, [Inheritance of Aureli Topolnicki, document no. 026].

[58] The American Committee for the Resettlement of Polish DPs (ACRPDP) was an organisation that gave great help to Polish displaced persons who wished to emigrate to the USA: it represented them in their dealings with American authorities in Germany and the USA, see: Jaroszyńska-Kirchmann, Anna: The Exile Mission. The Polish Political Diaspora and Polish Americans 1939–1956, Athens/Ohia 2009, p. 117-118.

[59] Information on the confirmation of a sponsorship for Topolnicki and his family, provided by the Displaced Persons Commission in Washington, dated 24.03.1950, [Inheritance of Aureli Topolnicki, document no. 091].

[60] Information given to A. Topolnicki on how to fulfil the conditions for immigrating into the USA, dated 19.05.1950, [Inheritance of Aureli Topolnicki, document no. 038].

[61] An enquiry from the Congress of American Polonia regarding the delay of the Topolnicki family and a request to fill out the emigration form, dated 24.08.1950, [Inheritance of Aureli Topolnicki, document no. 085].

[62] An instruction issued by the Consulate General of the USA on registering A. Topolnicki, dated 14.11.1950, [Inheritance of Aureli Topolnicki, document no. 048].

[63] A form showing the status of the emigration application made by Aureli Topolnicki and his family to the USA, dated 24.10.1950, [Inheritance of Aureli Topolnicki, document no. 095].

[64] International inoculation books belonging to Aureli and Irma Topolnicki, dated 7.2.1951, [Inheritance of Aureli Topolnicki, Documents no. 111 und 130].

[65] A. Topolnicki’s attendance card as his proof of participating in the orientation programmes [Inheritance of Aureli Topolnicki, Document no. 111].

[66] Ibid.

[67] A list containing the names of Polish emigrants who arrived in New York from Germany on the transport ship "Gen. Muir". [Inheritance of Aureli Topolnicki, document no. 056]; a letter of request written by Pastor O`Neill from NY with a form and reply to the Immigration and Naturalization Service, [Inheritance of Aureli Topolnicki, document no. 072].].