Kazimierz Odrobny

The war had not changed his political convictions. Beginning in July 1948, but probably earlier, he participated in building up the exile structures of the SN in the British occupation zone in order to resume their political work. In 1949 and 1950 he chaired the SN Committee in the former British occupation zone. During this time he made contact with Kazimierz Tychota and other representatives of the Endecja movement who had been active before the war. Odrobny's political work coincided with the consultations between the Americans, British and Poles about the secret service activities of the Political Council (Rada Polityczna), the central body of the SN in West Germany. These activities behind the Iron Curtain are known today, especially in Poland, as the “Berg affair” (the name is taken from the Bavarian town of Berg, where the secret service centre “South” was located). Everything points to the fact that Kazimierz Odrobny was involved in these activities as a member of the secret service centre “Nord”, which was based in Oerlinghausen and Quackenbrück. During this time he reported to his friend Kazimierz Tychota. When the intelligence work came to light he was able to clear himself of the accusation of being an agent by portraying himself as simply a follower. In connection with these events, he was able to recruit many new party members from the Endecja camp, including Andrzej Dalkowski (code name “Jędrek”).

At the end of 1949 Kazimierz Odrobny married his chosen one, Zofia Ogonowska. The wedding was probably the deciding factor for his moving house. From the Lippstadt camp at Kolpingstraße 8 (DP Camp AR419) he moved to Höferstraße 58 in Velbert, where a new settlement for political refugees had been established at the instigation of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. According to some sources, Kazimierz stayed in Oerlinghausen and the Höxter camp in 1949 and 1950. At any rate he was planning to leave the Federal Republic of Germany with his wife. Both wanted to leave for a country that was recognised by the Polish government in exile in London. Nor did Kazimierz rule out the possibility of further emigration to Spain or South America. But the two were unable to realize these plans and spent the rest of their lives in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Kazimierz Odrobny was one of many social-political activists, first among Polish DPs and later as a Polish refugee in the British occupation zone. After the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany, he continued his commitment by participating in numerous initiatives and taking on organisational tasks that included work in the Organising Commission for the ZPU convened in Brussels by the Executive Committee of the Zjednoczenie Polskiego Uchodźstwa Wojennego (ZPUW), the Association of Polish War Refugees. From 28th to 30th July 1951 as a founding member of the new organisation he took part in the constituent meeting of the ZPU in Höxter, which was also recorded in the statutes of the association. At the first meeting of the ZPU Council he was elected vice-chairman of the board. In the following years he continued to devote his life to the interests of Polish refugees and the organisational issues of the ZPU. One of his main tasks on the board of the association was to supervise the work of the schools for Polish refugees, since he was probably the most experienced person in this field and a member of the Centralny Komitet dla Spraw Szkolnych i Oświatowych (Central Committee for School and Education Affairs) at the ZPU. He also campaigned for war reparations for Polish citizens, a cause that occupied him for years.