Kazimierz Odrobny

Irrespective of this, he was actively involved in establishing contacts and relations with international refugee organisations in the Federal Republic of Germany. In addition, the chairman of the association, Dr. Bolesław Zawalicz-Mowiński, entrusted him with tasks arising from the work of the ZPU's board. To this end, he represented, among others, the chairmen in districts I and II of the ZPU. Together with Witold Szwabowicz, the secretary of the board, he also took over the supervision of the organisation's finances. In addition to these commitments, Kazimierz Odrobny continued to teach the children of Polish refugees, but not as regularly as before. The supervision of the Polish school system in Germany gave him the opportunity not only to work as a teacher, but also to determine the educational orientation of Polish refugees, particularly with regard to the patriotic content of the courses.

Whenever he could, he tried to help those in need, often beyond his powers. In 1953, when the chairman, Bolesław Zawalicz-Mowiński, resigned, Kazimierz Odrobny provisionally took over the leadership of the organisation for almost a year without a deputy, until he was elected chairman of the association by the delegates at the third meeting of the ZPU Council in 1954. From then on he was in charge of the organisation for almost 30 years. This enabled him to implement his idea of bundling all activities of Polish refugees in the Federal Republic of Germany under the umbrella of the ZPU.

In all this he was often concerned about the situation of Polish refugees in the Federal Republic of Germany. With regard to war reparations, he deplored the impetuous nature of former prisoners, their lack of prudence and the limited thinking of those who believed they were entitled to everything, regardless of the existing German laws. He was like a “father” for whom the fate of Polish refugees was close to his heart. However, he considered these destinies very rationally and always tried to keep his activities within the framework of German law. This feeling for the realities provoked widespread rejection among refugee circles. On the surface he simply shrugged off the many personal attacks, but behind the scenes he often complained about the attitudes of his compatriots in Germany. In one of his letters describing what he felt about these hostilities, he recalled: “Anyone who has been socially committed has certainly come across people on several occasions who do not measure their claims and demands against existing regulations, but rather measure the regulations against their demands. Other people believe that they are being persecuted. But when asked to name the precise persecution, they are unable to provide any concrete evidence other than exaggerated assurances that they are being wrongly persecuted. And heaven help anyone who disagrees with them. They will hate him and may even regard him as an ‘opponent’. There are also people who are advised from the outset that their demands are unfounded, which they then refuse to believe. But when the predictions are confirmed and their claim is justifiably rejected, they imagine an enemy behind the scenes has harmed their whole case.”[1]