Summary Information
Antoni Rogozinski Papers
1971-1981
- Rogozinski, Antoni, 1912-
Milwaukee Mss 67
0.2 c.f. (1 archives box)
UW-Milwaukee Libraries, Archives / Milwaukee Area Research Ctr. (Map)
Papers of Rogozinski, a former Polish Army officer and immigrant to Milwaukee engaged in teaching English to new arrivals and organizing an association of Polish veterans, the Association of Veterans of the Second World War in the Polish Armed Forces. Included are several albums compiled by Rogozinski containing papers, copies of documents, photographs, and text, often in Polish, concerning himself, other Polish immigrants, and veterans' activities. Also included is a small newsclippings file about Rogozinski and the Association.
English, Polish
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mil00067 ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Antoni Rogozinski was born 15 April 1912 in Poland, where he resided until he joined the Polish Army in 1939. His unit was pushed into Rumania by the Nazi invasion, and subsequently the fragmented forces retreated through Turkey, Greece, Yugoslavia, and Italy prior to obtaining passports to France. In France they rejoined Polish forces and were sent to England and Scotland for further training. In Scotland Rogozinski attended English language and teaching classes at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, (1941) and Cambridge University. After completion of his training, Rogozinski participated in combat in France, Belgium, Holland, and Bermany. He rose from the rank of lieutenant in the Polish Army to captain with the Polish first armored division under General Dwight Eisenhower.
Following the war Rogozinski settled in England, where he taught English to similarly stranded former soldiers, and managed a small chemical plant in London. In 1948, Colonel M. Emil Pankiewicz had left Europe for Milwaukee, under the auspices of the World Federation of Polish Combatants Association, to prepare for the arrival of displaced persons and former soldiers in the United States. Three years later Rogozinski also came to Milwaukee and joined with Pankiewicz in forming English language classes for the newly arrived refugees. Together they also began a Polish Combatants radio hour, offered other classes, and with four other men organized the first Polish combatants association in the United States - the Association of Veterans of the Second World War in the Polish Armed Forces, Inc., or Stowarzyszenie Polskich Kombatantow (SPK). Rogozinski was twice honored by the Polish Government in Exile in London for his services to Poland and to Polish refugees. In 1971 he was awarded the Gold Cross of Merit for his efforts to resettle and retrain immigrants to the U.S., and in 1980 he received the Order of Polonia Restituta, the Polish civilian equivalent of the U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor.
In private life Rogozinski and his wife, Bianca both worked for Patrick Cudahy, Inc. Rogozinski retired from the firm in 1977 after twenty-six years of service.
Scope and Content Note
The collection is comprised of papers and documents primarily illustrating Rogozinski's service during World War II and his work with Polish immigrants and veterans in Milwaukee. Most of the material has been compiled by the donor into “albums” of papers, documents, and photographs, with a descriptive title and text in Polish. Although many of the documents date from the 1940s and 1950s, it appears that most of the albums were compiled in 1980.
Included is an “Album Zdjec z Zyciz Nowej Polonii w Milwaukee,” Wisconsin, 1948, illustrating and describing the immigration and new life of former Polish soldiers who came to Milwaukee in 1948. Within the album are several photos of veterans' groups and parades, and of activities of the Polish Roman Catholic Union. During the late 1960s, Rogozinski started the journal Pancerniak for Polish veterans; in 1980 Pancerniak had a circulation of about 400 in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and France. The collection includes an album (“Prasa Zo/lnierska na Obczyznie 'Pancerniak'”) of correspondence, reviews, and a sample copy of the magazine. Rogozinski's personal documents, photo, and papers (“Dokumenty Osobiste i Rozne Inne Dowody Pracy Antoniego Rogozinskiego”) from his military service and immigration, with newsclippings concerning his awards, comprise a separate file. Similar materials are present regarding former Captain Kornel L. Pietruszewski (“Dokumenty Osobiste Kapitana Kornela Ludwika Pietruszewskiego z Milwaukee, Wisconsin”), who like Rogozinski had served in the Polish Army and immigrated to Milwaukee after the war. Two additional folders of writings, clippings, and photos of the Polish Immigrants' Clubs and service groups in Milwaukee (“Komitet Osiedlenia Polakow z II Wojny Swiatowej w Wisconsin”), and a history of Polish radio programs (“Polskie Programy Radiowe w Milwaukee, Wisconsin”), are also present. There is a small file of newsclippings, mainly regarding activities of the Stowarzyszenie Polskich Komeatantow (SPK) and personal items about Rogozinski.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by Antoni Rogozinski of Greenfield, Wisconsin in 1980. Accession Number: M81-40
Processed by Menzi Behrnd-Klodt and Mark Thiel, January 1982.
Contents List
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Box
1
Folder
1
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“Album Zdjec z Zyciz Nowej Polonii w Milwaukee, Wisconsin,” 1948
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Box
1
Folder
2
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“Dokumenty Osobiste Kapitana Kornela Ludwika Pietruszewskiego,” 1940-1944, 1954, 1970
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Box
1
Folder
3
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“Komitet Osiedlenia Polakow z II Wojny Swiatowej w Wisconsin,” 1977-1980
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Box
1
Folder
4
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“Komunikaty Stowarzyszenia Polskich Kombatantnw w Milwaukee,” 1970-1971
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Box
1
Folder
5
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Newsclippings, 1971-1977
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Box
1
Folder
6
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Personal Documents and Papers, 1940-1980
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Box
1
Folder
7
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“Polskie Programy Radiowe w Milwaukee, Wisconsin,” 1946-1980
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Box
1
Folder
8
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“Prasa Zolnierska na Obczyznie 'Pancerniak,'” 1979-1980
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