Obituary for Tomasz Dadlez
Tomasz Michal Dadlez was born in independent Poland in 1925. In late 1939, two coalitions emerged in Europe. United in the first, democratic, coalition were Poland, Britain, and France. This was a coalition the United States supported. The second was a coalition between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, under the dictatorship of Hitler and Stalin, respectively. In September of 1939, the German and later the Soviet armies invaded Poland from the west and the east. The British declared war on Germany. Despite stiff resistance, Poland collapsed after several weeks. The country was divided and occupied by German and Soviet forces. The Polish government established itself in London as the Polish government in exile. Some Poles managed to get to France and Britain to fight on.
In occupied Poland, there were atrocities committed: mass imprisonment, murder, and mass deportations. Julian Dadlez, the father of Tomasz, was in Nazi captivity for several years. His wife, Zofia and her four children, Tomasz among them, were deported with hundreds of thousands of other Polish families to Soviet Asia, where starvation was rampant. Despite the occupation, the drive for independence existed both in Poland and abroad. In 1941, Hitler, according to one of his own generals, made his biggest mistake in attacking the Soviet Union. Having become an enemy of Germany, the Soviet Union drew close to the Western alliance. Stalin announced amnesty for arrested Poles in the Soviet Union. It soon became clear that enormous numbers of the deported were missing. A Polish army was created in Soviet Asia. Tomasz, at 16, with his brother Jerzy, joined the Polish army under General Anders, a former Soviet prisoner. With British support, this army moved to several countries in the Middle East, to South Africa, and, finally, to England.
At the end of the war, the Western countries, grateful for the Soviet effort in the war against Germany, declared their strong support of Stalin. The Treaty of Yalta united Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin in approving Stalin’s choices for presidents of several east central European countries, including Poland. This caused many Poles abroad, both military and civilian, to refuse to return to Poland because of its Soviet communist regime. Tomasz and his family were among them. After his stay in England, he emigrated to the United States. There, he married Anna Gasowska. Both of them became American citizens. He worked for many years as a systems analyst in Syracuse, NY, where he also perfected his considerable skills in photography and chess. An ideal husband and father, he is survived by his bereaved wife, Dr. Anna Dadlez, his daughter Dr. Eva Dadlez, his daughter, Alexandra Dadlez, and by his many relatives and friends in both the U.S. and Poland.
Honoring Mr. Dadlez’s wishes cremation has taken place. Funeral Liturgy will take place at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday December 28, 2021 at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, 5376 State Street. Rev. Fr. Kevin Wojciechowski will officiate. Friends may visit at the church where the family will be present on Tuesday, December 28, 2021 from 12:00 Noon until the time of mass. For those who would wish to attend the service remotely, please use the following link https://vimeo.com/event/844336 . In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy may wish to consider memorials to UNHCR - United Nations Refugee Agency. Arrangements have been entrusted to The Snow Funeral Home, 3775 N. Center Rd.
In occupied Poland, there were atrocities committed: mass imprisonment, murder, and mass deportations. Julian Dadlez, the father of Tomasz, was in Nazi captivity for several years. His wife, Zofia and her four children, Tomasz among them, were deported with hundreds of thousands of other Polish families to Soviet Asia, where starvation was rampant. Despite the occupation, the drive for independence existed both in Poland and abroad. In 1941, Hitler, according to one of his own generals, made his biggest mistake in attacking the Soviet Union. Having become an enemy of Germany, the Soviet Union drew close to the Western alliance. Stalin announced amnesty for arrested Poles in the Soviet Union. It soon became clear that enormous numbers of the deported were missing. A Polish army was created in Soviet Asia. Tomasz, at 16, with his brother Jerzy, joined the Polish army under General Anders, a former Soviet prisoner. With British support, this army moved to several countries in the Middle East, to South Africa, and, finally, to England.
At the end of the war, the Western countries, grateful for the Soviet effort in the war against Germany, declared their strong support of Stalin. The Treaty of Yalta united Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin in approving Stalin’s choices for presidents of several east central European countries, including Poland. This caused many Poles abroad, both military and civilian, to refuse to return to Poland because of its Soviet communist regime. Tomasz and his family were among them. After his stay in England, he emigrated to the United States. There, he married Anna Gasowska. Both of them became American citizens. He worked for many years as a systems analyst in Syracuse, NY, where he also perfected his considerable skills in photography and chess. An ideal husband and father, he is survived by his bereaved wife, Dr. Anna Dadlez, his daughter Dr. Eva Dadlez, his daughter, Alexandra Dadlez, and by his many relatives and friends in both the U.S. and Poland.
Honoring Mr. Dadlez’s wishes cremation has taken place. Funeral Liturgy will take place at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday December 28, 2021 at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, 5376 State Street. Rev. Fr. Kevin Wojciechowski will officiate. Friends may visit at the church where the family will be present on Tuesday, December 28, 2021 from 12:00 Noon until the time of mass. For those who would wish to attend the service remotely, please use the following link https://vimeo.com/event/844336 . In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy may wish to consider memorials to UNHCR - United Nations Refugee Agency. Arrangements have been entrusted to The Snow Funeral Home, 3775 N. Center Rd.