Son of a deported Anders' Army soldier from near Navahrudak wins $180,000 for father's suffering in Soviet camp
He demanded $1.6 million from Poland, but the compensation amount was significantly reduced.
The Court of Appeal in Wrocław, Poland, ruled that the son of a former Anders' Army soldier, deported by the NKVD in 1951, will receive approximately $179,000 in compensation from the Polish state.
The story begins in 1939. A. S., a carpenter from near Navahrudak, was taken prisoner by the Soviets, went through camps, and then joined General Anders' Polish Army — he fought in Italy at Monte Cassino and was wounded. In 1947, he returned home. It seemed the war was over.
But on the night of April 1, 1951, Soviet authorities carried out a mass operation against former Anders' Army soldiers: almost 900 soldiers, along with their families — 4520 people — were deported deep into the USSR. Among them was A. S. with his wife and children, including his son E. S., who later filed the lawsuit.
The next 56 months — until December 1955 — the family spent in a forced labor camp in Sverdlovsk Oblast. Wooden barracks, no bedding, no normal medical care, heavy physical labor for more than 8 hours a day.
The soldier's son, citing the law on the rehabilitation of victims of repression for Poland's independence, demanded almost $1.5 million in compensation from the state treasury for his father's moral suffering and another approximately $122,000 in compensation for unpaid forced labor.
The District Court in Wrocław, already in February 2025, recognized the right to compensation, but calculated it differently — $3200 per month, totaling approximately $180,000. The court entirely refused compensation for labor: the son himself admitted in his testimony that his parents received some payment for work in the camp — "they had to somehow live."
The appeal did not convince the court of the second instance. The judges in Wrocław emphasized that the family was deported together — the father was not separated from his wife and children, which in itself distinguishes his fate from many other repressed individuals. The complainant's side failed to provide any evidence of torture, beatings, or particularly cruel interrogations, although it was their duty to prove this.
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