Experiences of a Polish Officer in the Austrian Army in WWI

The Institute of World Politics

Full title: Experiences of a Polish Officer in the Austrian Army in WWI Dying Echoes: Memoirs of the War 1914-1920 by Stanisław Kawczak This lecture is a part of the 13th Annual Kościuszko Chair Conference by the Kościuszko Chair of Polish Studies and the Center for Intermarium Studies. About the lecture: Andrew Kavchak will discuss his grandfather’s, Stanisław Kawczak, memoirs of WWI, and the subsequent conflicts following Poland’s independence. Dying Echoes: Memoirs of the War 1914-1920 by Stanisław Kawczak was first published in Poland in 1936. The book tells the story and experiences of a young Polish conscript in the Austrian army who fought during WWI wearing the Austrian uniform against the Russian army on the Eastern Front and the Italian army on the Southern Front. From the beginning of the war, his heart was in the struggle for Polish independence and the defeat of the three occupying powers (Germany, Austria, and Russia) which had partitioned Poland since the 1790s. The narrative is vivid and gives the reader an image of the life of a soldier on the march and in the trenches, as well as an account of the political debates about national interests during the “Great War”. About the speaker: Mr. Andrew Kavchak was born in Montreal, Canada. He studied political science earning a BA from Concordia University and MA from Carleton University) and law (LL.B. – Osgoode Hall Law School). He spent his career in the Canadian federal civil service working in policy units with the departments of revenue, industry, and international trade. Since retiring he has pursued his hobbies of reading and writing about history. He has written and published several books that are available on Amazon, including Remembering Gouzenko: The Struggle to Honour a Cold War Hero and The Katyn Forest Massacre: An Annotated Bibliography of Books in English. He lives in Ottawa, Canada.