REVIEWS
GULAG TO SPITFIRE
ONE MAN’S WWII JOURNEY FROM BRUTAL INTERNMENT TO FIGHTER PILOT IS RECOUNTED IN GRIPPING FASHION
Two Polish Air Force pilots stand in front of a Spitfire at RAF Kirton in Lincolnshire, July 1942
Image: Getty
Author: Andrew Hubert von Staufer Publisher: The History Press Price: £22 (Hardback) Released: Out now
This biography is written by the son of Polish Air Force pilot Kazimierz Tomasz Hubert, known as Tomek. Pressed into the Polish forces in September 1939, Tomek was immediately caught up in the chaos of the Soviet and German invasions. Arrested by the Russians, he faced truly brutal treatment in prison and in the Kortuka Gulag, inside the Arctic Circle. Tortured, starved, frozen and isolated, Tomek somehow managed to survive. In August 1941, when the Polish prisoners were grudgingly released by Stalin at the insistence of the British, Tomek faced a difficult journey, made worse by lack of supplies, Soviet suspicion and fractured Polish politics. He eventually made it to join General Anders’ gathering Polish Army before crossing into Iran to join the Polish Air Force.