Childhood and education

Romuald Polachowski was born on 13 August 1948 in Złotów. He was the son of the sculptor Paweł Polachowski (1917–1991), who, during the Second World War, joined the 2nd Infantry Division under the command of Brigadier General Bronisław Prugar-Ketling. When, on 20 June 1940, the entire division was interned in Switzerland, Paweł Polachowski was sent to the camp at Matzingen, where he remained until October 1945.

Romuald recalls that his father devoted himself to artistic pursuits during his years of internment. At that time, he carved wooden walking sticks, which he sold to the locals. During this time, Polachowski met a Swiss woman, Agata Schwager (born 1926) , with whom, despite the legal ban, he began to meet regularly.

“Guido, my mother’s younger brother, always stood guard whilst they met in a small wood on the outskirts of Lommis.” The couple were married in the Catholic church in Lommis, shortly after the war ended. As Agata Schwager had lost her Swiss citizenship through marriage to a foreigner, the young couple had to emigrate first to France, where their daughter Jadwiga was born (1946), and then to Poland, to the small village of Złotów near Bydgoszcz, where Romuald was born. It was there that the young Polachowski spent his first nine years and completed three years of primary school.

In 1956, the family returned to Switzerland ( Paweł Polachowski joined his wife and children six months later thanks to a successful ruse), where they settled in the small town of Aadorf in the canton of Thurgau.

Continuing his education in his new country was not easy for the young Polachowski ; in particular, his lack of knowledge of German prevented Romuald from gaining a place on his dream course in graphic design. He trained as a painter, upholsterer and plasterer. Thanks to these trades, he was able to work whilst pursuing his artistic ambitions. After completing his education, between 1969 and 1972, Romuald fulfilled his dream of travelling. He visited countries in Europe (including Poland), Africa and Asia.

Work in Switzerland

On his return to Switzerland, he began working in his father’s workshop ( Paweł Polachowski had been running his own sculpture business since 1971), where his father taught him how to carve in stone. Together, they created gravestones and numerous commemorative plaques from the Second World War honouring Polish soldiers.

When Romuald opened his own studio in Guntershausen near Aadorf in 1979, he continued to take on commissions for gravestones whilst also working on his own artistic projects. Particularly noteworthy are his works commemorating the soldiers of the 2nd Rifle Division: one of these is a plaque , made of Jurassic limestone , at the border crossing in Goumois in the canton of Jura, which Romuald created on commission from the Association of Descendants of Polish Soldiers Interned in Switzerland. The unveiling took place during ceremonies marking the 75th anniversary of Polish soldiers crossing the Swiss border. Every year on 20 June, ceremonies are held there, during which the descendants and their families gather to pay tribute to those who were interned.

Polachowski also created a granite obelisk commemorating nine soldiers of the 2nd Division who fell between 1940 and 1945. The monument was erected at Madretsch Cemetery in Biel, and its official unveiling took place on 16 May 2024.

When the artist retired in 2022, he devoted himself entirely to his family, his artistic hobbies and his work within the Polish diaspora. To this day, Romuald remains actively involved in preserving the memory of Polish soldiers by giving interviews, making his memorabilia available and sharing memories of his father. Thanks to his efforts, many previously unknown or mysterious traces of the presence of Polish soldiers have been included in the national register of war memorials. This was the case with a sandstone bas-relief in Rikon depicting a man’s profile, which, according to Romuald, represents the head of a farmer from the Zakopane area, and a series of Tatra architectural motifs.

He was also involved in the preservation of the Polish Museum in Rapperswil. In 2013, ‘Nasza gazeta. Polnische Zeitschrift in der Schweiz’ published an article by Romuald Polachowski, in which he wrote about the museum’s great significance for the Polish community, its history dating back to the uprisings of 1830 and 1863, and proposed a series of changes that would help maintain the site’s appeal and prevent its eventual closure.

The history of the Polachowski family, alongside that of many other similar Polish-Swiss families, is described in the book edited by Marie-Isabelle Bill, *Interniert. Polnisch-schweizerische Familiengeschichten. Published by the Association of Descendants of Poles Interned in Switzerland”, published in 2020 on the initiative of the Association of Descendants of Polish Soldiers Interned in Switzerland.

Catalogue

(compiled by Bartłomiej Gutowski)

A memorial stele commemorating Poles interned during the Second World War

2012
, Sulzerhof (Aadorf, Canton of Thurgau)

Inscription: 2. polnische Schützendivision (2nd Polish Rifle Division) / Internment camp / Rootfarb Aadorf / 1941–1946 //
Listed in the federal register of Armee- und Kriegsdenkmäler der Schweiz (VBS), Canton of Thurgau, no. TG 1

Entry for the site in the federal register of ‘Armee- und Kriegsdenkmäler der Schweiz’ (VBS), Canton of Thurgau, no. TG 1

A memorial stone commemorating Poles interned during the Second World War

1995
Next to the Catholic church (Lommis, Canton of Thurgau)
Inventory no. TG 12

Inscription: To the community of Lommis, in gratitude from former interned Polish soldiers / XXX (as per the inventory) / Polnische Inschrift (Polish inscription – not reproduced) / DSP / Ende des 2. Weltkrieges (end of the Second World War) / 8. May 1945 / 8 May 1995 / 50 years of peace //

Entry in the federal inventory of Army and War Memorials of Switzerland (VBS), Canton of Thurgau, no. TG 12

Commemorative boulder for Polish internees from the Second World War

2016
Near the community centre (Matzingen, canton of Thurgau)

Inscription: Dedicated with gratitude to the Swiss people by the interned Polish soldiers, 1940 / Second World War / 1939 to 1945 / In February 1941, 245 Poles arrived in Matzingen as internees. (In February 1941, 245 Poles arrived in Matzingen as internees) / Our municipality had a population of approximately 915 at that time. (Our municipality had a population of approximately 915 at that time) / R. Polachowski / Aadorf //

Entry in the federal inventory of Army and War Memorials of Switzerland (VBS), Canton of Thurgau, no. TG 13

Monument to 9 Polish soldiers of the 2nd Infantry Division ‘
’ 2024 (unveiled on 16 May 2024)
Madretsch Cemetery (Biel/Bienne)

Commemorative plaque to Polish internees from the Second World War

2015
Goumois (Saignelégier, Canton of Jura), near the French border

Inscription (according to the inventory: inscription in Polish; the French translation is quoted in the inventory): In memory of the crossing of the border by Polish soldiers on 20 June 1940. Merci à la Suisse pour le refuge accordé et à nos pères pour leurs œuvres. (In memory of the crossing of the border by Polish soldiers on 20 June 1940. We thank Switzerland for the refuge granted and our fathers for their work) / The descendants of Polish internees in Switzerland / Goumois, 20 June 2015 //

Entry in the Federal Inventory of Military Memorials (VBS), Canton of Jura, no. JU 44

Commemorative plaque marking the Polish internees

2021 (installation of the plaque)
Walking trail in the Dettenried area (Weisslingen, Canton of Zurich)

Inscription: DSP (Infantry Division) / A memorial to the 2nd Polish Rifle Division, which was interned in the Töss Valley. 1941–1945 (A memorial to the 2nd Polish Rifle Division, which was interned in the Töss Valley, 1941–1945) //

Entry in the federal inventory of Army and War Memorials of Switzerland (VBS), Canton of Zurich, no. ZH 42

Monument to Alja Rachmanova

1998
, Ettenhausen (municipality of Aadorf, canton of Thurgau)
Article ‘Rachmanowa-Denkmal in Ettenhausen bleibt vorerst stehen’ in the Thurgauer Zeitung

‘The Apple’

2014
sculpture, wood
Government building (Frauenfeld, Canton of Thurgau)

Sculptures in public spaces, including numerous gravestones and plaques, as well as those situated at roundabouts, amongst other locations.