By Jonty Ralphsmith
As regular Garfield-based Gazette contributor Roman Kulkewycz penned his story about 84-year-old Wes Wlodarczyk, he was engulfed by nostalgia for his own parents.
Like Wes, Roman’s parents, Peter and Anna, spent several years at a concentration camp, despite being assured the expedition would be a holiday that would last a matter of months.
His mum was the victim of abuse, yet given the opportunity to have her abusers shot, she remained quiet about her treatment, preferring not to have blood on her hands.
Meanwhile, Peter had photographs of dead bodies stacked awaiting the collection cart to take them away.
Both of his parents would be over 100 years old if still alive today and have long since passed, Roman attributing his mother’s death to her ill-treatment at Auschwitz.
Neither would ever see their family in Ukraine again.
The only way to communicate with them from Australia was through the exchange of letters, but it took three weeks for the mail to travel each way.
Although Roman was to be born two years after his parents release from Auschwitz, and his parents were reluctant to discuss their adversity, he has recollection of their fear during the early years in Australia.
“When they came to Australia, the sheer relief of them getting out of the concentration camps was hard to believe,” Roman said.
“You could describe it as being like rabbits in a spotlight at night – they were just scared.
“They were all frightened to make any decisions because they thought there were serious consequences for each action so they were frightened to do anything and not knowing the language.”
Under the International Refugee Organisation, the Kulkewyczs had the choice between USA, Canada and Australia as displaced refugees, choosing the latter as a land of opportunity.
Similarly, Wes and Marianna chose Australia. That is why their story resonated with Roman.
