Family’s freedom during wartime is ‘One Star Away’

WARREN — As a young child living in Poland during World War II, Jozefa (Ziuta) Nowicka, her parents and siblings were awakened at 3 a.m. when Soviet soldiers forced their way into their home.

The family was taken to a Siberian labor camp, where they were forced to work while enduring near starvation, disease, separation and freezing temperatures. It was family patriarch Konstanty (Kostek) who helped his wife Teodora (Tola) and six children escape imprisonment.

Nowicka’s daughter, Imogene Salva, chronicled her mother’s footsteps to freedom by writing the book “One Star Away.” On March 9, the author and educator will pay tribute to her mom by sharing her story from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Warren Civic Center Library, located at 1 City Square, east of Van Dyke Avenue and north of 12 Mile Road. An Eventbrite link at  rb.gy/gox7jk has been added for individuals who wish to register for the evening, although walk-ins are also encouraged.

“I am honored to tell my mother’s story,” Salva, a Colorado resident, said in a prepared statement. “Growing up in New York City, I realized that my mother’s wartime experiences were shared by thousands and remain relatively unknown to the rest of the world.”

As the war raged on, Polish General Władysław Sikorski reached out to dignitaries in other countries to inquire if they could take in Polish refugee children. Nowicka, her older sister, Jadwiga (Jadzia) and their brother, Jozef (Jozek) eventually had a new place to call home: India. They moved to the Asian country after an Indian maharajah responded to the general’s request. Salva will further discuss that and other sufferings the family survived while they were displaced.

The Piast Institute, located at 11633 Joseph Campau Ave. in Hamtramck, is hosting Salva’s visit. Her appearance is the first of a two-part lecture series sponsored by Piast to mark its 20-year anniversary.

“The book was so touching,” Piast Institute Executive Director Malgorzata Tulecki said. “People will be able to ask questions and to hear the story. It’s a great one.”

The Piast Institute, a nonprofit organization, is a national research and policy center for Polish and Polish American Affairs. It is also one of 48 U.S. Census Bureau Information Centers and one of two located in Michigan.

The Piast Institute develops conferences, seminars, data publications, public programs, lectures and exhibits. The organization acts as a data resource center that helps Polish, Polish American and other business and community groups develop policy papers and historical, cultural, political, economic, social and demographic studies on a wide variety of topics.

For more information on the Piast Institute, call the office at (313) 733-4535 or visit piastinstitute.org.