Stan Kijowski

Stanley Kijowski was born in Kansas City, Kansas, on March 26, 1924, to Peter and Agnes (Stawowy) Kijowski. He lived in Kansas City until 1933, when his family moved to Poland. During World War II, he was taken from the family farm by Nazi German soldiers to do slave labor. Kijowski escaped and walked for weeks to get home, only to be turned in by a neighbor and taken by the Germans. Enslaved in a different place, Kijowski escaped again, only to be captured by Germans once more. At one point, he was taken to Auschwitz. While there, he was interrogated and beaten severely, but, again, he escaped. 

Kijowski was helped by the Polish underground to recover from his injuries, sparking a desire to help the Allied Polish resistance. Once within the organization, he was given the code name "Tarzan". Kijowski helped blow up German trains, and convoys, rescue prisoners and participated in other covert missions. 

After the war, he returned to the United States, and, in 1949, joined the Merchant Marines. Kijowski was back home by 1953 and married Teresa Ziolo, and, after a few years, moved to Abilene, Kansas. 

Kijowski worked for Standard Steel Works and VacuBlast. He was a great musician, playing the violin, banjo, trumpet, and mandolin. He wrote music and sang and played with his wife in their band "The Polka Jets". They had four children. Kijowski has a book that tells more about his adventures during the war and his life, "'Surviving the Holocaust': Stan Kijowski's Journey In A Wicked World".