Born: 1920 in Puławy, Poland
Died: March 1, 2009, in Windsor, Canada
Family: wife Ruth, 3 sons
Medals: Polish – Cross of Valour
During the war:
After the cataclysm of September 1939, Goldberg made his way from Warsaw to Vilnius. When the Red Army entered Vilnius, he managed to get false papers and obtained a counterfeit Japanese visa. He went by train across Siberia to Vladivostok, and then, by the end of February 1941, he managed to get on a ship sailing for Japan. He arrived in Japan near the end of March and was there about three months. The Polish Government gave him $50, provided him with a Polish passport, a medical check-up, paid his fare, and sent him on his way to Vancouver, where he landed in June 1941. There were “about 40-50 Jewish boys going to join the Polish Army”. From Vancouver he went by train to Toronto, then to the Polish Army recruiting centre in Windsor. He joined the Polish Army in June 1941. He was trained in Owen Sound and his training included building barracks, beds and kitchens for the camp, dismantling and assembling machine guns, marching and drills. In Owen Sound he wore a Canadian army uniform, although there is also a photo of him in a Polish Naval uniform.
After three months in Owen Sound, he was sent to England via Halifax. He arrived in England by November 1941, and was sent first to Liverpool and then to Scotland. He served with the 9th Polish Infantry Battalion, which was part of General Maczek’s 1st Polish Armoured Division. The Division fought in France, Belgium, Holland, and Germany. Goldberg obtained the rank of Lance Corporal and was decorated with Polish Cross of Valour for bravery when he rescued Morris Lifshitz near Caen during the Battle of the Falaise Gap. His dream was to see the Germans defeated and he did.
After the war:
Following the war, he moved to Windsor, Ontario, Canada, married Ruth, whom he met at a Jewish community dance on August 15, 1946. They had three sons. In Windsor, he ran Hy’s Fish Shop. In 2001, the Polish Army promoted Chaim Goldberg to the rank of Lieutenant. Chaim Goldberg wrote about his military experiences in a book “I Remember Like Now: The Odyssey of a Polish Jew”. He died on March 1, 2009, in Windsor.
author: Stan Skrzeszewski, Canada
source of information: Chronicle – Camp Kosciuszko 1941-1942 Owen Sound, Ontario. Prepared by Stan Skrzeszewski, 2022.