Born: January 6, 1926, Janów near Katowice, Poland
Died: May 10, 2020, Breda, The Netherlands
Buried: Breda, The Netherlands
Family: wife – Joke Vetter
Medals: Polish – Gold Cross of Merit, Army Medal, Pro Bono Poloniae Medal; Dutch – Medal commemorating the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Breda
Fates before World War II:
Roman Figiel came from a large family in Silesia.
Fates during the war:
During the war, at the urging of his older brother, he got to Western Europe. He was captured by the Germans and forced to work hard building the Atlantikwall defense line in Normandy. In June 1944, during the Allied invasion, he escaped and got to the American troops. From July 2, 1944, a soldier of the Polish Armed Forces. After training, he was assigned to serve in the 1st Sapper Battalion of the 1st Armored Division of General Maczek. As a sapper, he covered the entire combat route of the Division in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. He participated in military operations from Caen, through the liberation of Ghent and Breda, to the occupation of the German base in Wilhelmshaven. Promoted to the rank of senior sapper.
Post-war fate:
After demobilization, he remained in exile in Breda in the Netherlands. He married a Dutch woman, with whose family he was quartered as a soldier after the city was liberated. He lived in Breda for 74 years. Active in veteran communities of the 1st Armored Division. He died in 2020.
author: Aneta Hoffmann
photo – source: Małgorzata Lubbers-Dąbrowska, Polonia.nl