Grave of the Bratek-Kozłowski family
[lot C1 651A ]
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Franciszek Witold
BRATEK-KOZŁOWSKI
( 1900-1988 )
BRATEK-KOZŁOWSKI
( 1900-1988 )
Born in western Poland, then under Prussian domination. Enrolled in a German primary school, but was withdrawn because of the mistreatment of Polish children. Continued his education in southern Poland, where gentler Austrian rule prevailed. In WWI, at age 16, he joined Polish cavalry units fighting for Poland's independence. Suffered a leg wound, was arrested by tsarist forces, imprisoned in Kiev. Freed a year later to finish high school, he soon took part in the many battles his newly-independent country faced through 1920-1921.
Moved to Paris to receive treatment from a world-renowned neurologist, dr. J. Babinski, for a hand injury sustained during the war. Back in Krakow, he began to study medicine and married Wanda Pająk, with whom he had a son, Jerzy. Transferring to Paris, he earned his m.d. degree in 1936 and specialized in surgery and urology in Lille.
After the outbreak of WWII, Dr. Kozlowski served as a surgeon in the Polish Army. After the fall of France, he was sought by the Gestapo but escaped via Portugal to the US, then to Canada in 1942. Recruited as a surgeon in the Canadian army, he served on the European front from 1943, then in a military hospital upon returning to Montreal. Gained fame for ressuscitating a patient after a 6-minute cardiac arrest.
Demobilized in 1947, he started a private practice in Montreal, and was also attached to the Santa Cabrini Hospital, besides being head doctor of the Polish Welfare Institute for over 20 years.
He received many Polish and Canadian distinctions and medals for outstanding service. Died at 88, mourned by his second wife, Kamila (below).
Moved to Paris to receive treatment from a world-renowned neurologist, dr. J. Babinski, for a hand injury sustained during the war. Back in Krakow, he began to study medicine and married Wanda Pająk, with whom he had a son, Jerzy. Transferring to Paris, he earned his m.d. degree in 1936 and specialized in surgery and urology in Lille.
After the outbreak of WWII, Dr. Kozlowski served as a surgeon in the Polish Army. After the fall of France, he was sought by the Gestapo but escaped via Portugal to the US, then to Canada in 1942. Recruited as a surgeon in the Canadian army, he served on the European front from 1943, then in a military hospital upon returning to Montreal. Gained fame for ressuscitating a patient after a 6-minute cardiac arrest.
Demobilized in 1947, he started a private practice in Montreal, and was also attached to the Santa Cabrini Hospital, besides being head doctor of the Polish Welfare Institute for over 20 years.
He received many Polish and Canadian distinctions and medals for outstanding service. Died at 88, mourned by his second wife, Kamila (below).
Kamila KOZLOWSKA
born CHOMA
( 1909-2004 )
born CHOMA
( 1909-2004 )
Born in the south of Poland, daughter of Leon and Maria Choma, she completed high school and a one-year School of Commerce. In 1929, she became administrative secretary of the National Radio Station in Krakow. In April 1939, she married Lieutenant Stanislaw Iberszer, and in September, after the German attack, she escaped via Romania to France. Her husband meantime fought against the German invasion, and was incarcerated in a German POW camp. In 1941, Kamila made her way to Portugal and thence to Canada, settling in Winnipeg, where she taught in Polish schools. She moved to Montreal after being offered work with Consul Brzezinski, and she subsequently married dr. Kozlowski (above). For many years, she was a valued volunteer at the Polish Library affiliated with McGill University.