CHAŁKO Zbigniew

Born on 26 April 1921 in Warsaw; son of the pharmacist Antoni Chałko and the postal worker Janina, née Konarska; nephew of the poet Feliks Konarski (pen name: Ref-Ren). He attended the T. Rejtan State Boys' Grammar School in Warsaw, completing his education there in 1939. According to various sources, he made his debut either as a poet in 1937 with a piece published in "Dziennik Warszawski" or with a column in the daily "ABC", possibly in 1939. In August 1939 he entered a stint of service as a qualified senior brigadier with the Youth Labour Battalions (Junackie Hufce Pracy) before being accepted onto a Divisional Course of Reserve Infantry Officer Cadets (Dywizyjny Kurs Podchorążych Rezerwy Piechoty) in Lida. On 3 September 1939, he was enrolled into the National Defence Battalion (Batalion Obrony Narodowej) in Wilno(Vilnius). Following the retreat of Polish units from Wilno to Grodno, Chałko served in the defence of the latter city against the encroaching Red Army. He was wounded on the front at the River Niemen. He was hospitalized in Grodno before escaping the institution to avoid arrest by the Soviet authorities. He spent time with his family near Augustów while recovering. Following an unsuccessful attempt to reach Hungary, he returned to Warsaw in early December 1939. During the German occupation, he studied Polish literature at the secret University of Warsaw while also being actively involved in the underground resistance, initially in the Szaniec Group – a splinter group of the far-right Obóz Narodowo-Radykalny ABC party (National Radical Camp), using the alias Dan. From September 1942 he was a member of the Home Army (Armia Krajowa – AK), serving under the alias Cyganiewicz. Prior to the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising on 1 August 1944, he was named squad leader and made corporal officer cadet. During the Uprising, he initially fought in Warsaw's Wola district before becoming deputy platoon leader of 101st Company in the AK battalion "Bończa" in Warsaw's Old Town. His unit was one of the last to retreat through the capital's sewers. During the battle for the Old Town he wrote poems that circulated in oral versions among the soldiers fighting in the Warsaw Uprising. They were first published only many years later. Following the evacuation of the Old Town, he was involved in the defence of the Powiśle district and then in battles in the north of the central Śródmieście district. He received the War Order of Virtuti Militari (Virtuti Militari) – V class. Following the collapse of the uprising, he was captured and imprisoned at Stalag XI-B Fallingbostel and then Blankenburg, escaping in December 1944. He was captured by German police and imprisoned in Dresden before being moved to Stalag IV-B Mühlberg. Following the liberation of Germany in May 1945, he reached Italy via France and joined the II Polish Corps of the Polish Armed Forces in the West, which was evacuated to Great Britain in 1946. Following demobilization in 1947, he decided to remain an émigré. He wrote poetry and in 1950, after a long break, published the poem Ośmiornica (Octopus) in the London weekly "Życie" (no. 42). He continued to publish in this periodical until 1952. He also published poetry in "Wiadomości" (London, 1951-59, 1964, 1969 and 1973). Together with his family, he moved to the United States in 1951 and settled permanently in Chicago. He initially found work in a steel mill while also working as a journalist, contributing comment pieces to the local Polish radio station, among other outlets. After some time, he was given a post at the daily "Dziennik Chicagoski”, where he published columns and opinion pieces. He remained active as a poet, publishing in "Ogniwo" (New York, 1959) and "Merkuriusz Polski" (London, 1961). He also translated British and American poetry into Polish. From 1971, he was co-editor and publisher of the weekly "Polonia" where he published his poems and prose pieces until 1976. He was a journalist with "Dziennik Związkowy" for seven years, publishing, among other things, the regular column Kolce na kaktusie (Cactus spines). He actively promoted Polish culture in Chicago, organizing, among other things, a series of "live literary diaries" (żywe dzienniki literackie). He also co-founded the Chicago branch of the Polish Home Army Veteran's Association (Koło Byłych Żołnierzy AK) and the Friends of Warsaw Club (Klub Przyjaciół Warszawy), while also founding the Chicago branch of the Committee for the Reconstruction of the Royal Castle in Warsaw (Komitet Odbudowy Zamku Królewskiego w Warszawie). In 1976, he was awarded the gold medal by the Grono Przyjaciół Poezji Polskiej (Association of Friends of Polish Poetry) in Detroit to mark the 200th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America and the Olympics in Montreal. He published his poetry in various periodicals, including "Na Antenie" (London, 1972), in supplements of the New York-based "Nowy Dziennik": "Tydzień Polski" (1976) and "Przegląd Polski" (1988 and 1994-95), as well as in "Gwiazda Polarna" (Stevens Point, intermittently between 1976 and 1994), "Pomost" (Chicago, 1982), "Listy do Polaków" (New Britain, 1980, 1982 and 1984), "Tatrzański Orzeł" (Passaic, 1982 and 1984) and "Głos Polski" (Toronto, 1986). The Government of the Republic of Poland in exile (Rząd RP na Uchodźstwie) awarded him the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (Krzyż Kawalerski Polonia Restituta) and the Warsaw Cross of the Home Army (Warszawski Krzyże Armii Krajowej).
In 1947, he married Władysława Wróblewska, a major of the Polish Armed Forces in the West (in the Women's Auxiliary Service of the II Polish Corps (Pomocnicza Wojskowa Służba Kobiet 2. Korpusu Polskiego). She later became a civil servant. He had a son, Krzysztof (b. 1948). Zbigniew Chałko died on 9 April 1994 in Chicago; his ashes were laid to rest in the family grave at the Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw on 3 August 1994.