Polish resistance fighter retells story 37 years after first recounting at Post 20

Julian Kulski returned as a speaker to the NPC after 37 years Wednesday, Feb. 10, to recount his harrowing experiences as a teen in the Polish resistance army at an open meeting of the Club's American Legion Post 20.

Kulski, who was rescued in 1945 from a German POW camp by the U.S. Army, is a U.S. citizen and architect who recently authored a recounting of his wartime experiences in his book "The Color of Courage," a sequel to an earlier book on the same subject featured at an Club event 37 years ago. The earlier event was sponsored by the Polish embassy at a time when Poland was still under Soviet domination. Kulski noted that Polish official were upset when they saw that his first book featured on its cover the Polish White Eagle which the Soviets had banned as a symbol of Poland's independence.

Only 12 years old when he joined the resistance in Warsaw where his father served as mayor during German occupation, Kulski spent nine months in a POW camp with allied soldiers in Germany. The camp was deep inside what was to become the Russian zone of post-war Germany, but he said U.S. paratroopers dropped near the camp in the closing days of the war to negotiate passage of a convoy to liberate POWs from Western countries. Kulski had befriended two Polish-Americans at the camp and they hauled the then-ailing 15-year-old onto their Army rescue truck. He made his way to London, where is uncle was ambassador for the Polish government in exile.

Kulski has worked as an architect around the world and now serves on the Board of the Daniel Morgan Academy, a graduate school specializing in national security issues.

The speaker portions of Post 20 members are open to all NPC members and their guest.