Polski bohater i pionier przemysłu petrochemicznego w Albercie

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Polish Second World War hero and Alberta propane pioneer’s life honoured

By Bill Kaufmann ,Calgary Sun

First posted: Monday, March 24, 2014 08:43 PM MDT | Updated: Monday, March 24, 2014 08:59 PM MDT 

Harald Krusche (photo provided)

He was a Polish patriot and foe of the Nazis and Soviets who became a crucial pioneer in Alberta’s petrochemical industry.
That life was celebrated last Friday on what would have been Harald Krusche’s 105th birthday by nearly 200 people who gathered at Calgary’s Glencoe Club after his death in January.
His daughter Anna described how her cavalry officer father helped resist Hitler’s invasion of Poland that started the Second World War in Europe.
“He was in charge of 120 horses [s/b ~120 men 400 horses A.K.]... he took down an artillery piece,” said Anna.
Harald, she said, was with Poland’s top general when word came the Soviets had also invaded his homeland, setting the stage for years of flight and exile from both the Nazis and Communists.
Unable to escape the German conquerors, he spent most of the war in a Third Reich prison camp, organizing attempted escapes that kept his captors busy, said son Jack Krusche.
“It was their job to keep the Germans occupied, to keep their soldiers from the front,” he said.
When his father escaped captivity as the Soviet Army approached, he eventually made his way to Denmark, where he and friends executed a daring escape by small boat to neutral Sweden, under Gestapo noses.
At one point, the men wore stolen German uniforms supplied by the Danish underground to mingle with unsuspecting Gestapo men, said Jack.
He came back to mainland Europe to assist the Red Cross in aiding survivors of the Bergen Belsen concentration camp.
Unable to return to his native Poland under Communist control, Krusche made his way to Alberta, where he brought into production the first propane plant in Canada, at Turner Valley just south of Calgary.
He was even instrumental in making arena ice cleaners healthier to operate around indoor crowds, said his son.
“He came to Canada in 1949 with nothing and made a very interesting life,” said Jack.
“He always said this was the best place to be.”

link to this article

Ella Rysz Interview with HVK 2009 for Ploty.com

Harald Krusche - odszedł z tego świata miesiąc temu - miesiąc przed swoimi 105 urodzinami. Miałam okazję poznać go dopiero  w jego 100 urodziny - wtedy powstał pomysł nagrania rozmowy.  21 marca Harald skończyłby 105 lat  - z tej okazji prezentujemy fragment rozmowy ze stuletnim  w tym czasie Haraldem, człowiekiem ciekawym świata, którego niezmiennym pytaniem zadawanym dziecinom i dorosłym było: "No i czego  dzień dzisiejszy Cię nauczył?"
See more of Ella's excellent work on the Polish community news page in Calgary called Ploty.com

You are cordially invited to share reminiscences and a piece of  birthday cake on Friday, March 21, 2014, at 5pm at the Glencoe Club 636 29 Ave SW, Calgary,  243 2506.

 

Dnia 27 stycznia, 2014, zmarł przeżywszy prawie 105 lat,

nasz ukochany  mąż, Tata, Dziadzio, i wujek,

Ś.P.

Harald Wiktor Krusche

maj. rezerwy kawalerii WP, Woldenberczyk, Helańczyk, inż. chemik.

Został pochowany w ukochanych górach, 5 lutego, 2014, w blasku słońca,

 w ostrym mrozie -34' c., na cmentarzu Canmore w Kanadzie.

KRUSCHE, Harald Wiktor

March 21, 1909 - Lodz, Poland - January 27, 2014 - Black Diamond

     Major of the Polish Cavalry,

     Chemical Engineer Pioneer

With deep sorrow we announce the passing of the dear husband of Madelaine Suska, 

and our father, grandfather and uncle:

Anna Krusche, Nessa and Olenka Forde;

Jack and Agnieszka Krusche, Natalka, Konrad and Filip;

Andrew, Richard, and Julie Oko.

During WWII while Poland was regrouping in her fight against the Germans, Russia invaded from the East. Harald was taken POW to the German Oflag IIC Woldenberg.  He escaped  during the Soviet "liberation" of the camp, heading west  to join General Maczek.  With the help of the Danish underground, he rowed across the Baltic to Sweden from where he finally rejoined the Polish Forces in Scotland. At war's end he finished his MSc. in Chemical Engineering at Imperial College. Because of the forced Russian communist regime in Poland he decided to immigrate to Canada, sponsored by the Dorosz family of engineers out of  Regina. As a chemical engineering pioneer he brought into production the first propane plant in Canada,(Turner Valley.)  He was one of the original engineers who built the Celanese petrochemical plant in Edmonton where he worked for many years.  He then introduced the practice of environmental engineering through his work with the City of Edmonton, the Chemical Institute of Canada, and the Environmental  Conservation Authority - which was the first and probably last citizens' advisory board to propose effective environmental legislation in Alberta. He was an early member of the Alberta Wilderness Association, the Committee for an Independent Canada, Alberta Hostelling, The Polish Academic Club in Edmonton,  and the Turner Valley Ski Club. After his retirement he built Bachmat, a 42' ocean-going sloop, and a little house in Hilo, Hawaii, where he wrote his memoirs. He loved motors: racing motorcycles before the War, and repairing and tinkering all manner of vehicles, until his last days. In his spare time, he dabbled in astrophysics - in awe of the universe and its infinite beauty.
In lieu of flowers - perhaps read an article on astrophysics or moose behaviour.

Memorial to be held on his 105th Birthday, March 21, 5pm at the Glencoe Club, Calgary.

see the lovely MESSAGES that people left at legacy.com

R.I.P

 We announce with deep sorrow, that our dear husband, father, grandfather, and uncle

Harald Krusche

Chemical Engineer, Major of the Polish Cavalry

Passed away on January 27, 2014,
 at the age of 104.

 Madelaine Suska,
 Anna Krusche, Nessa and Olenka Forde,

Jack and Agnieszka Krusche, Natalka, Konrad and Filip,

Andrzej, Ryszard, and Julie Oko

Obituary and Memorial to follow;

please check here or www.Krusche.com

Gim. J. Sniadeckiego w Pabianicach Klasa VI 1926

Polish Declarations of Admiration and Friendship for the United States
Polska Deklaracja o Podziwie  i Przyjaźni dla Stanów Zjednoczonych 

 Click on image to enlarge.

Tadeusz Bagdach, Wiesław Bentkowski, Jan Bigoszewski, Juljan Dąbrowski, Karol Dąbrowski, Wincenty Dymarski, Bronisław Dzięcielski, Aleksy Fiedler, Zenon Gałdek, M. Góral, Walerjan Grottel, Bronisław Hans, Jan Jakubowski, Alexy Kaczmarek, M. Kasperkiewicz, Antoni Klemżyński,  Lucjan Kneblewski, Harald Krusze, J. Kryszczyński, Eugeniusz Liess,  Ludwisiak, J. Malinowski, Stanisław Miłek, Niedzielski, L. Nowakowski, M Rychter, A Siwiński, Kazimierz Śmiałkowski, Dionizy Sosnowski, Mieczysław Staniak, Hieronim Strzelecki, Artur Treichel, Stanisław Tymieniecki,  J.Wdowiak. 

Merry Christmas

LUCAS WIRING BSA THREE WHEELER CARS 1936

POW Camp Oflag XIA Osterode

Katyn 70 years ago

IN MEMORIAM

Jan Krusche

Born May 20, 1899, in  Zgierz, Poland.
Murdered in the Spring of 1940 in Katyn, USSR

  along with some 20,000 other Polish Officers

who were all  POWs.

Lawyer

Cavalry Reserve Officer

Son Husband and Father

Za naszą wolność i waszą                     For your freedom and ours

Remembering 70 Years Ago

Andrzej Szczerba; Stanislaw Sobański, Władysław Świątkowski, Leon Epsztein, Ludwik Wielowieyski; Leonard Grabowski, Ludwik Rytel

Here are some pictures taken in the German POW camps Stalag IX-A at Ziegenhain and  Oflag XI A  Osterode,   holding camps before the completion of  Woldenberg Oflag II C.  My father was in a barrack comprised mainly of Polish Cavalry Officers.
In the group photo: Left to right: Back row: Harald Krusche, Andrzej Szczerba; Middle Row: Stanisław Sobański, Władysław Świątkowski, Leonek Epsztein, Ludwik Wielowieyski; Bottom Row: Leonard Grabowski, Ludwik Rytel.
In the woodcut Harald Krusche is the one reading a book. He had a good collection of technical books and several manuscripts which were all lost when the camp was uprooted and forced to move at the end of the war.

THANK YOU

Thank you to all who came to Harald's party,
and to all who made it a most wonderful celebration to be remembered for a long time.

Thank you to all who sent messages from far and wide.

Especially, A GREAT BIG THANK YOU to all who helped organize the party:
Maj. Richard Westbury,
Marysia Skarzyńska.

Thank you to our friends who
Danced, Dressed Up, Wrote Speeches and Letters, Made Music, Art, and Poetry.
Col. Moffat, Piper
Naomi Lewis, Artist
Polanie, Polish Dancers
Marjory Stakenis, Celtic Harp
James Hedin, Bass
Marek Lachowski, Accordion
Karola Skowrońska, Polish Cavalry Foundation
Larry Nelson
Talcik
Konradek
Oli
Andy Oko

Thank you to all the movie makers!
Ella Rysz
David Sweeney
Franka

Thank you to our friends who helped us find each other
Marysia Wyszyńska,
Kim Nelson

Alexander Bak
Jacek Lowiński in Warszawa

Thank you to Kathleen Higgins for the flowers at 6am.
Thank you to Annette for errands, candles, cakes and such.

Thank you to those who came from far away:
Rysio , all the way from Kingston after having just come back from India.
Mackin, from Vancouver
Naomi, from Nelson
Julie and Ron, Danek and Malgosia from Edmonton

and the Heydlauff's, David and Ralph, the Mains, Janet, Wendy and Mac, Stuart and Irene McDowall, Peter and Judy Haase, Sondra Corff,
all ranchers who had to make it back home in a blizzard....without the benefit of the Glencoe Club's most excellent but fugitive coffee.

Polanie Polonaise

Invitation

Announcing

A party reminiscent of the Edwardian youth of

Harald Wiktor Krusche

Born March 21^st, 1909

To be held on Saturday, March 21^st, 2009

At 7.30 pm, after dinner

In the Glencoe Club Ballroom 636 29 Ave SW Calgary

RSVP to Anna Krusche

Prosimy tu napisać życzenia urodzinowe dla Haralda

Życzenia dla Pana Haralda... i pytania: Proszę naciskać na COMMENTS poniżej: życzenia

Harald Krusche Biography: much abbreviated

Harald Wiktor (Harold Victor) Krusche, the son of Edward and Wanda nee Hadrian, was born March 21, 1909, in Lodz, Poland. He grew up in Pabianice, which for generations had been the seat of the family textile industry and whose markets reached around the world. Before the Second World War, Pabianice was a vibrant, multiethnic, and cosmopolitan town known for its practiced wit and repartee. Krusche uncles were famous for staging practical jokes on a grand scale. After the war, its population was cut in half, its factories ruined or sovietised, its élan lost forever.

Of a mixed line of Huguenots and Polish gentry, his parents exemplified the Polish ideals of patriotism, democracy, and egalitarianism. His father, uncles, aunts, and cousins, held advanced technical degrees and owned or directed their own businesses and factories, including one of the largest cotton mills in the Russian Empire. His father was a graduate of Switzerland's famous technical institute, Winterthur. He specialized in dye chemistry and had his own factory. He also loved to play the piano. His mother was a graduate of Letteverein, then at the forefront of European feminist education. She was also a brilliant pianist who even played duets with Paderewski. At one time she helped raise money to send a local boy, Arturek Rubenstein, to Vienna. Not surprisingly then, Edward and Wanda fell in love playing music together … When Edward died prematurely in 1925, Wanda was heartbroken and never really recovered from her loss. Harald was only 16 at the time and his little sister, Nora, was only 13. During the war Nora was a courier for AK, the Polish underground; as well she was part of an underground co-op that grew food for the city of Warsaw. She became the first professor of horticultural economics in Poland and was awarded the honour of Polonia Restituta.

In Pabianice Harald attended a unique public school which was funded by the local industrialists to provide the best possible education for the town's children. Along with its own museum, gallery, and library, it had amazing state of the art laboratories where each student had a personal x-ray machine, vacuum pump, generator, etc… equipment not available even at the universities. In his wanderings after school, he spent a lot of time learning from the many master machinists and other specialists in the town. He played all kinds of sports and developed a lifelong love of nature.

After high school he went to the Cavalry Cadet School in Grudziadz where he excelled in the 20 event bojowka. Upon graduation he was assigned to the 4^th Rifle Cavalry Regiment with which he trained in the summers, touring much of the Polish countryside on horseback, learning much about the country's socio-economic conditions. Later he was transferred to the 14^th Ulan Regiment in Lwow.

In 1930 he enrolled in the Gdansk Polytechnic. He was a member of various student organizations. By 1933 Hitler's influence made it increasingly difficult for Polish students to carry on. As a result Harald and two friends transferred to the Lwow Polytechnic. In the interim summer they worked as co-op students in the Rumanian oil industry. In Lwow he met and married Janina Wierzynska.

WWII

Harald Krusche was mobilized on March 23, 1939, and assigned the 945 Supply Column of the 27^th Ulan Regiment in General Anders Nowograd Cavalry Brigade. The story of its battles and retreat is well documented. HWK was at a crowded meeting with Anders when a courier crashed in, shouting that the Bolsheviks had crossed the border. Stunned silence filled the room. Then speculation. Perhaps thought some they are coming to help us. Then two hours later, another courier came in and whispered in the General's ear. They were being shot at.

After the dissolution of the brigade on September 27, HWK headed for his cousin's house in Kielce where he joined his sister, aunts, and many cousins all working for the Red Cross. He also put on the Red Cross Arm band and drove around the countryside looking for provisions for its hospital. Then one day, the Germans posted signs ordering all Polish officers to report for identity cards or be shot. Harald met an old friend, Ludwik Wielowieyski, and for 2 days they vacillated. As it turned out, it was a one way trip. So began 5 years of captivity.

Harald has hours of stories from this era that could fill a book. Some are wonderful examples how his quick sense of humour unarmed many an explosive situation. Others are alarming narrow escapes. Others show sheer determination. There is the story of how Harald, having escaped POW camp, and after many hair-raising adventures, made it to the Danish coast from where he rowed to Sweden. He arrived at the Polish Embassy just in time for a formal dinner. Years of forgotten graces returned in an instant. In Sweden he worked for the Red Cross until he was delegated by the Polish Government, the Polish Red Cross, and the Swedish Red Cross to help evacuate Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp. When the Polish Embassy in Sweden was usurped by the Soviet regime he was re-mobilized and flown to Dundee to instruct at a training center. It wasn't till later, while studying for his Master's in Chemical Engineering at Imperial College, that he found out that his wife had been killed in the Warsaw Uprising. He decided to emigrate, sponsored by the Dorosz family of engineers in Regina where he was demobilized in 1949.

CANADA

First impressions of Canada: a fishy smelling harbour; more bananas than one can eat; friends urging him to stay in Montreal; harvest time on the prairies – finally the Rockies - Alberta the land of his dreams. HVK came here by no accident. In POW camp it became obvious that a return to Poland would be impossible. Alternatives had to be figured out. He picked Alberta then, based on its growing petroleum economy, its mountains, marshlands, and forests. To this end he had written a petroleum related thesis, and had researched the industrial potential of the Prairie Provinces.

Once in Calgary he managed, with the help of Mr. Oberholtzer, the Deputy Minister of Industry, to get hired to turn around the Turner Valley Propane Plant. This pilot project was the first petrochemical plant in Canada, and the only propane plant in NW North America. HVK's many fascinating innovations there have been published by the Turner Valley Historical Society.

In 1951 he married Madelaine Suska, a geologist, whom he had first met while still in Sweden. Together they had many adventures and raised two children.

From Turner Valley, HVK went on in 1952 to an even more challenging pilot venture, the construction of the Celanese plant outside of Edmonton. A year was spent with a group of engineers studying the prototype; another making plans, writing manuals, hiring staff; then excavations, building, installing, and testing. It was an exhilarating and singular time in an engineer's career to be part of such a venture. HVK worked there many years, developing his division, proposing many valuable processes some of which were patented and sold. By the late sixties he was head of production for the whole plant.

In 1968, HVK joined the City of Edmonton as its first Pollution Control Engineer. The word environmental engineer had not yet been coined. Much of the work entailed public education- He was a regular guest on the Tommy Banks Show and was interviewed both by Peter Gzowski and Barbara Frum. He introduced the very first anti-noise bylaws in Canada and worked on committees to shape other environmental laws, e.g. the Chemical Institute of Canada. He was an early member of The Committee for an Independent Canada and The Alberta Wilderness Association. He was a founding member of the Environment Conservation Authority which was probably the first and only citizen's advisory board to be able to propose truly effective environmental legislation in Alberta. It's members included the archeologist, Dick Forbis, and pioneerinig ecologist, PK Anderson.

After his retirement he built a 42' Cascade sloop from the bare hull. Christened the "Bachmat," it is now moored at the San Diego Yacht Club. He also built a little house in Hilo, Hawaii where he wrote his memoirs. He has friends in cafes all over... from the Turner Valley Inn, to Ken's House of Pancakes in Hilo, to Jalisco Cafe in Imperial Beach CA. In his spare time, he dabbles in astrophysics – full of awe for universe and its infinite beauty.

Saluting 50 Years.

Publication: Canadian Chemical News

Date: Saturday, September 1 2001

In 2001, nine members of The Chemical Institute of Canada mark 50 years of consecutive membership (1951-2001). We are proud to print the personal profiles provided by eight of those members below.

Harald W. Krusche, MCIC was born in Lodz, Poland in 1909. He studied chemical engineering at Danzig (Gdansk) and Lwow before World War II, after which he received a master's degree from London's Imperial College. In the war, Krusche was a Polish cavalry officer who escaped a German POW camp by rowing from Denmark to Sweden to rejoin Polish forces in Great Britain. From there, he emigrated to Canada under the British Resettlement Plan.

Krusche helped pioneer the first Canadian propane plant at Turner Valley. In 1952, he joined Celanese in the building of its grassroots Edmonton plant as a superintendent of the secondary oxidation unit (acetaldehyde into acetic acid) and of the utility distillation unit (acetates, etc.). Highlights of Krusche's career with Celanese include his adaptation of an aldoling process directly from laboratory work into production units, and the invention and installation of a heating system to make possible the production of a heavy denier acetate filament for cigarette tow. In 1968, Krusche became the first pollution control engineer for the City of Edmonton, AB introducing the first decibel-based anti-noise bylaw. Many skating rinks in Canada and abroad were temporarily closed when the Big Zamboni was diagnosed as the cause of CO poisoning of skaters! He represented the CIC on the first Alberta advisory councils on pollution control. Now retired, he sails his 42' sloop, and advises his son, Jack, a chemical engineering consultant.

Wnuki Młodsze

Greetings and Questions for Harald

Please leave a birthday greeting as a comment below!

Starsze: dwie?

Krótki Życiorys Haralda

Choć urodził się w Lodzi, Harald Krusche wychował się w rodzinnym gronie Pabianickich przemysłowców otoczony ideami patriotyzmu polskiego, wspaniałego dowcipu i przedsiębiorczości. Kruschowie pochodzą z Południowej Francji z rodziny hugenockiej, a gdy na przełomie 19 wieku wyemigrowali do Polski z teren łużyckich, należeli do Braci Morawskich. Ojciec Haralda, Edward, był absolwentem szwajcarskiej politechniki w Winterthur, inżynierem chemikiem specjalistą od barwienia. Miał własną fabrykę chemiczną. Harald skończył Gimnazjum Jędrzeja Śniadeckiego w Pabianicach. Jedyna siostra, Nora, 1912-2004, (AK "Karin") została profesorem dr. hab. ogrodnictwa na SGGW w Warszawie (Polonia Restituta, 1973.) Podchorążówkę w Grudziądzu Harald ukończył w 1929/1930 roku. W 1932 otrzymał nominację na podporucznika. Był wtedy studentem Politechniki Gdańskiej na Wydziale Chemicznym. Na skutek działań hitlerowskich na Politechnice w Gdańsku przeniósł się z kilkoma kolegami na Politechnikę Lwowską. Tam ożenił się z Janiną Wierzyńską, mgr WSHZ, córką Hieronima, pisarza i publicysty i Marii d'Abancourt. Razem jeździli do Tatr na narty i pływali kajakiem na Polesiu. Należał wtedy do 14 Pułku Ułanów Jazłowieckich. W roku 1939, 23 marca, został zmobilizowany przy 27 Pułku Ulanów, jako dowódca kolumny taborowej na etacie majora.

Wojna zastała Haralda pod Sierpcem gdzie działał w sztabie dowódcy Nowogrodzkiej Brygady Kawalerii, generała Andersa do 27 września, kiedy jednostka została rozwiązana. Był świadkiem w majątku “Wiązowna” jak generał Anders dostał wiadomość 17 września o ataku Bolszewików. Resztę wojny przeżył w Oflagu IIC w Woldenbergu. Cały rozdział można napisać o tych przeżyciach - na przykład jak z dwoma kolegami, Andrzejem Szczerbą i majorem dypl. Feliksem Szymańskim, cichociemnym, dostali się do Szwecji, przepływając z Danii łódką wiosłową. W Szwecji został oddelegowany przez Ambasadę Polską i przez Czerwony Krzyż wraz z grupą lekarzy Szwedzkich do ewakuacji obozu Belsen Bergen. Ze Szwecji przedostaje się do Wojska Polskiego w Anglii, przydzielony do technicznej jednostki w Dundee, w Szkocji. Dostał zezwolenie z wojska na skończenie studiów na uniwersytecie w Londynie, w Imperial College, gdzie zrobił pracę dyplomową u profesora Turskiego z Politechniki Warszawskiej. Turskiemu złożył sprawozdanie o działaniach naukowych/technicznych Woldenbergu, gdzie na prośbę Kuropieski, Harald Krusche prowadził wykłady o przemyśle dla oficerów dyplomowanych. W Londynie dowiaduje się, że żona zginęła w Powstaniu Warszawskiem.

Decyduje się na emigrację do Kanady gdzie go kuszą Góry Skaliste, dzikie lasy, i nowe tereny naftowe. Przez 4 lata jest kierownikiem pierwszej w Kanadzie fabryki propanu. W roku 1951 ożenił się z Magdaleną Suską, geologiem, córką Juliana i Heleny z Grobickich. Wszyscy razem tworzą w nowym kraju rodzinę o polskiej tradycji i międzynarodowych poglądach. Sprawę Polski zawsze stawiają na pierwszym miejscu. Zostaje Harald zatrudniony przez amerykańską firmę, Celanese, do wybudowania nowej fabryki chemicznej koło Edmontonu. Tam wiele lat pracuje jako kierownik techniczny na rożnych szczeblach. Współpracuje z wydziałem Uniwersytetu Alberty inżynierii chemicznej. Zatrudnia jak mu się da, Polaków. W roku 1962, zaprasza Arkadego Fiedlera i Witolda Chromińskiego do ekspedycji geologicznej żony - Nakręca film tej historycznej wyprawy. W roku 1966, z ramienia Polonii, (Canadian Polish Academic Club) przygotował na uroczystość Stulecia Kanady w Jubilee Auditoreum wykład z przezroczami o Polonii w Kanadzie. W 1968 zostaje pierwszym kierownikiem ochrony środowiska na miasto Edmonton. Jest współzałożycielem "Environment Conservation Authority", pierwszej wszechstronnej organizacji ochrony środowiska w Albercie. Jest autorem lub co-autorem wiele praw chroniące środowisko.

Przechodzi na emeryturę w 1975 r. i buduje w stoczni w Portland, Oregon w Stanach Zjednoczonych, jacht pełnomorski, którego ochrzczono nazwą Bachmat. Żegluje na Pacyfiku. Buduje domek na Hawajach. Pisze pamiętnik. Uczestniczył w dwóch zjazdach kawalerii w Grudziądzu. Całe życie miłuje przyrodę, wszystkie sporty, muzykę, góry, samochody i mechanikę. Teraz bawi się w astrofizykę - rozważa istotne pytania wszechświata.