Home / War and Conflict / 101-Year-Old Escaped Nazi Captivity, Worked on Hitler's Bunker
101-Year-Old Escaped Nazi Captivity, Worked on Hitler's Bunker
8 Nov
Summary
- A 101-year-old survived Nazi forced labor and escaped to the UK.
- He worked on the construction of Hitler's infamous Führerbunker.
- He settled in Oxfordshire after WWII, finding refuge in England.
Ches Black, a 101-year-old centenarian, recounted his extraordinary life of survival and resilience, beginning with his capture by German forces in Warsaw in 1939. As a teenager, he was taken from his home and subjected to forced labor in Nazi Germany. During this time, he was involved in the construction of an underground network beneath Berlin's Old Reich Chancellery, which would become Adolf Hitler's Führerbunker.
Black later escaped his captors while posted in Italy, a harrowing journey that involved days without food or water. He was found by Italian partisans and eventually made his way to British troops, who facilitated his escape from the country. Arriving in the UK, he joined the Polish Second Corps and fought alongside the British.
Following the war's end, the Soviet occupation of Poland made returning home impossible for Black and many other Polish soldiers. Seeking a new beginning, he settled in refugee camps in south Oxfordshire. He found work and eventually settled permanently in the region, near Checkendon, where a blue plaque now commemorates the Polish Second Corps members.
Reflecting on his experiences, Black emphasized the comradeship forged in war and expressed gratitude for his survival, viewing England as a 'promised land.' He is part of a dwindling generation of WWII veterans, cherishing his continued life and new beginnings.
