Bronisław Zbigniew Bulkowski papers

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum 

Bronisław Zbigniew Bulkowski (later Bruce, 1920-1996) was born in Ostrowiec, Poland to Wladyslaw Bulkowski and Zofia Noach and was raised Roman Catholic. Bronisław had seven siblings; Zdzisław (Wies d. 1997), Adam, Janek (d. 1999), Helena, Jadwiza, Antonia, and Irena. Bronisław was conscripted as a forced laborer to the German National Railway Authorities (Deutsche Reichsbahn) in Altena, Germany between 1942 and 1945. After the war, he worked as a displaced person in the Kassel and Grohn DP camps in Germany for the United States Army. Bronisław married Wanda and had four sons; David (b. 1954), Richard (b. 1955), Thomas (b. 1957), and James. 

Bronisław Zbigniew Bulkowski papers 

folders oversize box 6 1 

The Bronisław Zbigniew Bulkowski papers consist of biographical material, correspondence, a diary, photographs, and documents relating to the experiences of Bronisław Bulkowski, a Roman Catholic man, as a forced laborer for the German National Railway Authorities (Deutsche Reichsbahn) in Altena, Germany between 1942 and 1945. The collection also includes documents and photographs relating to his post-war experiences as a displaced person working for the United States Army in the Kassel and Grohn DP camps in Germany. Biographical material includes an original and a copy of Bronisław’s report card from 1938, his school ID, a certificate to certify that Bronisław attended a class in Americanization, and a certificate of literacy from the University of the State of New York. Correspondence includes letters from Helena through the Red Cross regarding the health of their family, post-war letters written to Bronisław and Bruce from family members, and letters written to Wanda Bulkowski after her husband’s death. The diary was kept by Bronisław from January 31, 1942 to May 11, 1946. In the diary Bronisław writes about other forced laborers and the abuse they endured, provides descriptions of digging a tunnel, working all night, the lack of food, and overpriced bread, and describes accidents that injured and killed other laborers. Displaced persons camps material includes identification cards, discharge paperwork, certificates of screening, and certificates of good conduct relating to Bronisław’s work as a displaced person for the United States Army at the Kassel DP camp and well as a copy of Bronisław’s identification card and certificates of work from the International Refugee Organization. The collection also contains a wartime log which includes a forced labor patch, sketches and drawings, photographs, and entries, dated 1948. 

The Bronisław Zbigniew Bulkowski papers are arranged as a single series.