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| The house that Edek built - and the secret suitcase kept inside | The house that Edek built - and the secret suitcase kept inside |
| (about 17 hours later) | |
| When Edward "Edek" Hartry and his wife Teresa designed and built their family home near Woking, they created a daringly modern building full of light. | When Edward "Edek" Hartry and his wife Teresa designed and built their family home near Woking, they created a daringly modern building full of light. |
| Their glass and timber home stood out among the red-brick Tudor revival architecture of stockbroker Surrey - simple, open-plan and translucent. | Their glass and timber home stood out among the red-brick Tudor revival architecture of stockbroker Surrey - simple, open-plan and translucent. |
| It was the 1950s. Young architects were in the vanguard of imagining a new, post-War Britain. | It was the 1950s. Young architects were in the vanguard of imagining a new, post-War Britain. |
| The Hartrys though had more reason than most to believe that life could no longer rely upon old blueprints. | The Hartrys though had more reason than most to believe that life could no longer rely upon old blueprints. |
| They were both Polish by birth, making futures as naturalised British citizens after a war that had made a graveyard of their country. | They were both Polish by birth, making futures as naturalised British citizens after a war that had made a graveyard of their country. |
| Edward, known always as Edek, spoke perfect English. He didn't talk much about the past, but that was not remarkable in that time and place. | Edward, known always as Edek, spoke perfect English. He didn't talk much about the past, but that was not remarkable in that time and place. |
| He was busy with life, his children, his job, his sports cars. | He was busy with life, his children, his job, his sports cars. |
| Edek's suitcase | Edek's suitcase |
| Edward died in 1967, Teresa in 2002. | Edward died in 1967, Teresa in 2002. |
| It was not until then that their daughter Krystyna found a small suitcase full of papers that revealed her father, his story and his art. | It was not until then that their daughter Krystyna found a small suitcase full of papers that revealed her father, his story and his art. |
| Edward Hartry was born Edward Henrik Herzbaum in 1920, son of a Polish Jewish family then living in Vienna. | Edward Hartry was born Edward Henrik Herzbaum in 1920, son of a Polish Jewish family then living in Vienna. |
| The Herzbaums moved back to Poland in the 1930s and settled in Lodz, where Edward enrolled as an architecture student. | The Herzbaums moved back to Poland in the 1930s and settled in Lodz, where Edward enrolled as an architecture student. |
| He was 19 when Nazi Germany and Stalin's Soviet Union launched almost simultaneous invasions and tore up Poland between them, in 1939. | He was 19 when Nazi Germany and Stalin's Soviet Union launched almost simultaneous invasions and tore up Poland between them, in 1939. |
| Edward's mother feared for her only child and sent him eastwards to hide in the city of Lvov. | Edward's mother feared for her only child and sent him eastwards to hide in the city of Lvov. |
| Agents from the NKVD - the Soviet secret police - caught Edward in June 1940. | Agents from the NKVD - the Soviet secret police - caught Edward in June 1940. |
| He was one of more than a million Polish men, women and children forced into cattle trains and deported in order to obliterate the Polish state. | He was one of more than a million Polish men, women and children forced into cattle trains and deported in order to obliterate the Polish state. |
| Quickly and secretly, the NKVD murdered 20,000 Polish officers, scholars and other figures of standing - burying them in the forests of Katyn. | Quickly and secretly, the NKVD murdered 20,000 Polish officers, scholars and other figures of standing - burying them in the forests of Katyn. |
| But most people were despatched to labour camps and prisons - mainly in the most remote parts of the Soviet Union. | But most people were despatched to labour camps and prisons - mainly in the most remote parts of the Soviet Union. |
| Edward was sent to the Volga River, where he laboured as a logger and at a hydro-electric plant. | Edward was sent to the Volga River, where he laboured as a logger and at a hydro-electric plant. |
| Edek's long journey | Edek's long journey |
| His diary reveals grotesque brutality, starvation and torture as routine. | His diary reveals grotesque brutality, starvation and torture as routine. |
| It was impossible for him to draw at the time. Edward's pen and ink studies of this desperate period come from memory. | It was impossible for him to draw at the time. Edward's pen and ink studies of this desperate period come from memory. |
| When Germany stormed into the Soviet Union in June 1941, Stalin released the surviving Poles - who were now allies. | When Germany stormed into the Soviet Union in June 1941, Stalin released the surviving Poles - who were now allies. |
| Edward made his way thousands of kilometres south into Central Asia to join a mass of weak and starved men, women and teenagers. | Edward made his way thousands of kilometres south into Central Asia to join a mass of weak and starved men, women and teenagers. |
| They became a Polish army in exile, led by Gen Wladyslaw Anders. | |
| "I've managed to buy a sketch book and some paints and I am making some sketches of the mountains," Edward wrote, bowled over by the colours, the heat and the landscape. | "I've managed to buy a sketch book and some paints and I am making some sketches of the mountains," Edward wrote, bowled over by the colours, the heat and the landscape. |
| "The paints are not very good, the sketch book is made from terrible paper, so the sketches are even worse, but maybe someday I will be able to do some work based on them." | "The paints are not very good, the sketch book is made from terrible paper, so the sketches are even worse, but maybe someday I will be able to do some work based on them." |
| The Anders army sailed across the Caspian Sea out of the USSR to Iran, and from there served in Palestine, Iraq and Egypt alongside British forces through 1942 and 1943. | |
| Iraq dazzled Edward. | Iraq dazzled Edward. |
| "Here I would probably not use paints but would switch to ink. Such bright contrasts are better rendered by graphics. | "Here I would probably not use paints but would switch to ink. Such bright contrasts are better rendered by graphics. |
| "I have never before seen red, orange or purple mountains and I have seen so many green, yellow and brown skies," wrote Edward in Palestine. | "I have never before seen red, orange or purple mountains and I have seen so many green, yellow and brown skies," wrote Edward in Palestine. |
| In 1944, the Anders army was deployed to Italy, where it would fight the battle of its life, at Monte Cassino, the hill-top monastery that guarded the way to Rome. | In 1944, the Anders army was deployed to Italy, where it would fight the battle of its life, at Monte Cassino, the hill-top monastery that guarded the way to Rome. |
| Allied armies of many lands had already mounted three bloody assaults on Cassino and dropped thousands of tonnes of bombs. | Allied armies of many lands had already mounted three bloody assaults on Cassino and dropped thousands of tonnes of bombs. |
| On 12 May 1944, the Poles and other Allied armies finally drove the Germans out. | On 12 May 1944, the Poles and other Allied armies finally drove the Germans out. |
| The road to Rome was open. The Polish flag flew from the monastery. The hillside was littered with the dead. | The road to Rome was open. The Polish flag flew from the monastery. The hillside was littered with the dead. |
| "Crushed stone, stumps of trees, shattered ammunition cases, helmets shot through, bloody bandages," Edward wrote. | "Crushed stone, stumps of trees, shattered ammunition cases, helmets shot through, bloody bandages," Edward wrote. |
| "Bomb craters into which a two-storey building would fit, burnt-out tanks and pieces of artillery with barrels twisted like pasta." | "Bomb craters into which a two-storey building would fit, burnt-out tanks and pieces of artillery with barrels twisted like pasta." |
| "All these things create an image which is more theatrical and concentrated than in any movie or painting." | "All these things create an image which is more theatrical and concentrated than in any movie or painting." |
| Edward's sketchbooks became filled with intimate drawings of his comrades as the War drew to a close. | Edward's sketchbooks became filled with intimate drawings of his comrades as the War drew to a close. |
| These would be the last few months the soldiers of the Anders army would spend together. | These would be the last few months the soldiers of the Anders army would spend together. |
| The Poland they knew was destroyed, many families were dead or missing. | The Poland they knew was destroyed, many families were dead or missing. |
| It was in Italy that Edward heard of the death of his mother in the Lodz ghetto, sometime in 1940-41. | It was in Italy that Edward heard of the death of his mother in the Lodz ghetto, sometime in 1940-41. |
| Edward stayed on in Rome studying architecture until he moved on to the UK in 1946, along with tens of thousands of demobbed servicemen and women. | Edward stayed on in Rome studying architecture until he moved on to the UK in 1946, along with tens of thousands of demobbed servicemen and women. |
| He took his degree and worked rebuilding bomb-damaged London for the Greater London Council and elsewhere. | He took his degree and worked rebuilding bomb-damaged London for the Greater London Council and elsewhere. |
| Herzbaum became Hartry, and a bundle of drawings disappeared into a brown suitcase. | Herzbaum became Hartry, and a bundle of drawings disappeared into a brown suitcase. |
| His modern light-filled new home in the London commuter belt was a fresh start - a new design for living. | His modern light-filled new home in the London commuter belt was a fresh start - a new design for living. |
| Edward Herzbaum/Hartry was one of a generation of Polish-British emigres who cheated death not once but many times. | Edward Herzbaum/Hartry was one of a generation of Polish-British emigres who cheated death not once but many times. |
| All of those who survive are now in, or approaching, their 90s. | All of those who survive are now in, or approaching, their 90s. |
| Architects and engineers, musicians and teachers, many were instrumental in building modern Britain. | Architects and engineers, musicians and teachers, many were instrumental in building modern Britain. |
| All carried deep personal losses and appalling stories of endurance, often kept secret for decades. | All carried deep personal losses and appalling stories of endurance, often kept secret for decades. |
| Find out more | Find out more |
| Read Edward Herzbaum's diary here. | Read Edward Herzbaum's diary here. |
| Listen to The Odyssey of Gen Anders' Army on the BBC iPlayer - from BBC World Service. | Listen to The Odyssey of Gen Anders' Army on the BBC iPlayer - from BBC World Service. |
| Join the conversation - find us on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter. | Join the conversation - find us on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter. |
| All images subject to copyright. | All images subject to copyright. |