Three years ago, after overcoming numerous challenges, he boarded a plane from Argentina to settle in Poland and become Polish. Although he had never been here before, the blood of his great-grandfather, Capt. Ryszard Białous, nom de guerre “Jerzy”, a hero of the Warsaw Uprising, would not let him forget. He brought with him to Poland what had once arrived in Patagonia with his remarkable ancestor in 1948 – unique archival materials documenting the postwar fate of Home Army (AK) soldiers. Meet Gustavo Gabriel Ferrari Ortiz – an Argentinian who chose to return to his roots and become Polish.
For Gustavo Gabriel Ferrari Ortiz, a native of Argentina and great-grandson of the heroic commander of Battalion Zośka, Ryszard Białous, August 1 holds a deeply personal meaning. The story of his grandfather, who settled in Argentina after World War II, has been cherished within Gustavo’s family for decades. Along with this memory, patriotic values and attachment to Poland – that distant country on a continent separated from South America by the Atlantic Ocean, which Argentinians used to describe as inhabited by people “with cold hearts,” as Ortiz recounts – were carefully preserved.
This is why, nearly three years ago, Gustavo made an extraordinarily bold decision: he left Argentinian Patagonia to live in Poland and reclaim “his” history. “I need to understand my roots,” he explains.
The memory of the uprising is still alive
Today, he is a Polish citizen. August 1 will undoubtedly be an extraordinary experience for him – not only on a patriotic level, but also a personal one. His great-grandfather had a strong desire for the memory of Poland and the Polish language to survive among his Spanish-speaking descendants despite the passing years. For the then-youngest Gustavo, Ryszard Białous left something special: cassette tapes recorded in Polish, in which he described the world around him in his native language. It was important to him that his great-grandson knew his mother tongue.
“Tomorrow, I especially want to be at the Old Town Market Square to witness how Varsovians commemorate the ‘W’ Hour, standing motionless. I also plan to visit the cemetery to see the graves of the insurgents – and, of course, my grandfather’s,” Ortiz says today in Polish.
Gustavo remembers little from the moments he spent with his heroic great-grandfather. When Ryszard died, his great-grandson was only four years old. The ashes of the hero were brought to Poland in 2019 and buried at Warsaw’s Powązki Cemetery. It was the captain’s (posthumously promoted to colonel) own wish to be laid to rest alongside other members of Zośka.
“For three years now, I’ve been intensively researching my roots. I speak Polish more fluently now, though I’m still learning. I want to find out as much as I can about what my grandfather, Ryszard Białous, did here in Poland. I also want to explore the life of my grandmother, Krystyna Białous,” Gustavo reveals.
The return of Ryszard Białous’s descendant to Poland was met with great enthusiasm by communities actively preserving the memory of Warsaw Uprising heroes. Among them was Gen. Wiesław Kukuła, now Chief of the General Staff, whose major achievement was the creation of a well-functioning Territorial Defence Force (WOT). It was he who suggested to Gustavo that perhaps the time had come for history to come full circle – and for him to put on a Polish uniform?
Back in 2022, it was just a friendly suggestion. But three years later, when asked about it, Ortiz brightens.
“Professionally – probably not, although I did check the physical requirements for my own curiosity. Still, I think serving in the WOT could bring me much closer to my heritage. The idea keeps coming back to me. I think it’s all still ahead of me,” he says with a smile.
From Argentina to Poland
Gustavo arrived in the homeland of Battalion Zośka‘s commander in 2022. He introduced himself to Poland in the best way possible – by donating the correspondence of his brave great-grandfather, which shed light on the postwar fate of Ryszard Białous and other Zośka fighters, to the Central Archives of Modern Records (AAN).