On Tuesday, March 10, Byron-Bergen Class of 1970 alumna Teresa Kowalczyk returned to her alma mater to share a piece of family history with 10th-grade Global Studies students. Kowalczyk recounted the story of her mother, Maria’s, experiences growing up in Poland during WWI and being removed to a Nazi labor camp during WWII. Her mother’s life is the subject of the recently printed biography Maria Filipowicz Kowalczyk: An Extraordinary Life, A Century of Memories, which T. Kowalczyk compiled from stories her mother told her throughout her life.
“This is one woman’s story of what happened to her as a result of WWII,” said T. Kowalczyk. “I hope the students get an idea of the history and then realize how exceptional each of their lives is.”
Maria Filipowicz was born in 1915. She lived with her parents and sister until she was forcibly removed to a Nazi labor camp in 1942. She never saw her hometown or family again. For three years, she worked long days sorting scalding hot coals and rocks until she was liberated by US soldiers in 1945. Unable to return to Poland, Maria eventually married and immigrated to the United States with her husband and two children, settling in Brockport in 1951. Maria and her husband moved to Bergen in 1953, where each of their seven children, including Teresa, graduated from the newly centralized Byron-Bergen High School. Maria remained in Bergen until her death in 2016 at the age of 100.
T. Kowalczyk’s considerable storytelling ability was augmented with a visual presentation including Nazi propaganda photos featuring her mother, immigration documents, and processing logs from Ellis Island.
“We are incredibly grateful to Ms. Kowalczyk for visiting our school,” said Jr./Sr. High School Assistant Principal Katie Grattan. “This was a unique opportunity for our students to see the local connection of a woman who lived most of her life in Bergen, but whose story began in WWI Poland and the amazing journey which brought her here.”
T. Kowalczyk earned her bachelor’s degree from LeMoyne College, worked as a Family Court Clerk in Washington, D.C., and earned her Law Degree from St. John’s University (1979). She was admitted to the Bar in New York State in 1980 and opened her own law practice in Warsaw, with a primary focus on representing children in Wyoming and Genesee Counties. She retired in December 2019 after a 40-year career. She was inducted into the Byron-Bergen Alumni Hall of Fame in 2020.
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