During her involvement in World War One, Imperial Russia had sent many Central Power prisoners of war to Siberia.  Among these was the Polish philologist and Austro-Hungarian army officer Roman Dyboski (1883-1945).  We see here the original front cover of Dyboski’s memoir, Seven years in Russia and Siberia (1915-1921) : adventures and impressions.  The adventures were indeed plentiful.  Captured in late 1914, Dyboski was freed after the October Revolution.  Later imprisoned again by US forces, he was next freed when Japanese troops took over the camp; he then joined the Polish 5th Rifle Division formed in Siberia to fight the Red Army.  Imprisoned next by Bolsheviks, Dyboski escaped and then – in an extraordinary twist – worked as a Soviet official under an assumed name.  He would serve yet more prison time before his full release.

According to Anna Staniewska’s obituary for Dyboski, he coped with his Russian adventures by “preparing an excellent booklet on Rhythm and Cadence in Shakespeare’s Dramatic Art”.

Siedem lat w Rosji i na Syberji (1915-1921) / Roman Dybowski (1922)  586:8.d.90.49.  An English translation stands at 586:8.c.95.129