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Pawel Wozniak Blog Entry |
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April 18, 2025, 12:00:19 AM 4/18/25: r/SketchDaily theme, "Free Draw Friday." This week's character from my anthro WWII storyline is Paul "Pawel" Wozniak. He's Karolin Bathelt's son, who Lt. Paul Wozniak adopts as his own when he marries her. (Karolin names him after him, though Wozniak calls him Pawel.) There'll be more about him later in my art Tumblr and Toyhou.se. Regarding his design, he's a young poodle. I'm kind of iffy on it as I rushed it a bit--he should maybe look younger--but figure it's good enough for now. TUMBLR EDIT: I haven't much to say of Pawel--his actual name is indeed Paul, like his adoptive father, yet I'm going to officially call him Pawel, as I believe Karolin changes his name after Wozniak's death for reasons I'll get into soon--as he's so young during the time he's in the main story, and he doesn't appear in Ultima Thule. Most of what needs to be known about him is in his mother's entry linked above. His age in this portrait must be from around the time Wozniak is killed, which is probably two or three years, something like that, after the war ends, so maybe 1947-8; Pawel is born during the war/main story arc (approximately 1940 or 1941-45), so he's quite young, between 3-8 (far likely closer to the latter). As a slight recap, Pawel is the result of a brief affair between Karolin Bathelt and an SS officer who has no interest in marrying her, and Karolin's family basically tells her she's on her own if she chooses to keep the baby (abortion is illegal), so she manages to get admitted into a Lebensborn maternity home; they'll provide all the prenatal care needed, deliver the baby, then put it up for adoption. 2nd Lt. Paul Wozniak ends up delivering the baby while attempting to rescue Karolin from the wreckage of the home when it's bombed. He then makes an offer she can't refuse: Marry him, and he'll adopt the child as his own so she won't have to relinquish him to strangers; all she has to do is pretend to be a good SS wife to provide him with cover, as Wozniak isn't interested in women. Although baby Paul (Karolin lies to her parents and presents Wozniak as the true father, naming the child after him) isn't his flesh and blood, Wozniak willingly steps up and plays the role of doting father. He and Karolin don't have a traditional marriage--they share the same bed, but never commit the act--yet in an odd way, they do fall in love with each other. Just that it's romantic, non-physical love only; while Karolin longs for more, Wozniak can't offer it, but aside from that they're believable as husband and wife. The family successfully flees the city as it's being taken by the Allies, and they disappear into the countryside. Little Paul spends his early childhood in a secluded woodland cabin, knowing Wozniak as his real father. Wozniak dies protecting Karolin and Pawel, though they're then forced to travel across the border into Poland, Wozniak's true homeland, to seek help from distant relatives of his. The meeting is rocky--Wozniak's cousin had previously disowned him as a traitor--yet they secure a proper burial for Wozniak in consecrated ground, and let Karolin and Pawel stay with them. As the ethnically German Karolin and Pawel are now effectively passing themselves off as Polish, and have forged papers to show it, Karolin renames Paul II as Pawel, the name by which her late husband lovingly referred to the boy. Pawel is what Wozniak's name would have been, if his own parents hadn't been so ashamed of their own true origins. So, Paul becomes Pawel. Karolin's and Pawel's side story ends around here, with Karolin taking the boy to visit Wozniak's grave and telling him his father died a hero, protecting them. There's surely more beyond that that I haven't explored as it's beyond the scope of the storyline, though there's potential. Pawel does eventually learn that Wozniak was not his biological father, and I imagine this would likely lead him to explore his true ancestry. This itself would inevitably lead, in turn, to him learning how complicated and troublesome his adoptive father's life was. Wozniak, although a member of two persecuted parties himself (Poles, and gays), is technically a bad guy, serving on the wrong side of history. Sure, he joins the SS and marries only under pressure from his family and to help conceal his background, and he privately disagrees with Nazi principles and feels extreme guilt over his participation, yet it's still a choice he makes, and he still serves the same regime that targets his own; he's working from a position of privilege compared to others in a similar situation. He does what he can to minimize the role he plays but he's by no means a member of any resistance movement; he's looking out for himself first of all. Karolin and Pawel actually give him an opportunity to put somebody else's wellbeing before his own, though that doesn't wipe the slate clean, and ultimately this--his struggle to straddle two conflicting lives--is what leads to his death. He's shot by a labor camp survivor who targets him simply because his intended target, Hesse, is already dead, and any dead Nazi will do. Karolin is believable as someone who would prefer not to discuss this side of her late husband, who'd brush his involvement in the SS under the rug and paint him in a perfect heroic light. Pawel would have to learn the uncomfortable truth from someone else; Wozniak's extended Polish family is the most likely source. Teenage/young adult Pawel strikes me as a thoughtful, introspective sort, who would be able to handle and accept the truth that his father was a lot more nuanced and flawed than his mother presents him to have been. I can easily picture him searching for as much info as he can find to obtain the clearest picture of Wozniak, good and bad, to better understand the complex background he comes from. This would likely lead to some conflict with his mother, who'd want to let sleeping dogs lie and not tarnish Wozniak's good name, but Pawel could likely deal with that too. He can still love someone who made some terrible choices; the truth is what matters to him. Anyway, I haven't yet delved into Pawel's future, although I imagine he lives a good long while and, similar to the von Dobermann twins, spends his life finding and presenting the facts to anyone who's interested. That's a story for another day. [Pawel Wozniak 2025 [Friday, April 18, 2025, 12:00:19 AM]] |