Description:
Andrew J. Beck was born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1926. His father, Józef Beck, was a prominent Polish diplomat and military officer. His father and mother, Maria Slominski, divorced when he was three years old, and he was raised by his mother in Warsaw.
Beck attended grammar school and high school (Gimnazjum Batorego) in Warsaw. When Germany invaded Poland in 1939, Beck and his mother fled and eventually crossed into Romania. They traveled through Italy, France, Spain and Portugal before reaching the United States in 1940.
Beck attended the Loomis School in Connecticut on a scholarship provided by the YMCA. He then joined the Polish Army in Exile, training in Scotland. He attended an artillery officers' school near Edinburgh.
After the war, Beck was discharged and returned to the United States, where he attended Rutgers University, studying engineering. He graduated in 1950. He worked as a mechanical engineer, eventually becoming the chief engineer at a company in Waterbury, Connecticut.
Later, Beck joined Textron and managed their business in Eastern Europe. He then started his own export-import business, focusing on the steel industry. Beck maintained ties with his family in Poland and traveled there frequently for business. He was involved in efforts to preserve his father's legacy.
Beck married a Polish woman who had also escaped to the United States. They had two daughters.
The Rutgers Oral History Archives received an operating support grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State. In the 2024-2025 cycle, this grant assisted the ROHA staff in making this oral history available to you for your use.