Mr. Piotr “Peter” Dietrich, passed away peacefully in his home on Monday morning, May 1, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts at the age of 91.
Mr. Dietrich, beloved husband of Mrs. Regina Dietrich, deceased, is survived by his daughter, Christina Dietrich, and his grandson, Adrian Piotr Dietrich Hallak, all from Boston, Massachusetts.
Mr. Dietrich was born on December 4, 1931 in Radom, Poland, 100 kilometers from Warsaw, to Erik Dietrich and Maria Nawrot Dietrich.
In September of 1939, when Piotr was 7 years old, Germany invaded his homeland. The next few years were extremely turbulent living in Warsaw under Nazi occupation where he faced many life and death situations where his quick thinking saved his life and that of his mother, Maria Dietrich and his brother, Jan Dietrich. In 1944, Piotr as a 12-year-old boy, was a witness to the Warsaw Uprising, a major World War II operation by the Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation, during which he participated as a “child courier” when asked. This 63-day valiant fight by the Poles led to the complete destruction of Warsaw by Hitler as retaliation for the courage of the Poles. Piotr and his mother and brother were taken to Germany as prisoners for hard labor, where they were fortunate to survive on the side liberated by the Americans in 1945. In later years, Piotr spoke of the horrors he witnessed in the Buchenwald Concentration Camp having been there two weeks after the Germans left.
After WWII ended, Piotr completed his education in Germany in music and engineering and played semi-professional soccer for the Bayern-München Bundesliga. In 1951, Piotr, with this mother, Maria and brother, Jan emigrated to the United States.
In 1952, already living in Boston, Piotr met Regina Elzbieta Nowicka Michalicka while they were both members of a choir. They were married on April 25, 1953 and were together 64 years until her passing in December of 2016. This year he celebrated what was their 70th wedding anniversary.
Mr. Dietrich was a multi-talented individual who spoke three languages, Polish, German and English. A truly renaissance man, he had an encyclopedic knowledge of music, history, literature and art and could recite all facts and dates from memory upon request. In the engineering field over thirty years, he worked for MIT Lincoln Labs where he worked on the design of the Apollo 11 mission and the Gemini project. He later worked for Raytheon, the Quincy Shipyard and Stone and Webster. This amounted to a career spanning more than 40 years in the United States.
Continuing his studies in the field of music during the 1950’s, Piotr studied piano with Professor Alfred Mirovitch, Boston Conservatory and Professor Alexander Borowsky, Boston University. As a musicologist and great promoter of the arts, he founded with his daughter Christina, the Chopin Society of New England. While serving as its President, the Chopin Society, a non-profit arts organization active in the New England and New York area from 1988 until 2002, presented over 50 concerts featuring international artists in the Boston area alone.
As a survivor of WWII and advocate for freedom, he was an active member for 20 years of KNAPP Komitet Narodowy Amerykanow Polskiego Pochodzenia, (National Committee of Americans of Polish Descent) and served as Secretary then later Chairman of KNAPP 1962-1972. KNAPP was an organization that advocated for a free Poland prior to the fall of Communism in the Soviet Union and the “Eastern Block” countries of Eastern and Central Europe. In 1966, he was awarded the Gold Cross of Merit for his service to his country of Poland by the President, August Zaleski, of the Polish government in exile in London, England. Once Poland was liberated from communism and the control of the USSR, the government in exile returned to Poland under President Lech Walesa. In 2019, with his daughter, Christina and grandson, Adrian, Piotr was able to return to his homeland, a free Poland for the first time since 1944. Wherever he went he received a hero’s welcome.
Mr. Dietrich had many admirable qualities. He was a man of great character, integrity and conviction. He was an incredible father and grandfather, very dedicated to his daughter, Christina in her education and career as a concert pianist and his grandson, Adrian in his education and played an integral role in his life. There was never a moment where his love and pride in Adrian were not obvious. When caring for his sick wife, Regina for 11 years during her battle with Alzheimer’s, he was always at her side taking care of her needs.
Mr. Dietrich was a great man, a gentleman, a scholar and an incredible human being! He will be greatly missed by all whose lives he touched!
The Wake will be on Thursday, 5/18 from 5-8 PM at Casper Funeral Home, 187 Dorchester St., South Boston, MA. (617) 269-1930.
The Funeral Mass will be the next morning on Friday, 5/19 at 10:30 AM at Our Lady of Czestochowa Church, 655 Dorchester Ave., Boston, MA 02127 and the burial at Cedar Grove Cemetery. All are welcome to attend and celebrate Mr. Piotr Dietrich’s life.