On the night of 5–6 September 1939, he left Berlin for Copenhagen, then went to Wilno via Stockholm and Helsinki.

He was released following the Sikorski-Mayski Agreement and joined the Polish army commanded by General Władysław Anders.

As a Prussian citizen, he fought on the Western Front during World War I (including the Battle of Verdun).

He was released following the Sikorski-Mayski Agreement and joined the Polish army commanded by General Władysław Anders.

His wife, Halina Szymańska, as a British agent, met several times during World War II with Admiral Wilhelm Canaris and Hans Bernd Gisevius in Switzerland and Italy.