Background
Radwan was born in Poland in 1908.
Radwan was born in Poland in 1908.
Radwan"s strength was apparent as a youth, showing off for his childhood friends. Prior to World World War II, he joined the Polish navy and earned the rank of lieutenant. Radwan was captured following the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany.
He was a prisoner of war at the concentration camp.
According to a story in the 1983 issue of Ohio Magazine, Radwan said that he attempted to escape from the camp by pushing over a brick wall with his bare hands. He claimed that when word of the feat reached Adolf Hitler, Hitler came to the camp.
Nein!" When a guard pushed a revolver in his face, Radwan claimed that he "grabbed the gun between my teeth and squeezed the barrel shut." According to Radwan, Hitler laughed and ordered the guards to give Radwan extra rations. After the war, Radwan immigrated to Northeastern Ohio in the United States.
He traveled as a wrestler and strongman performing feats such as straightening horseshoes, pulling cars with his teeth, reclining on a bed of nails while volunteers stones on his chest and bending quarters.
Foreign twenty years, Radwan was undefeated as a professional wrestler. He hosted a Polish language radio show on Sundays and wrote for two Polish language newspapers. He was also a body guard for local politicians, such as former Mayor Ralph Perk.
His popularity among Polish-Americans in Cleveland was valuable to local politicians.
A movie about his life titled The Atomic Manitoba was discussed but never made.
Radwan lived in Cleveland, Ohio, where he was a member of several Polish fraternal organizations and clubs.