Bernatowicz surname - Could anybody identify where my grandfather could be from? Is he Polish?

My grandfather was born in September 1938/39. I'm fluent in Polish, so bring it on ;)

Actually, you do know that your father was from Breslau (Germany) where he was born in 1938 or 1939.

That's quite a lot for a start. At that time there was only a very tiny Polish minority in Breslau. So what was his nationality and ethnicity? Was he a Polish citizan or a German one? Were his parents indigeneous to Breslau or were they just en passage in the city when he was born there? Where did he live before his death in 2003 and in particular during the WW II (Breslau was a German city until 1945)? Did he die in Wrocław or elsewhere in Poland? In other words you should ask yourself about his roots first.

My grandfather was born there to the Breslau native, my great grandfather, and a Belarusian. He moved to Belarus with his parents and siblings and in 1946, he made his way to Gorzow Wielkopolski.

I think that my grandfather looks more 'Germanic' than 'Slavic'. And I know why, my surname is Polonised from 'Bernhardt'. My surname is of German origin.

Also, Bernat is a popular French name. Considering Walloons speak French, my surname could also house French/Walloon origin; consequently, my grandfather was of Walloon descent.

This is quite likely. According to Polish authors writing on genealogy (Adam Boniecki or Kazimierz Rymut), the Germanic name Bernhardt (bern = bear) was the source for the Polish name "Biernat --> Bernat". This name (along with others such as Katarzyna or Jerzy) came into Polish in the Middle Ages through the Czech language together with Christianity. This Czech influence was the greatest in Silesia and Little Poland (Małopolska).

This is an interesting story, this union between your great grandfather and a Belarussian woman. I think it was quite rare for a native Breslauer to marry someone from Belarus (from the Soviet or the Polish part of it?) at that time, that is before the year 1939.

Was the exact form of your GGF's surname in Breslau "Bernatowicz" (with the Polish way of spelling the 'cz' sound) or is it the result of any official polonisation of slightly other original German form in Poland after the end of the WW II?

Mods should change the name in the title of this thread (separated by them from another thread) from "Bartkowiak" to "Bernatowicz" since Bartkowiak is only the nickname of the OP, but we are discussing the surname "Bernatowicz" here.

I believe that it was the 'Soviet' part of Belarus, as my GGF couldn't speak fluent Polish or German; it is said that she spoke Russian or Belarusian, I even have original letters from the 1950s addressed to her! (In Belarusian of course)

Even more amazing as the Soviets kept their borders rather closed after the Bolshevik Revolution.

As to your great father born in 1938/39, you may still find his birth record in the archives of Wrocław. They also have older records, but not always complete.

There is simple explanation for all those inconsistencies if we assume for a movement that all posts of that Bart dude are genuine.
His grandfather was a soviets agent one of those people with assumed identities that crawled the world doing their subversive dirty work for their soviet paymasters.

In this case his name and his identity could be a lie.

I got a few things wrong, my grandfather's father was a Wroclaw native but my g grandfather escaped to Belarus to escape the Nazis (he wasn't Jewish, he was just Anti-Nazi) and met my g grandmother whom he married and had 3 children with. They moved to western Poland in 1946. That's the revised version, a bit complicated.

Evidently soviet agent, his real name and origin could by anything. Need to inquire in Moscow.

I wouldn't call him a Soviet agent, the Soviets shot my grandfather and his brother in the foot for no reason. Just for a laugh, they nearly executed my G Grandfather, I wouldn't call him a Soviet Agent at all. The Germans actually passed quite peacefully through the area without hurting him or his family, which may be a reason why he is of German origin.

Merged: What language is this surname written in and what is its Latin counterpart?

What language is this surname written and what is its Latin form?

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It's Russian, and it's "Bernatovich"