Any other ideas/avenues I might explore?
Hi Kasia. Sorry, I can't really think of anything else much at present. Did you contact that genealogical society through their direct email rather than leave a message on a forum? Always try to email somebody directly as you're more likely to get a response, that's all I can say. You have two main problems. Firstly you're dealing with a country where, due to its history, record keeping is haphazard in the first place and poorly archived. Secondly it's often hard to get whatever information is available without a face to face visit. A pity that Dougpol didn't make it to Bytom. If I think of anything else I'll let you know.
Do post again if you get any further updates. Also it might be a good idea to provide an English translation of the letter for the benefit of anyone else who reads this thread at some point. Many people on this forum don't speak Polish and the writing is quite difficult to read.