Hall of Testimonies

Danuta Borzemska

They loaded us into a lorry, and they took us to the train station. And then we saw that many people are being transported this way – it is not just us that they are taking, they are taking many others. They loaded us in, and a friend from my class ran after our lorry, and he called to me “Dasiu, Dasiu, Dasiu, I will send you a parcel.” It was evident that everyone knew that there was extreme poverty where they were taking us. And this is how they deported us to Russia. They stuck us into a cattle car. There were two levels of wooden bunks, and the lower were already occupied, and so we had to take the upper, and it was difficult for my grandmother to climb up there. And this is where we slept. We were next to the window. Although it is hard to call that a window. It was a small opening with bars – just like they are in those cargo wagons. Whatever else, we had taken with us a large pot of lard. Grandmother had bought a piglet and she had melted the fat, because we knew it would come in handy during wartime. Older ladies like my grandmother, who had lived through the first war, knew what to expect. I really don’t remember how long we stood at that station – until they had filled all the wagons. There were a great many wagons, although I do not now remember just how many there were. So we sat there and waited. And to explain what the wagons were like …. There was a hole in the floor that was used as a toilet.

Polish