Marian (ps. Matuszewski) Tomaszewski - Changing back to his real name
Explaining how he changed back to his real name after joining the Polish Army in Russia. He needed a witness to confirm that this truly had been his name, and …
Zofia (Dudek) Kogut - Caught a rooster and cooked it
During their time in Kazakhstan, they had to do whatever was possible in order to find food. Once, a rooster wandered into their hut, and they quickly killed it and …
Zofia (Dudek) Kogut - Mother lost in the woods overnight
While in Siberia, her mother once went looking for mushrooms in the woods with another lady, and they became lost. They did not find their way back until morning. Had …
Zofia (Dudek) Kogut - Bedbugs and work in Siberia
Describing the various measures they took to get rid of the bedbugs. Also describing the work in the forest, including the branches that the school children would gather and burn …
Jerzy Wiktor Bockenhein - Grandmother dies and 10 year old sister buried her
Describes how he, his mother and his grandmother were all in hospital with typhoid. He was lying in the bed with his mother, and she was in a worse state …
Jerzy Wiktor Bockenhein - Children would steal bread from the wagon
Describing how the children would sneak pieces of broken bread from the delivery wagon. (Note: Jerzy has had a stutter since the start of the war, when a bomb landed …
Jerzy Wiktor Bockenhein - Building a brick wall from snow
Explaining how the collective farm was 50 km from the Chinese border, with very harsh winters, and the Poles were forced to make bricks from the snow and build a …
Jerzy Wiktor Bockenhein - Christmas dinner in a can and ice in the house
Describing how his mother cooked some wheat in a can for their Christmas Eve dinner. Also describes how the hut they lived in would be buried in snow right to …
Władysław Niezgoda - Amnesty and leaving the camp
Describing how they learned of amnesty and how they organized to leave the camp, as well as the challenges along the way.
Władysław Niezgoda - Bike taken to Siberia exchanged for a goat
Describes how the bike that he managed to take to Siberia, because it had been packed in a box, was exchanged for a goat, which provided milk for his infant …
Władysław Niezgoda - Life with Belorussians up to the deportation
Describing how the Poles and Belorussians co-existed in that area, then the Russian invasion and the day of deportation.
Ryszard Lange - Life in Ifunda
Describing how life developed in Ifunda, with schools and activities for the youth, including the fact that boys his age were constantly leaving to join the cadets, but his mother …
Ryszard Lange - Ship crossing to Karachi
Describing how rough the crossing was to Karachi, including repeated evacuation drills that took place in the middle of the night.
Ryszard Lange - Trip south and train accident
Describing how they made their way south from Kazakhstan, and the train collision that happened on the way.
Ryszard Lange - Russians take over the Mill
Describing how the Russians took over control of his father’s Mill, and how a Russian family lived with them for 2 years.
Tadeusz Marczak - Beginnings in Manchester
Tadeusz describes how, after the war, they ended up in Manchester, found work and settled there.
Tadeusz Marczak - Camp in Siberia and then Amnesty
Tadeusz describes the work they completed at the camp in Siberia, and the how they made their way out after ‘amnesty’.
Tadeusz Marczak - Liquidating 2 Corps arms in Italy
Tadeusz describes how they liquidated arms and vehicles in Italy, and then made their way to England.
Diakon Czesław Pukacz - Life on the Uzbek collective farm
Czeslaw describes how they lived while they were at the collective farm.
Diakon Czesław Pukacz - Beginnings on the Osada
Czeslaw describes what life was like when the Osada was first set up, and how his father had to live in the initial stages.
Aleksandra (Jarmulska) Rymaszewska - Saved from the firing squad
Describing how she would have been shot by the Soviets, for stealing a railway tie, if it had not been for some quick thinking on the part of a fellow …
Aleksandra (Jarmulska) Rymaszewska - Propganda photos of joyful deportees
Describing how staged photos of the deportees were taken by the Soviets, for propaganda reasons.
Aleksandra (Jarmulska) Rymaszewska - Youth keeps up their morale
Describing how the younger deportees at the camp remained hopeful that they would one day make it out of there.
Kazimiera Smolinska - School in a PRC Camp
Kazimiera describes the PRC school, from the viewpoint of a child in grade 2.