In the city we lived on Kowelska Street in a judaic townhouse that stood empty. another Polish families lived next to us in another rooms, including the already mentioned Kubicki family. all day I would go to our street and even go to the city, especially to the main church in that city where I attended the Holy Mass. That's why I saw a bunch of escapees all day, who saw that, like my family, they had just escaped from a Ukrainian knife and an axe. Many of them bitterly cried and lamented the fresh experiences that had occurred to them. But I didn't halt any of these people and talk to them.
My parent Jadwiga and my father Jan told me personally in Włodziemierz Volyński that my mother's sister Leokadia from Kaliniak's home was murdered by 4 Ukrainians, close Swojczów, in the village of Ewin. It was during the Ukrainian massacres in 1943. They talked about her death like this: "Two Ukrainians held her, and 2 of them survived with a saw in half, and so the Ice cream tormented to death!" Leokadia got married and had children, unfortunately I don't remember how many today. My parents never said anything about her husband, either way, I don't remember them mentioning him. But I remember very well that from our Kaliniak household the banders murdered a lot more people, at least that's what our parent Jadwiga said erstwhile she was alive. Unfortunately, I don't remember any details today, any names, or even names of these tragic victims.
We lived in Włodzimierz Wołyński until it became loud about escaping to the forest, Polish soldiers and police officers in the German service who were surviving in barracks. Everyone said at the time that our boys ran off to Bielin, where there was strong Polish self-defense for a long time. After their escape, the Germans again started calling the Ukrainian police, who, despite all the UPA propaganda about fighting against the German occupier, were eager to re-enter the police. Soon, they were full of frosts, and I frequently met them on the street in police uniforms erstwhile they were practicing the drill. 1 day erstwhile I was on our street, I saw a squad of Ukrainian police officers, a large platoon that was moving the column. With a strong voice, the commander gave the command: “One time 2 trivia!”. I couldn't stand it then and I screamed very loudly towards them: "To savory, to savory!" After those words I had as much strength in my legs to run, I was frightened that the Ukrainians would catch me and kill me on the spot.
In White
Our dad made good money as a shoemaker, and he could do many another useful things, so at least we didn't starve anymore. Meanwhile, in the city it was getting more dangerous and we were seriously afraid that the Ukrainians would attack our exile community and kill us all savagely. I besides remember the day our dad came home and said, “We must flee due to the fact that Ukrainians are coming to Włodzimierz and there will come a day erstwhile they will kill us.” After these words we started packing our things, we hired a horse wagon and in broad daylight we went to the village of Worczyn, which was already covered by the action of Polish guerrillas, grouped around Bielin. Only 500 metres from here was self-defense to the office of Poland. The town of Worczyn did not actually be anymore due to the fact that there was only 1 house. The remainder were either destroyed, burned or undressed. We stayed in this hut, felt safe here and lived all winter, until the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord 1944.
Self-defense in Bielina grew to a very large size, as guerrillas arrived all day and from all sides of Volyn. After any time there were many of them there, I saw all the large troops marching and practicing the military drill. This formation of the young Polish Army, was uniformed very unevenly, everyone walked in precisely what he managed to get, but they had quite a few guns already. I remember their field cuisine very well, which stood in the forest and eating soldiers. No wonder we felt safe there.
I was very well preserved on this Christmas morning on 9 April 1944, erstwhile I and my full household went to church for a resurrection, at 6:00 p.m. It was a large and beautiful temple, located already on the edge of the village of Bielin, where many people gathered that day, there was actually no free place inside. Many partisans and their families, any in uniform and others in civil, besides came to the service. The prayer was very hot, abruptly I heard loud and terrible explosions of bombs, and rather close the church. People began to pray even louder and even more fervently, we all cried out to God so that bombs would not fall on a church filled with believers. After any time I left the church with others, the full village of Bielin was on fire. On that day the Germans razed Bielin to the ground, many people and pets were killed. In this situation we rapidly returned to our cottage, and here to our large surprise we found the Ukrainian family, who in our absence managed to decision into our cottage.
At first he tried to communicate with them, yet came to us and said with concern: “Children, we have no reason to go home, due to the fact that the Ukrainians lived in it, and if we stay with them, we can wait until morning. They can kill us all out of the blue, which is why we gotta flee to the forest.” In this situation, everything was left at home, all our stuff, nothing was taken, and the hungry stayed in the woods. In the mediate of the night, German bombers flew in and began to bomb the forest and surrounding areas unmercifully. There were deadly bombs close us, and we were inactive alive, another families weren't so lucky. For example, right next to us (we were only 2 metres apart), the Polish family, in which 1 of the women was hit by a shrapnel, inactive remember how loud she screamed. Shortly thereafter, she died of bleeding. Many Poles, especially Polish guerrillas, died that night.
The next day we stood up and walked through the cruelly destroyed Bielin, we lived at the edge of this village, in a wooden cottage under the forest itself. The home was abandoned, but it was evident that people lived in it, due to the fact that everything needed to live. Even the food was abundant, but we were afraid to contact it due to the fact that we expected that the food could be poisoned by Ukrainians. We stopped here again for a long time, for we lived through the summertime and autumn, and left this home only in the early winter and moved back to the town of Włodzimierz Wołyński.
For now, we lived under the forest, and it was a very restless time, due to the fact that the bombings described above, were actually the beginning of the dense fighting of the 27 Volynian National Army Infantry Division against Germany. A long time practically all day, we heard the sounds of a fierce fight and a bomb blast. Partisans no longer struggled only with dense raids and artillery, and were besides severely attacked by German infantry. After any time, German soldiers began to come to our home, who were actively searching for Polish guerrillas hiding in the full area. In talking to us, they behaved calmly and usually asked: “Where are you from and how did you get here?”. We usually replied that we were Poles and escaped from Ukrainians from the village of Sierakówka.
This was the case in the day, due to the fact that at night we hid in the close forest in trenches, which were performed by Polish guerrillas. There have been times erstwhile our guerrillas visited us, but they were usually short, mainly looking for water and food. We were always happy to aid them, and erstwhile we asked them about the latest news from the front, they were reluctant to emergence up, they only informed us that they would shortly leave Bielin and the surrounding area. They besides said the military was preparing to cross the front to the russian side. And indeed their situation became increasingly tragic and hopeless, I remember besides those days erstwhile the Germans were looking for our boys with dogs. It was most likely after our division left the lap. The Germans thoroughly searched the area, catching individual soldiers and any loose groups, survivors. Our people told us, for example, in our house: “Germany even looks for us on trees, and if they find a mediocre man, they shoot him like ducks! Many of our boys are dying.”
In German captivity in wartime
After the escape of our guerrilla, the situation changed so badly that our household besides decided to return to the town of Włodzimierz Wołyński. We were especially afraid of revenge from the Ukrainians, to whom self-defence in Bielin gave us a good time in the skin, saving lives of the endangered Polish population. This time in the city we lived on Mikołajewska Street, in a large judaic cottage and were alone there. shortly the Germans took my daddy John into the army to fight against the approaching Soviets. I personally saw him dressed in German uniform and decently armed. However, my daddy was not a traitor, and as shortly as the chance arose, he abandoned his service with the enemy, but had to hide from now on in the vicinity of Hrubieszów. Longer time he besides hid in his household in the village of Szopinek close Zamość. We learned about his destiny from him erstwhile he sent us information through a russian driver who came from those parts. The Germans were no longer here, and the front moved much to the west and stopped only on Wisla.
While the Germans were moving westward, I passed along with the another 12 female cows at the airport, they were mostly Polish, although there was 1 Ukrainian and a judaic woman. As we were returning to our homes, a German car arrived, from which 2 soldiers got out and then they took us all into the car. Meanwhile, our cows came home on their own. First, we were taken to the town of Vladimir Volynski, to the military barracks. Although I expected the full household to be very worried about me, there was no chance to contact the closest household due to the fact that the Germans were watching us very carefully and well.
At least twice the Germans drove us to the village of Werba and there they told us to dig trenches for the army, and erstwhile the front approached the city, we dug in suburbs. So simply and quickly, I was on the front, and shortly after, I was in Lublin. In the day, we utilized to dig trenches for soldiers, and in the night, we and the Germans went further and further west. We besides worked a lot in the field kitchen. The Germans strangely treated us tolerablely, but inactive it was for us young girls a large physical effort and constant, tremendous intellectual tension. To this day, I remember these hard days, erstwhile we were hit by large storms, sometimes the rain rain was raining like a cow, and we had to dig trenches for Germans. That's how we got all the way to the river Wisła, although I never saw the river itself, due to the fact that we stopped in a close cane.
Divine Providence Over Us
During this stop, there was a military exchange. Very exhausted German soldiers, who had just returned from the front, lay on the ground and almost immediately fell asleep. Meanwhile, I was breathed by any extraordinary supernatural hunch, and I got up and said to another Poles, "Let's get out of here, due to the fact that russian aircraft will come here and we'll all die." At first, the frightened girls did not want to, but erstwhile they saw that I was gone and no 1 stopped me, they besides dared, and we all managed to escape the Germans from this cane. For the remainder of my life, I won't forget what I saw with my own eyes! As shortly as we got out of that cane, just a fewer minutes later, 3 russian bombers arrived, which began to bomb densely just the 1 where we rested with Germany. The roots of trees flying in the air above the forest, powerfully demonstrated the firepower of those bombs that were being dropped there. Until now, erstwhile I think of hell, sometimes I callback in memory that forest and what was left of it.
We already got to any large village together, but there was no 1 in it but 1 old lady, and she was very sick. We started asking her where the remainder of the villagers are. At first, of course, she did not want to say anything, but then she trusted us and pointed the way to the gorge where people hid for a dangerous time of crossing the front. erstwhile we got there, people were very amazed to find this place. But they took us in and we were there for 2 days. On the 3rd day, the first Soviets reached our ravine, searching everywhere for Krauts. Meanwhile, people slow returned to their homes. erstwhile I was in the village with others, I decided to ask the soldiers everywhere if they were headed for Zamość. We were fortunate due to the fact that the first car we met took us to Zamość himself. There on Hrubieszowska Street we met another russian soldiers who took us all the way to Włodzimierz Wołyński himself.
In the city, I found my family, who was inactive surviving on Mikołajewska Street, what a joy it was erstwhile everyone saw me alive. However, after 2 weeks, I received a call to prepare to go deep into Russia and to the terrible Dombas. specified a call was made by the Soviets for many Poles in our city, but from our household for now I was the only 1 called. My parent Jadwiga knew that this call was actually a death sentence, She shortly went to the parish church, to the priest and together with many another Poles all went together to russian Sielrada! Everyone agreed to send Poles to Poland, not Dombas. Finally, the Soviets happily agreed, but made a decisive condition: “The journey is to take place within 3 days!”
On beautiful and green Zamość
There was no way, we started the feverish preparations to go to the Bug River and so our household ended up in Zamość. We came consecutive to Szopinek village close Zamość, where our father's family, the Albingra household lived. This is where we stayed for a week and felt good, all the more so that we yet met our dad. After a fewer days, Daddy Jan found out that in the village of Siedliska close Zamość you can receive a home and land from Ukrainians who were resettled east. We went there and actually lived in an abandoned home at the very end of the village, on the Wind Road, about 500 meters from Roman Szymanek's house. I was only 15 years old, a young, strong, healthy, and beautiful girl, and I met fresh friends, and I even became friends with some, specified as Zosia Szymanek and Eugene Paluch. [a fragment of the memories of Wacława Roch of Albingier from the village of Sierakówka in Volyn, listened, wrote and published on October 7, 2003 STRoch]
