1. Personal data:
Volunteer Stanisława Ćwiczyńska, born on 29 April 1900, married, no profession.
2. Date and circumstances of arrest:
I was arrested together with my daughter on 13 April 1941 in Bohorodczany, Stanisławów voivodeship.
3. The name of the camp, prison, or forced labor site:
I was in unconfined exile in Kazakhstan, Kostanay Oblast, Pimsovkhoz no 1.
4. Description of the camp or prison:
The housing conditions were bearable; I worked as a farm laborer.
5. The composition of prisoners-of-war, inmates, exiles:
There were about a hundred Poles, including two Ukrainian families. The majority of us were members of the intelligentsia, so we could reach an understanding despite the privations we suffered, and in effect preserve unity.
6. Life in the camp, prison:
Every workday began at 5.00 a.m. in the fields, and lasted until 7.00 p.m. The work was very hard. Remuneration depended on meeting the quota. The quotas were so high that we rarely filled them, and as a result we received so little money that we had to sell our belongings – although we owned very little – in order to scrape a living.
7. The NKVD’s attitude towards Poles:
The Soviet Union authorities always acted haughtily towards us, reasoning with us that Poland would never be reborn; they thought it silly that we, the Poles, still awaited liberation. They tried to inculcate us with Communism.
8. Medical assistance, hospitals, mortality rate:
Although a hospital was situated nearby, only a terminally ill patient, who generally didn’t need medical assistance any more, could get there. Less seriously ill patients were not admitted.
9. Was there any possibility to get in contact with one’s country and family?
I received letters from my family in the country, but only a few.
10. When were you released and how did you manage to join the army?
We were released on 3 September 1941. I joined the Polish WAS [Polish Women’s Auxiliary Service] in Guzar on 2 February 1942.
4 February 1943