BOLESŁAWA FALANA

1. Personal data:

Volunteer Bolesława Falana, born on 27 September 1907 in the village of Kluczyce, Włoszczowa district, Kielce voivodeship, married.

2. Date and circumstances of arrest:

On 10 February 1940, my son and I were deported to the Soviet Union.

3. Name of the camp, prison, forced labor site:

We lived in a hamlet in a barrack, in Iwnicki [?] region of the Arkhangelsk oblast; the name of the hamlet was Milondoski.

4. Description of the camp, prison:

I worked in the forest. Our pay was so low that it wasn’t enough to feed two people.

5. Composition of prisoners-of-war, prisoners, exiles:

-

6. Life in the camp, prison:

-

7. The NKVD’s attitude towards Poles:

Those who didn’t turn up at work or who were late for work either paid a fine or were assigned to perform some hard labor.

8. Medical assistance, hospitals, mortality rate:

Medical assistance was almost non-existent. To the Soviets, our health wasn’t something to be bothered about.

9. What, if any, was your contact with the home country and your family?

I had contact with my family.

10. When were you released and how did you manage to join the army?

I was released on 5 September 1941. In December, I got to the south and worked in a kolkhoz. I went to Tehran in the first wave, and in June I joined the Women’s Auxiliary Service.