Volunteer Anna Falucińska, born on 20 September 1913 in Białystok, civilian occupation – housewife.
Deported on 13 April 1940 from Białystok to Kazakhstan, the Pavlodar Oblast, the Pavlodar region, Koriakowski prom-sol.
At first, all of us – 105 people in total – lived in the so-called krasnyy ugolok [lit. red corner, a community room]. The conditions were horrible. Later we were given a room that housed three families – and things got better.
The work was very hard. We shovelled salt into railway cars – a wet, awful salt. The work quota was 24 tons per eight hours – clearly too much for a woman and young boys. We were paid 15 kopecks per ton.
Sanitary conditions were bearable, but the food was atrociously poor: 1 kilo of bread per person and nothing more, except maybe for salty water mixed with our tears. Clothes – one’s own. Eaten away by the salt, they would fall apart by themselves.
Given the circumstances, we were admiringly friendly and polite towards each other.
During the first year of our detention the NKVD and the local authorities were horrible to us, but this changed later. I don’t know what the change in their attitude should be attributed to.
Communist propaganda was relentless: "you will never return home". We heard that over and over again, and they kept taunting us: "Polish lords".
Until the outbreak of the German-Soviet war, we received information about our country.
Medical assistance was passable. Only one little girl, Krysia Jarych, died. I wish to note that on 15 October 1941 I left for Buzuluk and I haven’t had any news since.
Contact with the home country. I received letters from my mother who had remained in Białystok – lovely letters that gave us strength to live and survive the exile from our family nest.