1. Personal data:
Platoon Leader Ignacy Kwiatkowski, 39 years old, professional non-commissioned officer, unmarried.
2. Date and circumstances of arrest:
After the Soviet troops crossed the Polish border on 17 September 1939, having fought a tank battle, I retreated with my unit in the direction of Sarny in order to reach our fortifications. I arrived at Kostopol and on 19 September, together with other units, I was taken into captivity.
3, 4. Name of the camp, prison, or forced labor site; description of the camp, prison etc.:
Partly on foot and partly by train, they gathered us at the camp in Kozelshchyna, from where we were transported by train to iron ore mines in the vicinity of Kryvyi Rih. We constantly spread anti-Communist propaganda there: we talked about our daily lives, clothing, about the freedom of speech (both spoken and written), etc.
On 20 May 1940 we were deported north. I was sent to the 55th lagerny punkt [camp point]. On the second day after our arrival, we were driven to work at railroad construction. For the first three months we worked for 10 hours per day, but it took us about four hours to get to the work site. In the months that followed we worked for 11 hours, so in total we spent 15 to 16 hours at work and on our way to or from work.
We were quartered in barracks, about 180 people per barrack. We slept on double pallets, placed about 50 cm apart. Due to the great number of people and lack of space, it was stuffy and we were gasping for air.
Hygiene: we weren’t issued any soap; we took a bath and changed our underwear every 10 days.
5. The composition of prisoners of war, inmates, exiles:
The composition of prisoners: 45 percent were Poles, and the rest were minorities. Categories of crimes: overseers, foremen and commandants helped the Soviets, advising them on how to impose order to achieve the highest work efficiency. The intellectual and moral standing of the Poles was very high. Mutual relations between the Poles and the minorities were hostile. Poles were afraid to speak out, as they feared denunciation.
6. Life in the camp, prison:
Wake-up at 5.00 a.m., breakfast and then off to work. The work: carting earth, logging, stump-clearing, removing roots and moss. Quotas: carting 5–6 cubic meters of earth to a distance of up to 100 meters; 3–4 cubic meters of earth up to 200 meters; clearing 150 square meters of stumps; clearing 70 square meters of road of roots and moss. If over one month an exile met – on average – the daily quota, he received remuneration.
Food: if he met the quota, 900 grams of bread and a liter of soup three times a day; if he met from 75 to 99 percent, 700 grams of bread, a liter of watery soup for breakfast and supper, and a quarter of a liter for dinner; if he met from 25 to 74 percent, 400 grams of bread and soup; if he met less than 25 percent, 300 grams of bread and the so-called penal caldron, and for the night he was placed in solitary confinement – before he was locked up, he was divested of warm clothes, and in some cases the prisoners were placed in solitary confinement wearing nothing more than a shirt and trousers while the temperature was 20 degrees below zero.
Social life: The Poles lived hand in glove, helping one another at work and offering each other comfort.
7. The NKVD’s attitude towards Poles:
The interrogations took place at nights. If his answers to their questions weren’t satisfactory, the prisoner was usually beaten with a rifle butt or a hand.
Propaganda: every day before we went to work, we were lectured that we should meet the work quota, and that those who met it would be sent home, while those who didn’t would stay, as Poland would never be restored.
8. Medical assistance, hospitals, mortality rate:
Medical assistance: if someone fell gravely ill, he was sent to the hospital, where a doctor who was favorably disposed towards Poles made efforts to restore the patient to health.
9. Was there any possibility of getting in contact with one’s country and family?
I sent a dozen or so letters, but received no answers.
10. When were you released and how did you manage to join the army?
I was released on 25 August 1941 in Vyazniki, which is where I joined the Polish Army.
Official stamp, 13 January 1943