Józef Markiewicz, 32 years old, merchant, married.
On 13 April 1940 I was driven out of my own house, along with my family, as a dangerous element. In the town of Szczurzyn Nowogrodzki, ulica Rydza-Śmigłego 27, on 13 April at 3 o’clock at night, the NKVD came to me, informing me that I should leave the apartment with my family right away. After a thorough search we were allowed to keep essential things, some clothes and food, everything else was robbed. Next we were taken to Różanka station, where we were loaded onto barred freight wagons. There were 40 people in each wagon, no air, terrible conditions. Around me there were [people] from different social classes, such as a clerk, policeman, farmer and working families. Nationalities – Poles and Jews, mutual relations were good and considerate between the exiles. The NKVD’s attitude – horrible.
So like this they were taking us in an unknown direction for four weeks, finally arriving in North Kazakhstan, at Mamlutka station, where they unloaded us and we were left without any care out in the open. The elderly and children started dying. After some time they started to drive us around to some kolkhozes, where we were thrown out onto the streets like some inhuman creatures. After a few days I found a shelter in a dugout, which was stuffy and lacked air. In such conditions we had to live, performing the hardest work. The salary was very low, and the quotas so high that we could never reach them.
I lived there, in these terrible conditions, until my release, that is, 5 February 1942. That’s when I was forced to leave my family on the spot, and I myself was sent by a Polish Petropavlovsk outpost to the Polish Army in Lugovoy, to the 10th Division, 28th Infantry Regiment, and later I set out for Persia.