1. [Personal data:]
Rifleman Józef Szunejko, laborer, married.
2. [Date and circumstances of arrest:]
I was imprisoned on 22 September 1939 in Lwów, when the city surrendered.
3. [Name of the camp, prison or place of forced labor:]
Names of camps are as follows: 1. Shepetivka, 2. Hołownica, 3. Jarmolińce.
4. [Description of the camp, prison:]
In Jarmolińce, we lived in tents, and the mud made it impossible to move around. In each tent, there were about 70 people, so it was very dirty and stuffy inside; people slept on top of each other at night. Water was so far away that it was rarely delivered; we also had no clean underwear, so lice were very common.
5. [Social composition of prisoners, POWs, deportees:]
There were prisoners of all nationalities, but mostly Poles. Apart from farmers and laborers, there were also many representatives of the intelligentsia and state employees.
6. [Life in the camp, prison:]
We were woken up at 2.00 a.m. For breakfast, we were given water with fish scraps, and then we were driven off to work. We were building an airport. We broke stones, wounding our faces and hands with stone chips. The work quota, which was set at seven cubic meters, was almost impossible to meet. We worked very hard for 12 hours, and we were hurried with sticks. When we came back, we again received water with fish or cabbage. Then, theoretically, we had some time to rest – it was the proverka, work in the living area, etc. Social life was very good. People were supportive and understood our common misfortune. There were frequent rebellions, following which people were thrown into the dark cell, where they received no food.
7. [Attitude of the authorities, the NKVD, towards Poles:]
During daily talks, special political commissars tried to strip us of our Polishness. They tried to convince us that Poland had ceased to exist once and for all, that it wasn’t any good at all, and that there was no better regime than communism. Of course, we all laughed our heads off at these rumors and didn’t lose our spirit.
8. [Medical assistance, hospitals, mortality:]
There were no doctors. There was one paramedic in the entire camp, but there was no way we could get a sick leave. There was no hospital at all. When [illegible], who was sick, couldn’t stand it and tried to escape, NKVD officers shot him dead. Prisoners of war who collapsed from exhaustion on the way were beaten, stabbed with bayonets, and had dogs set on them.
9. [Was it possible to keep in touch with the home country and your family? If yes, what contacts were permitted?]
It was very difficult to communicate with our families; only some letters were delivered. Of course, I did not receive any news from home because such letters were destroyed. The majority of packages went missing.
10. [When were you released and how did you join to the army?]
On 24 August in Starobilsk, I was released based on the Polish-Soviet agreement, and I was admitted to the army by a draft board who had come there.