MARIAN JANKOWSKI

1. Personal data (name, surname, rank, age, profession, marital status):

Gunner Marian Jankowski, 24 years old, student, unmarried.

2. Date and circumstances of arrest:

Arrested on 4 October 1939, as a son of a landlord.

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

Oszmiana, Mińsk, Orsha, Moscow, and a labor camp in Kamchatka.

4. Description of the camp, prison:

Buildings looked as if they were for a lousy householder’s dog, and so were the living conditions.

5. Composition of POWs, prisoners, exiles:

Prisoners – state and local officials, officers, and farmers. Treated as enemies of the Soviets.

6. Life in the camp, prison:

A workday within the labor camp would last even 15 hours. Food and clothing were insufficient.

7. Attitude of the local NKVD towards the Poles:

It was so bad that it’s beyond description.

8. Medical assistance, hospitals, mortality:

No medical assistance, podychay kak sobaka [die like a dog].

9. Was there a possibility to communicate with one’s country and family?

No contact at all.

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

On 3 October 1941. I joined the army on my own.