1. Personal details (name, surname, rank, age, occupation and marital status):
Lieutenant Jan Łojko, born in 1903, officer in permanent service, bachelor.
Note: I was listed in the prison and camp (gulag) under the name Chwast Stefan Janowicz.
2. Date and circumstances of arrest:
I was arrested by the Ukrainian militia on 2 December 1939 while marching to the Hungarian border with the aim of reaching France, behind the village of Lipowica near Perehyńska. At the same time, Captain Ryniejski from the Battalion of the Border Protection Corps was arrested.
3. Name and description of the camp:
6–30 December 1939, in Dolina prison.
The prison was filthy and lice-ridden. The prisoners—95% Poles; 85% [arrested] for attempting to cross the border, 10% political, 5% Political Ukrainians, of whom about 50% from the intelligentsia. Good relations between Poles. Good moral standard.
Relations between the NKVD and the Poles: we were beaten and kicked; for one to three nights they invented a variety of horrors to deprive us of sleep, considering almost everyone (from the areas occupied by Germany) as a spy acting on behalf of Germany, emphasizing the ‘the end of your Poland’.
Medical assistance: none, no mortality.
Communication with friends or relatives (through the local militia).
Food very poor, mostly based on what local acquaintances brought their relatives and then shared with the rest.
During personal searches, a whole variety of abuses were committed. For example, I had four 20-franc (French) gold coins and 50 US dollars on me. They found this on me and took from me two 20 fr. gold coins and some of the dollars. In the report they registered the francs as ‘two yellow coins’ and the dollars were noted as rubbish.
Crew and management of the prison—Ukrainians, with Szumski as the governor, who after a dozen or so days was locked up in the same prison. The prison held about 300 people.
31 December 1939–3 January 1940, prison in Stanisławów.
All the conditions were similar to those in Dolina. Nationality: 85% Poles, 10% Ruthenians, 5% Ukrainians and Jews. The attitude of the Ukrainians and Ruthenians towards the Poles was hostile, less so towards the Jews. The prisoners numbered over 5,000.
4 January–16 March 1940 transfer and imprisonment in Gorodni [Horodni?] in the USSR.
The prison very old and damp with water pouring down the walls, dark, dirty with a complete lack of ventilation (as an example: after a few hours the oil lamp went out, you had to sprinkle salt), while the corridor had electric lighting. Poor hygiene—lack of water in the baths, there was some available for putting soap on, but for rinsing it off only in exceptional cases. Bedding—bearable—changed every 14 to 21 days. Very poor food (however, over 600 grams of bread did sustain us a little), morning tea, very thin soup at noon and a maximum of one and a half tablespoons of millet, very thin soup in the evening. Although the prison was relatively small, there was a lot of propaganda reading (party materials, Karl Marx, Lenin and Stalin), anti-capitalist propaganda, especially against England, America and Poland.
Nationalities: (the prison held 300 people) 60% Poles, 5-10% of whom were political, and the rest mostly for border violation, 40% Ruthenians for trying to cross the border.
The method of extracting evidence the same as in Dolina prison.
Poor medical assistance: once every two–three days a paramedic came with a very minimal amount of medication.
17 March–December 1940. Prison in Chernihiv.
A prison similar to the prison in Gorodni, old and damp. Hygiene bearable: there was almost enough water in the baths, underwear was changed every two–three weeks. Food compared to the previous prison was a little better, but only in June and July.
Medical care was available in the prison (for minor ailments). If the illness was more serious— none. Example: a dermatologist named Mr. Hlond (a prisoner) fell ill with cancer in his left eye—almost before he died, he was sent to a prison in Kiev, where he most likely died.
The prisoners were divided mostly according to their nationality; Polish—400 people, of whom about 30% belonged to the intelligentsia. Their crimes: about 50% for trying to cross the border, or for actually crossing it, 15% political (mostly belonging to an organization), 25% for posing a potential threat (officers, police officers and civil servants). Good moral standard, except for a few people:
The chemical engineer Czesław Zembal had a massive problem with officers in permanent service, he badmouthed them as much as he could, and in addition he expressed that ‘my greatest satisfaction in life was when I saw these bastards in German captivity in Zamość soaking in the rain.’
Mr. Lachowski from Stanisławów (I cannot promise that I got his name exactly right) joined the NKVD—he informed on several people in prison (including myself), revealing that we were officers, and so an investigation was resumed.
Mr. Jan Szatman (pretending to be an air-force medical officer) also began to break spiritually and almost joined the NKVD.
The conduct of the NKVD until the fall of France—bearable, then worsened and could even be called hostile.
Communication with family and relatives—none.
On 25 December 1940, I was sentenced to five years in prison for attempting to cross the border.
26 December–31 December 1940, a transit prison in Kiev.
The prison was very old, very damp and dirty. Hygiene—none. No medical assistance.
The prison cells were so overcrowded that there was no question of even being able to lie down on the ground.
Nationalities: 10–15% Poles, the rest were Russians. The food was bearable, but irregular, on several occasions was not served at all.
1 January–3 February 1941, prison in Dnipropetrovsk.
(During the journey from Kiev to Dnepropetrovsk I fell ill with pneumonia, so I spent this period in the prison hospital.) Prison hospital—the hygienic conditions were good as for the USSR. Bedding changed when dirty. Good medical care, good food but standard (bedridden and healthy prisoners got the same). Medical team very poor. Because they were chosen for a few days from the prisoners staying there, and then changed for others who did not care about the sick at all. Example: a former commandant in Mosty Wielkie, Mr. Schuch died in this hospital because the paramedic did not help him: he fell out of bed and onto the ground at night, banging his head against the leg of an adjacent bed, which accelerated his slow death, because the paramedic was not on duty when he should have been. One outstanding member of staff was sister Szura (I do not remember her surname) from Krzywy Róg, who had a particular fondness for the Poles.
4–26 February 1941, transit prison in Kharkov.
Like the prison in Kiev, conditions almost identical.
27 February–15 April 1941. Journey and stay in the Ivdellag gulag northeast of Sverdlovsk and about 70 km from the Ivdel camp founded by Poles deported in 1863.
Accommodation in dirty barracks, ridden with lice and bedbugs.
About 6,000 prisoners, with 1,500 Poles. Most for crossing or attempting to cross the border. 20% intelligentsia. Reasonably good relations, good moral standard, with a few exceptions.
Average working hours: 12–14 hours per day felling trees. Working quota 8–10 m3 of sawing and felling trees per person. The food was divided into three pots (categories):
| I. | those who exceeded the quota |
| II. | those who made the quota |
| III. | those who could not make the quota |
ad. I. can be considered as good as for the USSR
ad. II. can be considered as sufficient for the USSR
ad. III. can be considered as very poor for the USSR.
A physically weak gulag prisoner classified in category III could never move up to category II later, because his physical condition deteriorated further (due to poor food), unless he was lucky and was sent to the hospital for food.
Remuneration—none.
Clothes very poor, unless some had their own.
Camaraderie and cultural life—none, because of work fatigue.
Communist propaganda—weak, also due to the lack of time. Low mortality—one to two people per week. About six Poles died.
According to the statement of the brickyard manager (located about 3 km from section 1), Soviet citizen Nyetsosov: of the transport of Poles who arrived in the winter of 1940, about 200 people died from cold (buried near the brickyard).
Communication with our families: after annexation by the Soviet Union it was poor but possible; after German annexation—none.
In April, a transport of about 2,000 people, mainly consisting of Soviet recidivists, was to be sent to the Far East. About 200 Poles were attached to this transport, who were abused and harassed in a variety of ways. Example: during the 28-day train journey, the train was robbed of food, and the escort, despite being informed of this, did not respond. They were stripped and robbed of their best clothes and valuable items. If they offered any resistance, they were abused and beaten unconscious, but the escort did not respond to this either.
16 April–10 August 1941. Journey to the new labor camp of Pestraya Dresva on the Gulf of Shelekov in the north of the Okhotsk Sea.
Train journey (above) to Vladivostok. Boat journey from Bukhta Nakhodki. The ship was filthy, cramped and we were robbed blind by rogues and recidivists, but here too the escort did not react to any reports from the injured parties. Zero hygiene. No medical care. In the port of Magadan, we were sent to the baths in groups, where we were told to leave all our things before the entrance, and when we were released from the baths, no one was allowed to return to their belongings or take any, and we were given the gulag uniform to wear. The clothes were given in good condition.
11 July–17 October 1941. Pestraya Dresva labor camp.
The area is very mountainous and rocky, with low vegetation only in the river beds and at the foot of some hills. Accommodation in tents with holes that only gave partial protection from the wind.
Zero hygiene, lice-ridden, no change of underwear.
Nationalities: about 8,000 prisoners in total, of whom about 300 were Poles. The rest— citizens of the USSR. Polish crimes: 60% political, 40% for crossing the border and being politically suspect.
Relations between the Poles began to mend, and at the end (before release) they were good. Even a fervent communist from Poland, from Konin, Mr. Pomański, cured himself of communism and became a good Pole.
The average working day was 12–15 hours, and sometimes 24 (if we didn’t make the quota in the allotted time). Work quota: 8m3 of soil to be dug with a pickaxe (in very rocky ground) moved about 6m (away) and leveled. Remuneration—none. Clothing was good in the first month, later torn, and never changed.
The food was also divided into three categories:
| I. | good for the | USSR, |
| II. | sufficient, | |
| III. | insufficient. |
ad. I. given to those who made the quota in the allotted time
ad. II. for those who made at least 75% of the quota
ad. III. for those who made less than 75% of the quota.
No cultural life. Good camaraderie.
The conduct of the NKVD (the guards) authorities towards the prisoners was very hostile, the life of every prisoner lay in the hands of the NKVD guards.
Example 1: while working, Mr. Rudek from Tarnopol strayed 10-15m from the workplace, to collect some blueberries, which the guard noticed and then started firing without any warning. After the first shot, Mr. Rudek fell to the ground and shouted (he was probably injured). Then the guard came up to him and gave him three more shots to finish him off. There were no investigations in the above case.
Example 2: One Pole (I do not remember his surname) was very ill and had night blindness, and since the governor of the camp (section 3) had the sole right to grant leave from work, while marching out to work he was thrown immediately into the forbidden zone, where—as I mentioned before—the guard was the master of life and death. This sick man used the remains of his strength to march to the workplace, while on the way back he couldn’t make it and fell about 150–200m behind the column. At that time one guard stayed with the sick man. When we had walked 200m further we heard a shot, most likely at the sick man. After a while, the guard joined us, and from that time on I did not see any more. Several Soviet citizens were killed in the manner described above.
In the aforementioned section 3, where I worked, there were no more than 16–18 Polish citizens, two of whom were murdered, while one died from exhaustion (I do not remember his surname).
Only seven people were released from this section on the basis of the amnesty, while the rest remained (18 October 1941). Of those released, an artillery sergeant from Poznań died at the dispatch point in Magadan.
Names of those not released: Mr. Wrzask—defender from the Lwów voivodeship, Mr. Józef Górski—district administrator from the Stanisławow voivodeship, Mr. Poznański from Konin (I do not remember the rest of the names).
Medical assistance was almost non-existent. There was only one paramedic on this section, who did not have anything apart from some bandages and green disinfectant. A prisoner who lost his physical strength had no right to life, unless he became seriously ill during the period of the year when the sick were sent to Magadan. Such an incident could have happened once a year, but in 1941 it probably never occurred. In general, one or two people per week (out of 300 people) would die from exhaustion.
Since the announcement of the amnesty (in the press) until the moment of release, the conduct of the NKVD authorities towards the Poles did improve slightly, but the improvement was not genuine.
Communication with the homeland—none, even Soviet citizens (prisoners) received letters with a minimum of a one-year delay.
I was released on 18 October 1941, and sent to Petropavlovsk. After arriving in Petropavlovsk I went to Novosibirsk, where our military facility was already located, and from there I was directed to Buzuluk, where on 2 December 1941, I joined the Polish army.