Personal data (name, surname, rank, age, occupation, marital status):
Ludwik Szydłowski, master gunner, born on 15 July 1917, church altar server.
Date and circumstances of arrest:
On 25 April 1941, I was drafted into the Soviet army. I served as a tank crew member in Voronezh. This lasted until the outbreak of the German-Soviet war, at which point we were sent to Orłowo [?] to be trained as medics. We spent a month there and were then sent further north to do forced labor.
Name of the camp or forced labor site:
Military barracks.
Description of the camp or prison, etc.:
The conditions in the barracks were mostly acceptable. After the outbreak of the German-Soviet war, I was reassigned to do forced labor. At that assignment, the living quarters were generally dirty and impossibly cramped. We were infested with lice and lacked proper clothing.
The composition of prisoners, exiles (nationality, category of crimes):
The group mobilized for labor was approximately 2,000 people strong. Of those 75% were Poles, 15% Ukrainians and 15% Jews. The Ukrainians did voice negative opinions about Poland.
Life in the camp (the course of an average day):
We worked from dawn till dusk and it was hard labor; it included, for example, working on sewage systems. Our performance was measured exclusively by labor quota fulfillment and if one didn’t meet the quota, they were kept at work at all hours of the day and night until such fulfillment. The food rations were meager – 500 grams of bread a day plus three servings of some soup.
The NKVD’s attitude towards Poles:
They told us that Poland would never exist again and that our General Sikorski would never rebuild it.
Medical assistance and mortality rate:
The medical care was abysmal. Approximately 5% [of the group] died.
Was there any possibility to get in contact with one’s country and family?
I did receive letters from my family.
When were you released and how did you manage to join the army?
I was released on 15 February 1942 and left immediately to join the Polish army, into which I was drafted at Lugovoy.