Class 5
Primary school in Białka
My experiences from the German occupation
The war with the Germans broke out in 1939. The German flowed into Poland like the Vistula flowing into spring. Our hearts were broken with grief. The Germans destroyed our fellow countrymen and carried them off to Majdanek. The Germans did terrible things. The Poles never lost hope for a [free] country.
There was a certain family. They maintained themselves with manual labor. They had three children, three boys. The eldest was a teacher at a partisan officer school. He taught officers. The second was killed in the war. The third, the youngest son, stayed at home. Their father was a partisan officer.
The gendarmes came one evening. They ran around with guns in their hands. Antek was very scared. They went into his house and took his father. The family was distraught. Antek was sad and miserable from that moment on. After some time the news came that Antek’s father was dead. His mother died of unhappiness. Antek was orphaned. He went to avenge his grief. He joined the partisans.
The year 1945 [sic!] came. The Uprising broke out in Warsaw. The boy fought. He was killed on the fifth day.
The church bells rang after the enemy has been chased out of the country. Polish flags flew from the ruins of our homes. The next day there was a victory celebration. From the bosom of the people rang out the word: “Long live the Polish army!” The sun was in the west. People were going home, made happy by the great victory. The market opened three days later. Trade began again.