Aniela Hołod
Pachole, Włodawa district
My memories of the German occupation – the bombing of Zahajki
It was a bright day, people were going to work in the morning, when suddenly, the German planes arrived and dropped their bombs – people tried to hide wherever they could, some went to shelters, some ran into the fields, others hid under the trees, all while the planes flew around, dropped bombs, shot at people and dropped incendiary explosives. And when the pilots saw anybody, they would shoot or drop bombs. People thought that they were done for, that they would kill everyone. [Some] cried, others fainted or prayed to the Mother of God to deliver them from this bondage. One of the pilots injured one man, and he went to a shelter. When that shelter started to burn, he could not get out, and his wife lost her mind when she found out that her husband had been burned alive. When the planes went away, people left their hiding places, and whoever was still alive started putting out the fires. Some were left destitute – nothing remained of their homes.