Barbara Orzechowska
Wisznice, Włodawa district
19 June 1946
My wartime experiences
Our area did not suffer too much damage [when] the front moved through it, so when the Germans started to retreat towards Biała, we decided to take some of the things out of our home, so that they would not burn down if there was fire. There was a shelter in the orchard, and we all decided to hide there. When I was in the shelter, I was very scared because the projectiles were whizzing over our heads and I thought they would fall on us. At night, the Germans set fire to the barracks with war supplies, since they did not want them to fall into the Soviet hands. Trees and the bell tower caught fire from the burning barrack. At the time, it seemed to me that the marketplace and our street would soon start burning. On the roads, we heard the horrible noise made by cars and motorcycles used by the Germans to get away.
When I left the shelter in the morning, I saw a Soviet patrol, followed by infantry and motorized units. Later, we could hear cannon fire from Łomazy, and when the Germans retreated to Biala, I had to run to the shelter a few more times at night as they bombed the area. And when the Germans retreated to the Vistula, everything returned to normal.