Class 7
Public Polish Elementary School in Radzyń
My wartime experiences
In 1939 after the first air raid we went to the forest. Once there, we found a thicket and stopped in order to rest after the air raid. There were quite a few people in that forest. When night fell, we lay down on blankets to get some sleep. When I awoke at dawn, I saw many Polish soldiers and tanks. This sight frightened me terribly, but I quickly calmed down. After some time, a lieutenant walked up and ordered us to leave the forest, for an air raid was expected. We had to abandon the forest and return home.
The way back was difficult as the road was clogged with soldiers and refugees. After we returned, a trench was dug in the meadow, but we did not use it immediately, for there were no air attacks.
In the afternoon, a few German planes appeared and started bombing us. So we quickly hid ourselves in the trench, and I saw nothing more. I only heard the whistle of bombs and machine gun bullets, and the voices of people praying silently. The bombing went on until the evening, with a few brief pauses. But although the bombs fell all around us and there were so many people, no one was hit or even injured. Towards the evening a complete silence fell, and we made our way to the countryside. We stayed there for the next few days, until the Germans entered.