European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

and we could hear boom, boom, boom, the noise from tanks and armoured vehicles.

This farm house was situated between two main routes - one leading to the east, and the Batory`s route.

We could see that both routes were filled by the army.

What? The war broke out? We had no clue what happened.

At some moment we heard shots and everything froze.

All tanks stopped,

I guess it was a kind of signal that when the Germans were coming, the Russians were supposed to stop.

It took two, maybe three days, it is hard to say.

I was coming back and I saw that at the Josephs in front of their house,

there was a horse, harnessed, and an open carriage, and the brother of Mrs. Lachowiczówna.

I heard: take a horse and your carriage and go – and this carriage and a horse were left at the Josephs so that something could be saved.

So I took the carriage and left the place.

In the new place I reached I found only a girl. She was my age.

She was doing whatever, was not paid for her job but could live there for free.

It was a daughter of our herdsman.

Melania said: I sit here by myself, it is very good you came.

The house was in an orchard, the orchard was around,

far away, and the two of us, Melania and me, were left in this twelve-room house.