European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

Naturally, we cheated them a bit with how old we were.

Me, being 14, I got into a non-commissioned officer school, because, naturally, I lied I was 17.

Brother Jerzy’s commander found out that I was a scout,

that I was being trained in how to trail to do some intelligence activity.

They trained our perceptiveness, imagination.

I had to know all these gateway passages, shortcuts which often came in handy.

And my brother’s commander reckoned I might be useful for them as a boy in shorts.

There also was an intelligence cell, which was supposed to trail various uncertain people, informers, mainly secret agents.

They used me very often to be on the look out and wait for the man that they were pursuing.

Life in Warsaw; socialist conspiracy

In Warsaw we needed to rent a flat,

since our house where we used to live was destroyed during the wartime military operations.

We rented a flat in Ujazdowskie Alleys.

The landlady was a Mrs Kijewska.

Our life in occupied Warsaw began.

In Warsaw, naturally, we did not bow to the Germans.

This was in the so-called General-Gouvernement.

There were no great liberties, but we could go to primary schools.

My sisters used to attend to the school run by the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth.

My brother had already graduated secondary school, so he didn’t go to school.