Wacław Krukowski
Class 6
Marianów, 22 November 1946
Memories of German crimes
The Germans attacked Poland in 1939. There stayed in Poland for six years. They did what they wanted to the Polish people. Once they came to Krępa, a settlement near my village. They surrounded one of the houses. Two families lived there, and a woman, their neighbor, was visiting at the time. It was in the evening. The head of the house was called Tużnik, and the tenant was called Dudek. The Germans entered the house, killed everybody, set the house on fire, and burned the people inside. After two days the relatives and neighbors buried the charred remains in the cemetery. Only two children were left of the family. They worked for the Germans in Gozdawa. When they learnt of this incident, they ran to the house as fast as they could, both crying very much. They did not return to serve the Krauts after that. They were taken in by the monks. That is how the enemy took revenge on the Poles. The Germans imposed huge quotas on the farmers. It was impossible to fulfill them, and those who failed were killed or taken to prison, from which they would never return. The Germans also murdered a lot of innocent people. You couldn’t leave the house at night, because “if the Krauts see you, they will kill you.” Poles were forbidden from selling pig fat, and if the Germans found even a kilogram, they took it away. That is how the enemy tormented us for six years. Now, since the Soviet and Polish troops have driven the enemy out, Poles live differently. We can buy and sell. We are also free to go wherever we want at night, and nobody is punished for it.