Zofia Ostrowska
Class 4b
Public Elementary School in Iłża
Memories of German crimes
In 1939, terror hung over Poland. The Germans, our eternal enemies, crossed our borders guns in hand to take our beloved land. The Polish Army tried to resist them, but it proved impossible. After many bloody battles, the enemy occupied our homeland. We experienced hard times under German rule. We were not allowed to walk freely on Polish soil, we were not allowed to sing Polish songs, we were not even allowed to eat a piece of meat. If a German saw [a piece of] meat, you could get imprisoned. The prisons were full of innocent Poles. At night [gendarmes] stormed into our [houses], taking away our fathers and brothers. They took the men from almost every house and led them at gunpoint [illegible]. They packed them into cars and took them to Germany. They were not discouraged by the crying of women and children. Out of despair, some women threw themselves in front of the cars, but the Germans beat them with rifle butts and chased them away. Those Poles who refused to be deported were cruelly tortured and beaten, they had splinters driven under their fingernails, they were hanged and shot. Not only [?] were the men martyred, but also the women and children; [illegible] were burned alive. The innocent blood of Poles flowed every single day. No Pole will ever forget the horrible crimes of the Germans. But the hour of God’s justice has come. God had mercy on us and helped us free Poland from those cruel murderers!