Kazimiera Pawlik
Class 6
Ciepielów commune, Iłża district
Jasieniec Solecki, 18 November 1946
My most memorable moment from the occupation
When the Soviet troops approached the Vistula River, the front was broken within six months, [precisely] on 14 January 1945. When [the Russians] broke the front line, cannons thundered. We were in the shelters. The ground trembled from all the noise. When the Germans were running away, they set houses on fire and the entire area was lit up with the glow of flames. When the Soviet army came close to our village, the Germans repelled their attack. The front was twice in our village. The battle lasted 20 hours, i.e. day and night. It was only on the following morning that the Soviet troops repelled the Germans. We suffered a great defeat. Many Germans, Poles and Soviets perished in this battle. When the Soviet army came, they freed us from the Germans. Now we are at peace, we don’t run or hide anymore. They chased the Germans all the way to Berlin, and that’s where the war ended. The enemy was utterly defeated.