Danuta Pryciak
Class 4
Elementary School in Prędocin
Błaziny commune, Iłża district
My most memorable moment from the occupation
The Germans attacked our country and tormented us at every turn. They tortured us in all possible ways. I remember my wartime experiences well. The Germans also took the men prisoner. My dad went into hiding and they didn’t take him. They often came to our village. Once the Mongols [sic!] came to our village. They took horses, cows, carts and pigs – everything they could. When the Germans encountered partisans, they broke their arms and gouged out their eyes; that’s how those people had to suffer. When the gendarmes found out that someone had joined the partisans, their family was promptly killed and burned. In 1944, the Germans attacked the partisans, beat and murdered them. A lot of our heroes perished, but a lot of enemies were killed as well. Poor, tired heroes would sit in the barns to get some rest and heal their wounds. On the evening of 1 January 1945, the Germans surrounded a few buildings in the neighboring village and found Russian partisans in one of them. Then they burned the whole farm and eight people. They stole horses, cattle, pigs and poultry. They wanted to destroy the Polish people so that not even a trace of them would remain.