ANDRZEJ KOMOROWSKI

[1.] Rank, name and surname of the interviewee:

Colonel Andrzej Komorowski

[2.] The expulsion of the civilian population. Its course and conditions:

On 13 April 1940 my family and I were deported to northern Kazakhstan. We travelled in cramped, sealed wagons, under tight escort.

[3.] Methods of interrogating and torturing the arrestee during investigation:

Mostly at night. Exhaustion caused by insomnia and starvation. Poles were mocked, beaten etc.

[4.] Court procedures, ruling in absentia, ways of delivering verdicts (particularly desirable are full texts of judgements):

Sentences were passed regardless of whether the accused had pled guilty or not.

The sentence was read out by a sledowatiel [interrogator] based on the material gathered during the investigation.

[5.] Cases of people who were murdered during their march, during their deportations, during their stay in prison or during their work as forced laborers:

A lot could be written about that. They refrained from outright murder. They had other methods. Nevertheless, a list of those executed was read out several times.

[6.] Life in the prisoner-of-war camps:

It depended on the camp. Generally it was well under par. Cramped conditions, filth, bugs, etc. Extreme punishments for insubordination (I learned this all from my friends, as I wasn’t incarcerated in a POW camp).

[7.] Life in the forced labor camps (camp organization and work quotas):

The laborers were divided into groups. Each group had a commandant, chosen from among its members. The Poles were mixed together with Soviet citizens. Food (400 grams of bread, “soup”) depended on meeting the work quota. In case of failure to fill the quota – 200 grams of bread. It was virtually impossible to meet the quotas.

[8.] Life in prisons:

It depended on the prison. Sometimes it was better than in the labor camps. The constant interrogations were very tiring. We weren’t allowed to go anywhere. We had to relieve ourselves on the spot.

[9.] Life in settlements (the Soviet authorities’ attitude towards the Polish population sent into exile without court judgements):

It depended on the part of Russia one had been deported to. In general, the Polish populace was left to its own devices. People were forced to perform hard labor to which they were not suited. Remuneration was meager. The flats weren’t [illegible] and everyone had to live where they could. The Soviet people were rather favorably disposed towards us Poles, but this also depended on the location.

Official stamp, 14 March 1943