Volunteer Janina Stępniewska, the wife of military settler [?], 40 years of age, born in Grzegorzówka.
After the invasion of the Soviets, I was cast out of my home together with my family. The NKVD arrested us on 10 February 1940, in order to deport us to the USSR. I was transferred to Vologda Oblast, then to one of the settlements where we were extracting peat. My accommodation was small, stuffy, and infested with bed bugs. But I had to leave even this, when my husband was arrested.
The way the authorities treated me was horrible; the camp commander insulted me and spoke with harsh words.
I worked with my 14-year-old son at peat extraction, and my elder son, who was 17-years- old, worked by the river at timber rafting. The authorities were ruthless in terms of performed work; they did not consider age or physical weakness. Remuneration for the work was minimal; barely enough for 500 grams of bread, and when I was very exhausted and could not work, I received only 200 grams of bread.
The mortality rate was high because of the hunger.
Correspondence with my country was difficult because letters, as well as parcels, were strictly controlled by the NKVD. There were cases when they told us to sign for a letter from this or that person just to take it away again, and when the parcels were delivered, they were messy and empty.
Medical care was not the worst possible.
From the forced labor [camp], I was released on my request after the announcement of the amnesty. On our request, we left north on 1 November 1941.
I decided to leave because of the news I heard about women joining our Army, and I was very pleased about the possibility of working for Poland. However, when I came to Buzuluk on 5 December 1941, they did not want to take me in and they sent us south to Uzbekistan. I was working on kolkhoz [collective-owned farmland] there. Finally, I learned that they were taking women in the Women’s Auxiliary Service, so I left everything and I went by myself to Gorchakovo, which was 50 kilometers away. I reached the destination and they took me into the Women’s Auxiliary Service on 4 March 1942.