1. [Personal data:]
Volunteer Anna Szczepańska, born on 17 January 1922 in Trembowla, Tarnopol Voivodeship, unmarried, no occupation; I lived with my family.
2. [Date and circumstances of the arrest:]
On 12 April 1940, I was deported to the USSR, together with my family, which consisted of five people.
3. [Name of the camp, prison or place of forced labor:]
Semipalatinsk Oblast, Ayagoz region, the village of Kara Kol.
4. [Description of the camp, prison:]
We lived in the village, three families in a single mud house, so when everyone was inside at the same time, there was not enough space to move freely.
6. [Life in the camp, prison:]
Two people from my family worked – my older brother and I. The remuneration we received for the work was so poor that if we hadn’t sold all our belongings we wouldn’t have had a single slice of bread. We had to work. For coming late to work or for not going to work at all, people were fined or sent to hard labor, away from their families.
8. [Medical assistance, hospitals, mortality:]
There was almost no medical assistance because they did not acknowledge any diseases. We had to work until we lost all energy. There were families who lived in barracks full of diseases, dirt and lice, with no hygiene at all because nobody cared for it.
9. [Was it possible to keep in touch with the home country and your family? If yes, what contacts were permitted?] We communicated with our family and they helped us a lot. I also have brothers who are in German captivity, and we also heard from them.
10. [When were you released and how did you join the army?]
My family and I were released in August 1941. In November, we came to the city where the Polish delegation was seated. I worked there until 27 March, thinking all the time about joining the Women’s Auxiliary Service. Finally, my parents allowed me to leave. A friend of mine and I left for Lugovoy, but we were not accepted there, because they were already heading to Persia. My brother signed me up and I went to Tehran in April. As soon as I arrived, I fell sick with typhus. Shortly after leaving the hospital, I joined the Women’s Auxiliary Service. My parents stayed in Russia and I haven’t received any answer to the letters I have written to them.