1. Surname, name, rank:
Sergeant Officer Cadet Grzegorz Adolf Filip, 32 years old, telecommunications engineer, bachelor.
2. Date and circumstances of the arrest:
On 27 May 1940 I was summoned to an NKVD office for the purpose of discussing the installation of a telephone exchange in the office. I was arrested there on charges of having participated in an uprising against the Soviets that had broken out in January 1940 in Czortków. During the interrogation, which lasted about 12 hours without a break, it was determined that I had committed a crime described in Article 54, Section 2 of the UKK, based on which I was placed in Czortków prison, where I was held until 18 February 1941.
3. Name of a) the prison, b) the camp:
a) See above.
b) I was transferred to a labor camp near Ukhta, 1st wodny promysł.
4. Description of a) the prison, b) the camp:
a) The prison was the same as before September 1939. The housing conditions: 16 people were held in a single cell. Following segregation, political prisoners were kept separately. The conditions got worse, there was no drinking water let alone for washing. Food – for example every day for a month we received water with bits of cabbage. The only thing that improved our situation were the food packages we received – one per month. The inmates were of all nationalities. Local Ukrainians were the most hostile towards us. They even tried to break Poles morally, but did not always succeed.
The conditions in the camp were similar, but there was more fresh air, which we lacked in the prison. The housing and hygienic conditions were slightly better – we bathed once a week and the clothes were disinfected more often, as a result of which we were no longer “accompanied” by lice. The intellectual standing of the prisoners was low, quite [illegible] various degenerates, mostly Soviet citizens.
5. Life in the prison, camp:
Life in prison was terribly monotonous. We were not allowed to engage in a variety of entertainments, even intellectual ones. We were not provided with any newspapers, books, or games. We spent our free time telling stories about different topics [illegible] personal experiences. In the camp we worked for 12 hours, digging in the ground and building houses. I personally wanted to work in various divisions, but I was always told that a prisoner with such a sentence and imprisoned based on this particular Article could not be assigned to any other work than the one I have mentioned above. Social life existed only between Poles and some Soviets.
6. Attitude of the NKVD towards Poles:
Hostile and inhumane. The personal dignity of Poles was constantly being insulted. We were punished and tortured for the slightest “offense.” The accused was unable to defend himself because no one believed him, even if he managed to prove his innocence with the help of witnesses. During the interrogation, the NKVD beat and tortured us, using sophisticated methods.
7. Medical assistance:
When it comes to professional help, if it was possible to provide medical assistance, we received it; but due to the lack of medicines, rational treatment was impossible.
8. Was it possible to keep in touch with the home country? I did not receive any letters from my family or friends. However, some people received mail – letters and packages.
9. When were you released?
I was released on 23 August 1941. They wanted me to stay in the camp and offered me a job in the technical design office, which was very well equipped, but I refused. After I received the release document, I wanted to leave for work. On my way to the station, I heard a Polish Army emissary announce that a Polish army was being formed in Buzuluk, which was confirmed by the head of the NKVD. He said that only officers were allowed to return, while the rest had to leave for work. I reported to the Polish Army captain, declaring that I was a reserve officer cadet, and I asked him if I could stay. He agreed. I told the Soviet authorities that I was an officer and I returned to the camp with a group of officers. After five days in the camp, a transport of about one thousand six hundred people was formed and sent to the town of Totskoye, where a Polish army was being formed. It was the first transport for the army that left from that camp.