Class 6
Piotrków
12.06.1946
From my own experiences
In May 1944, the Germans were driving down from [the direction of] Wysokie in three trucks. They were going to Krzczonów. They were carrying Poles they had arrested. When they went by our village, they stopped by the roadside. Some of them went to the village for butter, the others remained in the trucks. After a moment the sound of shooting reached our ears. The terrified Germans ran to their vehicles, ducking under the whistling bullets. A group of partisans came out of the forest, surrounded the Germans, killed six of them and took their weapons, and then set the arrested peasants free.
The news went around the whole village. I was very scared as I was alone at home. Groups of terrified people went through the village. Everyone was saying that the Germans would get their revenge on us for what had happened.
The horrible day passed. A dark night fell. It was raining. Everyone was getting ready to run away. The village was filled with the cries of people as they left their family homes. Nobody knew if they would ever return to that place. We left home too. The cart was filled with the most necessary things, everything else was left behind.
I saw some lights on the road as we were setting off. The Germans were coming for their dead. They took two farmers. One ran away so they killed him on the spot and took the second one with them. We made it safely to my aunt’s place in Olszanka. We stayed there for a whole week. Dad went home every day to feed the cows and pigs. One day, I went home with my dad. The whole village was silent. As we were heading back, we saw a dead German in the forest. When the Germans abandoned our village, we went home.
That vagrant life in fear of the Germans will stick in my memory for a long time.