IRENA TROJANOWSKA

Class 6
Łuków, 24 June 1946

My wartime experiences

On Saturday, 22 July 1944, the German troops started running away. On the next morning, we learned that the Soviets had already reached Radzyń. Some people could not believe it. Meanwhile, as the number of Russian soldiers was growing, more Germans were fleeing to their country. Some inhabitants of towns escaped to the countryside with their small bundles.

On Monday, 24 July, the Russian army arrived in the morning. The unsuspecting civilians went outside to greet them. Several planes appeared, circled around and left. Shortly afterwards, a German squadron appeared and began an intense bombing. Many people were killed or injured during the first bombing. It lasted two days. The whole town was on fire. It was destroyed so badly that very few houses remained standing. Responsible for all of this was the German nation – Poland’s worst enemy.