Sławatycze, 13 June 1946
Tadeusz Radecki
Class 7
My wartime experiences
The year 1939 brought the defeat and the war. Since that year there have been many misfortunes, fears and other miserable experiences. Polish lands were under enemy rule. On the occupied territories, the clandestine Home Army was established, and we owe them a lot. The enemy oppressed us as much as they could. They took away school buildings and the children had to study in Jewish homes. History and geography were taught in secret. We had a lot of experiences during the war.
In 1943, German troops began to retreat until the year when the war between Russia and Germany began on the Bug River. In the evening we saw transports of cars going from behind the Bug River towards Wisznice. The army set up their positions around the houses. The next day the Germans ordered us to leave our homes. We went to the colony. From the colony, we watched the army blow up the airstrip. At first we could see a huge pillar of fire and smoke rising and shooting up. Then there was an explosion. The smoke formed a black, opaque cloud floating with the wind above the ground. From the colony we moved to the forest, where we could hear machine guns rattling. After a few hours, the shooting stopped.
We came home the other day. At home we found everything scattered and disorderly. We started cleaning up right away. Now we have our school building, which surrounds us with its walls.