Class VI
Łączna, 13 November 1946
My memories of German crimes
The German occupation began in 1939. Upon entering the country, the Germans started robbing and pillaging both cities and villages. The defenseless civilians were taken into captivity and deported deep into Germany. There, they were forced to perform hard labor. Those whom they didn’t take were treated steadily worse. The conditions under which we lived became more and more harsh. Finally, terrible tragedies occurred, such as that in Klonów.
One night, the village was surrounded by armed Hitlerite units. Some of the soldiers went up to the peacefully sleeping village and started herding the residents to one spot. They made no exception for the women and children. Then they read out the names of 19 young men and executed them right in front of the people who had been forced to gather there. The cries and laments which accompanied this scene of terror were difficult to describe. The merciless Germans declared that the murdered could not be buried in the cemetery, and ordered the residents to dig graves at the spot where the men had been executed.
This was just one of the tens of tragedies which occurred in our parts.