Helena Pochylska
Class 7
Zajezierze, 27 November 1946
What do the mass graves tell us?
When the Germans invaded Poland and destroyed its borders, they started to take whatever they could: cows, pigs, grain, and eventually – people.
Thousands of soldiers died on the frontlines. Numerous people died of hunger and poverty.
But even though they were unprepared, the Poles fought so hard that the enemy had to retreat, for example at Kutno and some other towns.
But despite the heroic defense of the Polish soldiers, the Germans took control of Poland.
And again: masses of people perished at Auschwitz, Majdanek and various other camps. They were burned alive in the crematoria. This is why the mass graves were created.
There is also a mass grave of Polish soldiers in our commune of Sieciechów, in the cemetery in Opactwo. Every year, we clean it and decorate it with flowers.
The times of our terrible captivity have passed. Only traces remain.
We, the Polish children, learn assiduously to give our lives for our homeland, just like those soldiers did.
The mass graves seem to remind us of those years of terrible captivity; it is as if they were asking us not to forget them.
And so we must remember them.