1. Personal data:
Gunner Jan Klewczenia, 32 years old, farmer; marital status: single; Field Post Office no. 161.
2. Date and circumstances of arrest:
I was arrested on 13 December 1939, while I was crossing the demarcation line, having escaped German captivity.
3. The name of the camp, prison and place of forced labor:
The prisoner of war camp in Radziwiłłów. From 29 June 1941, the prisoner of war camp in Starobielsk.
4. Description of the camp, prison etc. (grounds, buildings, living conditions, hygiene):
In Radziwiłłów we lived in a railroad building, in fairly decent housing conditions. Sanitary conditions were good. In Starobielsk we lived in tents, in terrible conditions. As for hygiene, there were two doctors, Polish and Russian, but medicine was in short supply.
5. The composition of POWs, prisoners (nationality, type of crime, intellectual and moral level, mutual relations etc.):
There were over 900 prisoners of various nationalities. They were all prisoners of war. The morale was very high and mutual relations were good.
6. Life in the camp, prison, etc. (daily routine, working conditions, work quotas, food, clothes, social and cultural life etc.)
We worked from very early in the morning until very late in the evening. Working conditions were very harsh, and quotas were so high that no one was able to fill them. If someone managed to do so, he was assigned twice as much work on the following day. There was a terrible shortage of food, and people in the camp were starving. They dropped like flies. Our clothing was also very lousy. No clothes were given to those who didn’t have their own, so they had to work almost naked. Mutual relations among the Polish POWs were very good.
7. The NKVD authorities’ attitude towards the Poles (ways of interrogating, torture, punishments, communist propaganda, information about Poland)
The NKVD authorities treated Poles in a terrible manner, hurling abuse at the prisoners and at Poland. Interrogations were conducted every day. They would try to get some information out of us by means of flattery and empty promises. The communist propaganda was very active. They made us listen to lectures (daily), read newspapers and books, watch films. With regards to Poland, we knew that the Polish government was in France, then in England, and that there was a Polish army. We learnt all of this from civilians.
8. Medical care, hospitals, mortality rate (provide the surnames of those who perished):
As for medical help, there were two doctors (Poles) who did everything they could. But doctors who wrote sick notes for patients were then detained in prison by the Russians. Some hospitals probably functioned, but I cannot testify to that, for I was never admitted to any of them. People died from starvation and exhaustion, but I do not remember any names. When one of the prisoners fainted during the march from Radziwiłłów to Russia, he was shot dead.
9. What, if any, was your contact with the home country and with your family:
Back when I was in the Polish territories, my father and brother visited me twice. When I was transported to Russia, all contact with the home country and with families was severed.
10. When were you released and how did you get through to the Polish Army?
All prisoners from our camp were released on 4 August 1941 and sent to the Polish Army in Totskoye.
Official stamp, 17 March 1943