JÓZEFA KOROL

Volunteer Józefa Korol, born on 13 April 1923, Polish, category A.

In Poland I had lived with my parents in Brody, tarnopolskie voivodeship. On 10 February 1940, I was deported to Russia with my family, numbering seven people. We were deported to Arkhangelsk Oblast, Konosha District, Shenchuga hamlet. The hamlet was rather large, situated in a forest clearing. There were many Poles there.

For three months I worked in a timber yard. Then I worked in a sewing room. I worked rather hard, but remuneration was very low and everything was expensive. Apart from that, I received from 400 to 600 grams [of bread] for a working person, and they also gave us soup in the canteen – one helping for a working person. As for clothes, I didn’t get any, because they considered us to be kulaks, rich people who had everything they needed. Although we labored hard we couldn’t scrape by, so we had to sell off our clothes for almost nothing in order to make ends meet.

As for our home country, up until 20 June 1941 we received messages, and our families from Poland were often of great help to us. After communication was cut off with Poland, we were a lot worse off.

We left on 6 January 1942. Having arrived in the south, I joined the army in the armored corps center in Krabaldy [?]. I arrived at my present location in the second transport on 8 March 1942.