1. Personal data (name, surname, rank, occupation, and age):
Senior Sergeant Bolesław Sawicki, age 41, professional non-commissioned officer.
2. Date and circumstances of arrest:
On 23 September 1939, after crossing the Polish-Lithuanian border, I was interned by the Lithuanian authorities. After the Soviet occupation of Lithuania, the entire internee camp was deported to Russia.
3.Name of the camp (prison, place of forced labor):
Internee camp in Yukhnov.
4.Description of the camp, prison (grounds, buildings, housing conditions, hygiene):
The camp was located in the old buildings of the estate, and I lived in a dilapidated, old, damaged, and unrepaired barn. Housing conditions were poor ([high] humidity). The only furnishings were bunks, and there was a constant shortage of the things necessary to use in everyday life.
5. The composition of prisoners of war, inmates, exiles (nationality, category of crimes, intellectual and moral standing, mutual relations etc.):
The camp consisted of mostly military officers, State Police officers, and some civilians. Our relations were sincere and friendly. Among us, however, there was a small percentage of people who had a good attitude towards the Soviets. They were despised by all of us, and the attitude towards them was clearly hostile.
6. Life in the camp, prison (daily routine, working conditions, work quotas, remuneration, food, clothing, social life, etc.):
I was hired in a bathhouse. I worked from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, with a dinner break. My job was to chop wood and burn it in the stove. The daily working standard was to cut three and a half cubic meters of wood and stack them together. I also had to keep fire burning in the stove to prepare hot water. I did not receive any monetary payment, except for the food quotas to which prisoners were entitled for their work. I received an addition of 200 g of bread and half a liter of soup. They did not give us any newspapers or books in Polish.
7. The NKVD’s attitude towards the Polish people (interrogation methods, torture and other forms of punishment, Communist propaganda, information about Poland, etc.):
The way the Soviet authorities investigated me was such that I was woken up at midnight and led to the punishment cell. The NKVD asked me questions and I answered them. For example:
“Do you want to fight in the war?” [I responded], “If the Polish Government appoints me, I will.”
“But the Republic of Poland is gone.” [I responded], “It exists in London and is led by General Sikorski.”
“How do you know about it?” [I responded], “I heard about it on the radio in Lithuania.”
“It is all lies, do not listen to that oppressor (Gen. Sikorski), they have already tormented you enough – accept the fact that your government now cleans the toilets.”
8. Medical assistance, hospitals, mortality rate (give the names of the deceased):
There was an infirmary and a hospital in the camp. A few people died, but I do not remember their names. They were buried outside the camp, and no one was informed about it.
9. Was there any possibility to get in contact with one’s country and family?
We were allowed to correspond with our families, but we could write only once in a month. Letters from Poland were not always handed over, and if they were, they were dirty, smeared, and cut, therefore difficult to read.
10. When were you released and how did you manage to join the army?
I was released on the basis of an amnesty [for the Polish citizens in USSR], and immediately after that we were enrolled to the army.