Mieczysław Choromański
22 June 1946
How I studied during the occupation
The first day of September 1939, when the Polish-German war began, found me in Warsaw, where I stayed until its heroic fall. I will not describe the happenings Warsaw experienced during this time, as I believe all citizens are well aware of them. However, I will add that the days of the siege of the capital required extraordinary self-sacrifice and almost superhuman dedication from its inhabitants. During the defense of Warsaw, the house I lived in was destroyed by artillery shells. Therefore, after its surrender, the lack of housing forced my family to leave Warsaw. I left with my parents for the countryside to stay with cousins. From then on, my life flowed without major changes for about two years.
Of course, during this time, education was out of the question. Firstly, the Germans in our area ruthlessly suppressed any signs of intellectual life, and secondly, there were no people capable of organizing even a makeshift school. Moreover, this two-year period was a time of German triumph. Under their pressure, such powers as France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, and others fell. Therefore, the German soldiers stationed on Polish soil, buoyed by pride in their arms, acted without restraint, with no regard for anyone or anything. It is no wonder that under such circumstances, almost every resident of my area, forced to endure constant German arrogance, lost all hope for a better tomorrow. This mood often affected me as well. During those times, I lost not only the desire to study but even to live.
It was only in 1941, the year of the outbreak of the German-Soviet war, that my life saw slight changes. By the end of that year, the war had moved to Russian territory, leading to the dissolution of several German garrisons in our area, which in turn reduced vigilance and terror. Then it got a little better. It was already anticipated that the Germans would sooner or later fall. Noble individuals capable of creative work began to appear among the population. Finally, the emergence of the resistance, whose members often displayed almost superhuman courage, gave people hope.
At that time, a history teacher, who had taught before the war at a middle school in Warsaw, arrived in the countryside (to her cousins). Immediately upon arrival, she organized so-called clandestine classes, which six people, including myself, eagerly attended. We studied in the house of a shoemaker, for five hours a day, but at different times each day.
Our education was filled with various moments, sometimes truly tragic and sometimes even comical. On the way to lessons, we had to carry a basket with a snack, only to better hide the books, as carrying them under our shirts was known to the gendarmerie, whom we often encountered on the way. Sometimes, during lessons, the owner of the house would rush in to announce that labor office officials had arrived in the village. Then we would all sit around our craftsman (the man at whose house we studied), each with a torn slipper in hand and a piece of hammer, pretending to be apprentice shoemakers. Once the danger passed, we resumed our lessons. I usually did my homework late at night because I was busy with other work during the day. And so day after day, week after week passed. This way, I completed three grades of middle school.
Finally, 1944 came. First, rumors began to circulate about the German retreat, and finally, the rumors became a fact. The Germans were retreating rapidly. We had to interrupt our education. Everyone tried to find a hiding place to wait out the passage of the front. The front was only a few kilometers away. There were many different experiences during this time, but everything passed.
In the first year after the war, I completed the fourth grade, and this year I am attending an accelerated course, covering the first and second grades of high school, hoping to obtain my high school diploma as soon as possible.