ZBYSŁAW KOŚCIUCZYK

Zbysław Kościuczyk
Class 5a
Wisznice, 19 June 1946

My most important wartime experiences

One morning on a Sunday in July, we could hear loud noises and screaming. The Germans were fleeing from Russia. When I went out on the road, I saw three Germans on horseback. My dad took our horses and ran into the woods. Then I saw the German artillery moving along. There were also many cars. The Germans ran away like that until noon.

In a few hours’ time, we could hear the engines of Soviet tanks. In front of the tanks, we saw Polish partisan troops, followed by Soviet tanks. At night, the Soviet infantry made their advances, followed by cars and horses pulling cannons in the morning. They took the horses from people, and sometimes they [swapped] them.

The Germans moved out farther and farther, until they stopped near Warsaw.