Stanisława Koza
Class 4
Elementary School in Krężnica Jara
My memory from 1939
It was 1939. The specter of war was looming over Poland. Our eternal German enemy invaded our land, wreaking havoc and terror among the Poles. Our soldiers went into bloody battle, and homes and villages were deserted, but we were sure we would defeat the Germans. That didn’t happen. The Germans crossed the Polish border and went deep into our lands, plundering villages and towns. The Polish army began to retreat, hiding in the forests and moving away from the roads so as to avoid falling into the hands of the enemy. The enemy occupied our lands with his army and ripped Polish eagles from the caps of soldiers, whom they took into captivity. German airplanes were whirring overhead and dropping bombs on our villages and towns. In our village, soldiers showed up in groups, tired but certain that someday freedom and liberty would also appear on our land. After a short rest, they marched on and on so as not to surrender to the enemies. Meanwhile, the Germans began dropping bombs on the forests to force these handfuls of soldiers to surrender. Several bombs fell near our settlement, but none caused damage to our farms, as they all fell on empty fields. People left their homes and fled to the woods to stay away from the enemy. I saw a bomb dropped by the Germans on Strzeszkowice burst violently, and people’s homesteads began to burn. Along with other households, they burned down my aunt’s farm. Finally, the bombs and the roar of cannons calmed down, but the horror of captivity hung over our land stained with blood. Every Polish heart mourned its loved ones, and our land was enriched with the martyr blood of the Poles who strewed the road with their graves. I was just a little girl, seven years old, but those moments stuck in my mind. And today the white eagle has spread its wings and Poland is free again.