ALICJA SAWICKA

Alicja Sawicka
Class 7
Wola Uhruska, 15 June 1946

Wartime experiences

In July 1944 our village was evacuated. Everybody fled wherever they could. My family and I got five kilometers away from our village. We saw numerous German troops and a lot of people from our village. The men dug trenches for their families, my dad included. The first day went by peacefully, but on the second day, Soviet planes arrived in the morning. We all hid in the trenches because the frontline was getting closer. We had been staying there for about two hours when we heard a loud noise – the Germans placed a cannon near us. Then the battle began. I was so scared that I don’t remember what happened. It lasted for around three hours, and then – silence. Dad left the trench first, he saw a lot of Soviet troops and called to us. We also left the trench and started to thank God for his protection. It was God’s doing that we survived the battle.