Cecylia Misiak
Class 7
Elementary School in Długowola
Starachowice district
Memories of German crimes
The Germans committed massive crimes in Poland. They were arresting young people, mostly men, and taking them to Auschwitz, where they abused them, killed them, burned their bodies, and sent back their ashes. They were setting up camps where they imprisoned people for the most trivial offences, such as [failure to deliver] quotas, [possession of] animal fat, trading, etc. Boys over 18 [years of age], so-called youth laborers, were taken to work. They toiled digging trenches in Poland, knee-deep in the mud. Many of them died due to poor living conditions and the lack of clothing, and most of the living are sickly to this day.
The German military police was spying on Polish organizations. Whole families were killed for one member belonging to [any] organization. The military police would arrive at night and kidnap the people or kill the elderly straightaway. Buildings were set on fire; everything, including those killed, was burned. Some people were thrown into the fire alive. There were no casualties in our village. A few farmers were placed in a camp for [undelivered] quotas [or were taken] to dig the trenches. The Germans abused them badly, but all of them [later] returned to their homes.