Emilia Bielska, born in 1914, daughter of a civilian settler. I married in 1938.
On 10 March 1940 they deported all the colonists, including the military settlers, to the Plesetsky region of the Arkhangelsk Oblast, to the settlement of Sławna. This settlement comprised three barracks, a shop, and a tiny office building – that was it. We were placed in one of the barracks. There were some 75 families in total, a few of whom were Belorussian. These Ruthenians tormented us terribly, informing on us and taking all the lighter jobs for themselves. Our people would be sent to perform hard labor in the forest. Initially, women with small children were not forced to work, but after some time this changed, and they had to labor irrespective of their age and state of health.
During the first Easter spent there, 24-year-old Stanisław Pietrzyk was killed by a falling pine. There was absolutely no medical assistance. A few months later, one Stanisława Kuczerska, a 20-year-old girl, drowned. There were numerous other accidents. The larger families who had only one person fit for work all died out.
The Bulikowskis – four persons, the Stępnowskis – four persons, the Szymańskis – four persons, the Niziołs – three persons, the Szymborskis – three persons, and a great many others. The elderly and children aged below ten all died off due to the terrible privations.
Every once in a while we would be visited by the NKVD, who proceeded to interrogate our men through nights on end; for us, this was the most harrowing torture. Religion was severely persecuted.
Following the amnesty, our general conditions improved somewhat, although materially we were worse off. On the whole, the attitude of the Soviets towards us was very hostile.
In January 1942 we traveled south, to Lugovoy, and from there to Yangiyo’l, where I crossed the border as a civilian. I crossed the border on 15 August 1942. On 9 September 1942, I joined the Women’s Auxiliary Service in Pahlevi.