Feliks Fronczyk, Platoon Sergeant of the Reserve, 49 years of age, married.
I was taken captive on 17 September 1939 in Dubno and deported to Shepetivka. I was in the following camps: Żynin, Jaryszów, Hermanów, Kurowice, Olszanica, Wołoczyska, and Starobilsk.
We were accommodated in tents regardless of the season of the year. Since we bathed once a month, all of us were infested with lice. Belorussians made up the majority of the prisoners. They were hostile towards us Poles. The wake-up call was at 5.30 a.m. and at 7.30 we would go out to work irrespective of whether it was a holiday or if the weather was bad. We worked until 7.00 p.m. I was paid 40-50 rubles per month.
Food was poor: 800 grams of bread and a thin soup with oil or fish. Polish military uniforms were taken away from us and given to the Ukrainians.
Poles were on good terms with each other. Given the shortage of medicines, medical assistance was unsatisfactory.
In May 1940, a Pole by the surname of Szukiel tried to escape from the camp in Jaryszów and was killed by a guard.
I wasn’t in communication with my relatives, although I sent them a few letters.
In September 1941, following the Polish-Soviet agreement, I was released from the camp in Starobilsk. On 18 September, I got through to the Polish Army’s organizational center in Totskoye and was enlisted.