ZOFIA JAKUBOWSKA

Volunteer Zofia Jakubowska, born in 1923 in Bóbrka, lwowskie voivodeship.

I was deported with my family on 10 February 1940 to Kazakhstan, Kostanay Oblast, to the township of Zhetikara. We were persecuted and harassed by the NKVD and forced to perform hard labor. My parents fell ill and I had to work to earn bread for the entire family. Remuneration for work was very low, so sometimes it wasn’t enough to buy bread.

The NKVD’s attitude towards us was very bad. A lot of men were arrested, including my brother-in-law Bolesław Wójcik.

The medical assistance was very poor, and as a result many children and elderly people died there, including my friend’s parents, Jan and Helena Opałko, and many other people whose surnames I don’t remember. Stanisław Kaczkowski froze to death while he was coming back from work at night and got lost – instead of going to home, he went to the steppes, but it was because there were terrible [illegible].

In 1941 the amnesty was proclaimed and we left for kolkhozes in Uzbekistan. Our situation got worse there, and we didn’t have any bread for three months. In March 1942 I went to Persia with my family.