Volunteer Urszula Kucharska, born on 10 July 1923, student, deported on 10 February 1940 to Arkhangelsk Oblast, Ustyansky District, Solitsky Lesopunkt [forest work unit],
Rzhavka hamlet. I was deported from Nowogródek.
The hamlet was situated very far from any inhabited locations. The hygienic conditions were terrible. Six barracks housed 500 people. The barracks were furnished inadequately for the climate. They were bug-ridden, which was a great torment. Drinking water was in short supply. Soap was issued rarely and in small quantities. The climate was unhealthy. In winter, there were severe frosts and gales, and in spring and fall the ground turned into a sea of mud, with mosquitoes swarming above it. In general, the ground was swampy.
We performed hard, slave-like labor. We had to fell trees, and then transport them and float them down the river, and then the process would begin anew. Even small children weren’t left alone, but forced to burn branches and clear the forest after the trees were felled. We received very meager remuneration for our work. It was extremely difficult to meet the work quotas. On average, one earned no more than a ruble.
Food was awful: 400 grams of bread for the whole day, and if one family member didn’t go to work, the whole family was deprived of bread on that day. We had to queue for a few hours at the canteen to get one helping of soup for a working person. The soup consisted of two mushrooms or a few oat grains floating in water – that was what they called soup. The Communist propaganda was spread widely and actively. At every step, we were forced to forget about Poland and become honest Soviet citizens.
There wasn’t any medical assistance, and people were dying in great numbers.