1. Personal data (name, surname, rank, age, profession, marital status):
Senior Sergeant Roman Jankowski, born on 7 August 1901, non-commissioned officer, married.
2. and 3. Dates and circumstances of arrest; name of the camp, prison, forced labor site:
On 19 August 1940, I was arrested by NKVD in Nowa Wilejka and put in prison in Wilno on Łukiszki. I stayed there until 23 June [?] 1941, and then I was moved to USSR, city of Gorky.
4. Description of the camp, prison, etc. (terrain, buildings, living conditions, hygiene):
In Wilno, during the times of the Lithuanian administration, three people would be placed in a so-called single cell. When the administration was taken over by the Soviets, five to eight people would be put in the same single cell. Under the Lithuanian administration, the living conditions were bearable, as was the hygiene. But when eight people were put in a single cell, there was no way to keep cleanliness.
5. Composition of POWs, prisoners (nationality, offense category, moral and intellectual standing, mutual relations, etc.):
Prisoner composition in terms of nationality: around 60 percent Poles, 20 percent Ukrainians, 10 percent Lithuanians, 5 percent Jews, 5 percent Soviets. Crime categories of the Poles were mainly based on article 58, conspiracy organization. Ukrainians and Lithuanians were wealthy landlords who opposed the NKVD rulings and hated the communist system. The NKVD qualified them as a dangerous element. Jews were usually put in jail for trading, hiding goods, etc. Intellectual and moral standing of the Poles was high – [they were] usually officers, clerks and non-commissioned officers. Mutual relations between the Poles were perfectly fine. Social life was good. Mutual help. Living in misery bonded us strongly. Lithuanians, as well as Ukrainians, were of an unfavorable attitude toward Poles.
6. Life in the camp, prison etc. (daily routine, working conditions, quotas, salary, food rations, clothing, social and cultural life): Life in prison was monotonous, dull. We were never asked to work while staying in prison. For the first four months, there were no walks. It wasn’t until later when they allowed us fifteen-minute walks every two days. In Wilno, at the time of the Lithuanian administration, food rations consisted of: a liter of coffee in the morning, 650 grams of bread a day, meat soup for dinner, and zacierka for supper. During the Soviet administration, the coffee wasn’t half as good, thin soup at noon, 400 grams [of bread] – that’s it. In the city of Gorky, food rations were very poor, consisting of a thin fish soup and 400 grams of bread and hot water. I didn’t receive any clothes. Social life was harmonious. Attitude of the officers towards me – friendly and cordial. When it comes to cultural life, it was limited to talks and various stories from life told by the officers. We didn’t receive any newspapers, magazines, or books.
7. NKVD’s attitude towards Poles (methods of interrogation, torturing, punishments, communist propaganda, information about Poland, etc.):
NKVD authorities usually carried out interrogations between 9 p.m. and midnight. The interrogating officers’ behavior was ignorant, rude, and overall not in accordance with the authority of a state official. The speech of every NKVDist was always full of cursing and vulgar expressions. While interrogating, he would give heavy punches in the face, kick, told us to lie on the couch, called an assistant for beating, stick needles under our fingernails, put a brauning, nagan into our mouth, and then throw us into a confinement cell or a flooded cellar for a couple of days. The interrogations were nothing less than just torturing the prisoners. Our wanting for the Republic of Poland to be “from sea to sea” was laughed at.
8. Medical assistance, hospitals, mortality (list names of the deceased):
Medical assistance was very poor. Even if a doctor came, which usually happened after seven or more days of waiting, he would probably find the person already dead or hopelessly ill. When it comes to medicine, there was almost none at all. On the way from Wilno to Gorky, the following died: late Marine Mayor Piotrowski from Landworow, Senior Sergeant Aleksander Józef from Nowa Wilejka. They died in the wagon, ([illegible]), from lack of air and exhaustion.
9. Was there a possibility to contact one’s country and family?
I did not have any contact with my family back in the country. Nor could I be visited. I received money while in prison, but who had been sending it, I don’t know; I suppose my wife.
10. When were you released and how did you manage to get into the army?
I was released pursuant to amnesty, on 19 September 1941. I wandered for a couple of months, earning several rubles here and there to survive.
On 2 January 1942 I arrived in Kuybyshev, from there I was directed to Wriewskij, to the Polish Armed Forces Training Center.
I have to mention that upon my arrest, the NKVD took my watch, golden rings, memorial photographs, securities, personal documents and 1800 Polish zlotys.
Official stamp, 17 February 1942