Naftali Katz, rifleman, born in 1914, locksmith, unmarried.
On 29 June 1940, I was sent to Cheremoshniki near Tomsk. At the station in Przemyśl, they loaded us into cargo cars carrying 34 people each. At first, they did not give us any nourishment; we were sitting in closed carriages without food for four days. It was only when the train arrived at larger station in Russia that we received 400 grams of bread and fish per person. No one was released from the wagons.
We arrived at our destination on 26 July 1940. Families were placed in separate barracks, and people without families in others. Some 90 people lived in the barracks, there were no beds, we slept on the floor. There were Poles and Jews among us, relations were very good, with faith that we would return to Poland. There was no hygiene at all.
We labored to load and unload wood. The work was very hard because we had to reach 100% of the quota. The monthly earnings were 30 rubles. I got by selling my own belongings to survive. Only those who met the quotas could buy clothes.
The attitude of the NKVD authorities towards the Poles was very bad. They constantly demanded the quotas to be reached. Communist propaganda was propagated, but Poles and Jews did not attend these meetings.
There was medical help, but there was no medication. The hospital was in Tomsk. The deceased: Józef Tag from Tyczyn, and many more whose names I don’t remember.
I remained in contact with Poland until the [German-Soviet] war broke out.
I was released on 21 October 1941 and was directed to Buzuluk. There was overcrowding there, so they sent me on to Samarkand. In Samarkand, I met a friend who was looking for me, so we went to Guzar together, where he and I were both drafted into the army.