Janina Kostecka
Class 4
Wisznice, Włodawa district
19 June 1946
My wartime experiences
As soon as we left, we were already scared, because the Germans were fleeing Russia. We were in a trench under a bush. We were huddled together, all of us in that trench, and the Germans were right next to us. Soon, the Russian army arrived. When the Germans were leaving, they caused a lot of destruction – they blew up the large bridge, burned down the bell tower and the barracks. When the Russians chased the Germans away, everybody ran. The Hungarians came, the Germans thought they would fight together, but the Russian army routed them. Only two projectiles flew nearby. When night came, the Germans set fire to [the buildings], but God gave us rain to put the fire out. During the war there was a hospital at our home, there were many mines and bombs in Zwierzyniec. When we were going home, there were mines everywhere, [but] we came home happily.