BOGUMIŁA POLAK

Bogumiła Polak
Class 7
Wola Uhruska, 15 June 1946

Wartime experiences

On a nice, quiet morning we got a message saying that we had to move, because the Germans would be staying at our place. We were sad to leave the house, but we were forced to. We needed to find some quiet place to survive those unfortunate times. After a few hours we could hear planes flying above us. Sometime later we heard shots, which scared us immensely, so we hid in a forest. Then I saw a rocket, which lit up the horizon. The sounds of grenades, exploding bombs and machine guns were so loud that the ground was trembling. After a while I could hear the groans of the wounded, and people crying that they would never return home. I too was shivering, like a leaf on a branch swayed by the wind. But it did not last long, after a few hours the Soviets came and told us that we could return home. Everybody was happy that the battle had ended, and they could go home. When we were walking back, I saw the glow of fires and smoke, which darkened the horizon. After our return we had to start cleaning so that we could rest in a clean and soft bed.