MARIA KRYSTMAN

Maria Krystman
Class 7
Wola Uhruska, 15 June 1940

Wartime experiences

Wherever you looked, you could see ripening vegetables and rye. The trees were heavy with fruit, especially cherry trees. There were rumors that the Germans would evacuate villages because of the approaching front. We learned about this on a Sunday evening of 20 July. We were in utter despair; we had to leave our home without knowing whether we would ever come back. We loaded the cart early in the morning, because the village had to be vacated by 5.00 a.m. On Monday, at around 11.00 a.m., we reached Bukowski Las. It was pretty good there; we didn’t even hear much fighting. On Saturday morning, my brother and brother-in- law went to Nadbużanka to see if the buildings were still standing there. They returned in the evening with good news: everything was fine, only the glassworks chimney was blown up. We didn’t wait long and at around 2.00 p.m. on Monday we were already home.