Agnieszka Janas
Class 6
Suskowola
My most memorable moment from the German occupation
On 20 June 1944, the Germans arrived at dawn and surrounded our village. As soon as they arrived, they started searching through the houses, looking for men. Whenever they found one, they took him and kept him hungry until the evening. They also went to the forest to search for guerilla fighters. On that day, they arrested a lot of young people. When they were going from Suskowola to Zwoleń, they took a rest about fifty steps away from our house. All the arrestees were surrounded by the soldiers, who did not let anyone get close.
In the evening, the arrestees were tied with strong ropes, shoved into a car and taken to Zwoleń. There, the Germans let some of the people go and took the rest to Częstochowa; only there did they get black coffee and a morsel of dry bread each. After a short time, the Germans decided whom to kill and whom to take deep into their country for heavy labor. Only after two years did some of the people return, while others must have been murdered. This June round-up will be etched in my memory for life.