Parish People: Helena Krawczuk By Colin Swanton
Helena, resident in West Sussex for over sixty years, was born into a Polish family living in the Ukraine some 25 kilometres from the Russian border. At the outbreak of the Second World War, her life was turned upside down and she was sent on an amazing journey. Russia invaded Poland sixteen days after the Germans had arrived in Poland and Helena was one of the 1.7 million Polish people who were deported by the Russians to Eastern Russia, of which only about one third survived. At this time, the Ukrainian people took everything from their Polish neighbours – farm, animals, machinery, household goods – and when this happened to Helena’s family, her father told them they should go to the Catholic Church for sanctuary. Before they could go, Russian soldiers arrived at her home and, putting her father and grandfather up against a wall, pointed a gun at them and told the rest of the family to pack. Helena remembers the panic they were in as they packed, fearing that father and grandfather would be shot. As the family hurried to the church with what possessions they could salvage, she still recalls the shell from a Russian tank that flew past them. From the church, Helena’s family, with others, were taken to the railway station and put onto a train consisting of cattle trucks – some 30 people were packed into each truck. There were no windows or ventilation, and no toilet facilities; nor was there 5