PLACES ODYSSEY DIDN’T REACH cockroaches, flies and lice. From time to time the guards closed the barracks up and disinfected them with gas for three days, so we had to sleep outside on the grass. As the river Rhine was nearby, during the night there were millions of mosquitoes flying about. In the morning we woke up with bites all over our bodies, mostly on our faces. In the middle of the camp were the wash blocks where we could shower. However, there was a limit to the water we could use. You were given a small piece of carbolic soap and you had to be quick or you could just be in the middle of washing your hair when suddenly the water would stop and you would have to wipe yourself with pieces of rags. Your skin would burn from the smelly carbolic soap. Your hair would be left unrinsed. Sometimes we wondered what would happen next. Life was a misery. I lost all sense of time. I was only 21 years of age and living in constant fear. The air raids went on non stop and we had nowhere to hide as the shelters were only for the Germans. The worse was the starvation. For two years we only had one cup of black coffee a day and a couple of slices of bread. The piece of bread we were given in the evening was supposed to be for breakfast but it was so small and as soon as we got it we ate half of it and tried to save the other half for morning. In the middle of the night when there was an air raid I remember I grabbed the piece of bread and ate it just in case I may be killed and the bread would be wasted. At dinner time we would be given a small bowl of soup made of dirty potato peelings and some pieces of swede. It makes you wonder how you can survive for over three years without milk, vegetables, meat or any kind of fruit. The soup they gave us smelled of rotting vegetables and it was full of soil and sand gritting in your teeth. By the end of the war I weighed 25kgs. There were barracks of young boys aged 14 - 19 doing hard work. Being so hungry they picked some plastic from the rubbish bins and made combs to sell to us. I bought one to comb my greasy hair and I had to give them a few portions of bread out of my rations. We had a small boy of ten who was with his mother. Many times he put his hat on upside down hoping not to be recognised so he could join the queue again for more soup. I wrote a letter to my Dad asking if he could send me some bread. A month later I received a letter and a parcel! What a joy!
My only letter in the camp from my father – October 2, 1943 Our Dear Marysia, Firstly we address ourselves to you. May Jesus Christ Our Lord Be Praised. We received your letter from which we found out about your health. Thank God that you are healthy and anymore is God’s will1. We cannot do more than ask Mother of the Rosary for Gods protection for You and for us. Mum asked for the Holy Mass to be said in your intention on Sunday, 17 October. The Lord Jesus and the Holy Mother will be your solace and assistance in your life. For your birthday card wishes for me, may God reward you. I am happy to have such a daughter, may the Lord give you the best that is possible. Here at home we are all healthy. We had quite a lot of work in the fields. We still have corn, rye and wheat to thresh. The weather is nice and the harvest, thank God, has been good. All is quiet and peaceful here. They are chasing the black marketeers somewhat. There is a shortage of footwear and clothing and if anybody brings any in it is very expensive. There is no fat anywhere at all apart from in Warsaw perhaps. Roza was there and said there is everything. But all would be fine if only the war would end and we could see each other again. I have a pain in my knee and I cannot work as I used to2. You wrote before that a girl from Moszczenica died in the barracks. If you know her surname please let us know. We now have a dry spell and haven’t had rain all autumn. There is no snow yet. It is difficult to get shoes. Roza had some shoes made by Gasiak the shoemaker in Warsaw and paid 1500zl.3 Roza is at home. On ending these few words to you we send you the best wishes from me, Mum, Roza, Jula, Zuzia and Mietek. Writing the truth about how appalling the conditions were risked being sent to the concentration camp. No one was to know that this pain in the knee was a direct cause of his death in 1945. 3 1500zl was a fortune in those days 1 2
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