| Source | Witness raport. The interview with a witness of the events- this is a fragment of the interview with a professor of the Metallurgy Academy in Cracow Stefan Œliwiñski, concerning his memories of the youth period of life- the first days of the war and the German occupation of Poland - Bulletin of the University of Wroclaw 1994 |
| Event referred to | Nazis invsion of Poland in September 1939. |
| Technological characteristics | pdf file |
| Description of the source | In his relation, the witness recalls the first days of the war and the time of the German Occupation. He describes in details the events and his personal feelings of those days. He talks about the tragedy of war which touched so painfully the civilian people, about the never ending belief of the Polish community in the victory of the September campaign- the defending war; he underlines the constant efforts and the community’s determination within the unequal struggle against the invader. The memories also included the poem by Œliwiñski- titled “My September”. |
| Contextualisation of the source | The Bulletin describes events worth remaining in the national canon of memorial. It shows the tragic events responding to the events and gives the examples of heroic behaviour which should influence the consciousness of our national heritage. |
| Interpretation of the source | source shows all the identity of the tragic events seen by the eyes of the Polish young person of the time of the war starting. It shows the character of polish understanding the conflict and the need of the Polish heroism from the first hand. |
| Original Contents | Ka¿dy nosi pod powiek¹ jakiœ osobisty, w³asny obraz tamtych wrzeœniowych dni, i te to jego prze¿ycia okreœlaj¹ poczucie godnoœci w narodzie, jak nasz - bez racji napadniêtym.
Do wybuchu wojny, podczas okupacji i kilka lat po wojnie mieszka³em na wsi, pracuj¹c na roli w województwie lubelskim, w powiecie krasnostawskim, w wiosce Maciejów, czêœci kraju miêdzy Wieprzem, a Bugiem, 14 km na wschód od Krasnegostawu. Byliœmy - zdawa³o siê - daleko od granicy z Niemcami tak, ¿e mia³o siê poczucie pewnego bezpieczeñstwa. Wojskowo by³em tylko co po komisji poborowej, przyjêtym do s³u¿by w artylerii lekkiej - powiedziano mi, ¿e jesieni¹ otrzymam wezwanie do wojska, a tymczasem mia³em du¿o roboty w domu i w gospodarstwie na roli - om³oty, orka, siejba, obs³uga inwentarza i in. Wojna, która niebawem wybuch³a, toczy³a siê niejako na poboczu moich gospodarskich spraw i wieœniaczego trudu.
Sierpieñ tego lata by³ piêkny pogod¹ s³oneczn¹, ale w powietrzu czu³o siê niepokój wynikaj¹cy z poszeptów, a jeszcze bardziej z wrzasku natrêtnego Hitlera, odbieranego codziennie z radia s³uchawkowego. Na niebie ktoœ widzia³ znak „rózgi” - powiadano. Niemniej, opanowanie i spokój p³ynê³y z przemówieñ ministra Becka i Marsza³ka Edwarda Rydza Œmig³ego w zwi¹zku z czym, histerii w narodzie specjalnie nie by³o. W przedmiocie Gdañska i „korytarza” - rozumowano - racja jest po naszej stronie. Niemcy mieli oto napotkaæ po raz pierwszy opór po szeregu aneksji w krajach uleg³ych, psychologicznie pora¿onych. Jakkolwiek napastnik by³ terytorialnie silniejszy, to przecie¿ brakowa³o mu surowców; mówi³o siê - nade wszystko mas³a - które zastêpowano jak¹œ tam margaryn¹. Ewentualn¹ przewagê napastnika - zak³adano - powinna wyrównaæ bitnoœæ naszego ¿o³nierza. Ogólnie panowa³o dobre mniemanie o polskim wojsku, specjalnie kawalerii, i innych polskich broniach, takich jak czo³gi, samoloty, dzia³ka ppanc., o sprawnoœci polskich lotników (promienieli ¯wirko i Wigura). Granice mieliœmy zabezpieczone od wschodu paktem o nieagresji z ZSRR, od po³udnia paktami o przyjaŸni z Rumuni¹ i Wêgrami, zaœ od zachodu sta³y na ty³ach wroga sojusznicze armie Anglii i Francji. Litwa by³a upokorzona w zwi¹zku z utrat¹ K³ajpedy. Z szacunku wynika³o, ¿e nale¿a³o wytrzymaæ przede wszystkim pierwsze uderzenie.
I sta³o siê; 1 wrzeœnia, w pi¹tek o godzinie 5 rano podnios³y siê dymy nad Che³mem. Mówiono: depo p³onie. Wujek Kraczkowski bieg³ przez wieœ trzymaj¹c siê za g³owê - wojna! wojna!; jakby w przeczuciu, ¿e od kuli niemieckiej zginie. £aknêliœmy wszyscy wiadomoœci z frontu, i oto komunikat: Genera³ Bortnowski poszed³ na Berlin, jest na ty³ach wroga; powiedzia³ to m³ody lotnik, Osiecki, z Krakowa usiad³szy samolocikiem na dworskiej niwie (u wujka dziedzica w maj¹tku Toruñ). Tymczasem na zachodzie popo³udniami dudni³o, front by³ Kolo Radomia. Mówili to ludzie ci¹gn¹cy masowo na wschód - ró¿nej profesji - przewa¿nie urzêdnicy, nios¹cy ca³y swój dobytek w rêkach, ci¹gn¹cy na wózkach i rowerach - czêsto dzieci (ktoœ rozpozna³ dr. Panowa, jak przeprawia³ siê z dzieæmi wp³aw przez Bug, trzymaj¹c koszulê w zêbach). Pod noc otwiera³o siê bramy stodó³, dla udzielenia podró¿nym noclegu; noc w noc spa³o po 30 osób na klepisku. Wszyscy szli za Bug, gdzie mia³a byæ organizowana obrona. Myœmy na razie trwali na posterunku, maj¹c wyznaczone zadania. Jako cz³onek Zwi¹zku Strzeleckiego by³em powo³any przez wójta do obrony terytorialnej kraju; mia³em legitymowaæ ka¿dego typa jad¹cego przez wieœ na motocyklu. Za³o¿ywszy opaskê pe³ni³em sw¹ s³u¿bê bez jakiegokolwiek ubezpieczenia. W domu wisia³ na œcianie karabin strzelecki - bez amunicji „Manlicher”- tak dla animuszu.
Sporadycznie zapuszcza³y siê wioskowym traktem pojedyncze samochody, mimo, ¿e droga by³a polna o nieutwardzonej nawierzchni (zdatna do ruchu jedynie w czas suszy). Któregoœ dnia pojawi³a siê na goœciñcu czarna limuzyna, a w niej dwóch Rosjan - kierowca w czapce czo³gisty i inteligent z nik³ym zarostem pod w¹sem, w granatowym ubraniu. NajwyraŸniej zwiadowcy, którzy wysiad³szy namawiali m³odzie¿ do marszu na wschód, do Zwi¹zku Radzieckiego. To te¿ i wybra³o siê nieco póŸniej trzech mieszkañców wioski którzy, jak niepyszni, niebawem cichcem wrócili. Wed³ug rozkazu na wschód poszli przede wszystkim ¿o³nierze i cywile - w kurzu i pyle - za Bug...!
W miêdzyczasie wpad³ do mego domu jakiœ m³ody obcy cz³owiek i œci¹gn¹³ ze œciany mundur strzelecki - mój prywatny, gabardynowy. Puœci³em siê œcigaæ go na rowerze do miejscowoœci Stopie ko³o Che³ma (wieœ znana ze skolonizowania jako niemiecka). Szczêœliwie, faceta volksdeutscha nie znalaz³em i wróci³em z niczym. Innym razem, wyznaczony przez so³tysa na powodê by przywieŸæ siano dla wojska, prze¿y³em komiczn¹ przygodê, kryj¹c siê przed lotnikiem rozdar³em sobie na luœni spodnie i mia³em k³opot, nie maj¹c, czym ich sczepiæ (w ostatecznoœci pos³u¿y³em siê drutem).
Wróciwszy do domu zobaczy³em po raz pierwszy Niemców w niezwyczajnie niebiesko-zielonych mundurach, którzy odjechali nie nawi¹zuj¹c z ludŸmi kontaktu. W miêdzyczasie nasta³y deszcze i b³ota tak, ¿e droga sta³a siê dla motorów nieprzejezdna. Tymczasem w paŸdzierniku przyszli Sowieci, rw¹c g³êbokie koleiny w b³ocie g¹sienicami. Co to by³o za wojsko, po¿al siê Bo¿e - ch³opcy na ogó³ drobni w szynelach nieobrabionych, z karabinami na parcianym pasku. Jako ludzie, ¿o³nierze byli (nawet) sympatyczni: tañczyli, œpiewali, dokazywali, wszystkich zachêcali do wyjazdu do Zwi¹zku Radzieckiego. „Germaniec” - powiadali - nie wróci, bo my siê nie cofniemy (linia demarkacyjna zosta³a ustalona za Lublinem po stronie zachodniej, od Wis³y). Tymczasem po oko³o miesi¹cu, wojska sowieckie wycofa³y siê i przyszli Niemcy - na niespe³na piêæ lat (w lubelskiem do 21 lipca 1944 roku).
I tak to prze¿y³em kampanie wrzeœniow¹, po czym okupacjê, zapracowany na roli, w gromadzie, w konspiracji i oddzia³ach zbrojnych, (awansuj¹c na sier¿anta i ostatnio podporucznika) dzia³aj¹c nie powiem ¿e bohatersko, ale nie obojêtnie.
Zamykaj¹c temat, trzeba zaznaczyæ - na wsi polskiej dokona³a siê skuteczna, niezwykle szybka edukacja ch³opa-wieœniaka - jego wysokie wyrobienie polityczne, tak ¿e w tym œrodowisku mog³a siê wykszta³ciæ - i wykszta³ci³a - awangarda niezwykle bojowej m³odzie¿y - trzon AK i BCh. Ch³op polski sta³ siê od razu dojrza³ym obywatelem swego kraju. W efekcie, w tych to warunkach, dzia³alnoœæ konspiracyjna mog³a byæ, i by³a prawdziwie skuteczna, w tym i w mojej wiosce, Maciejowie, nieopodal Siennicy Ró¿anej w Krasnostawskiem.
|
| Original Contents (English Translation) | Everyone bears under their eyelid a personal picture of those September days, and it is these experiences that define the nation’s sense of dignity, a nation like ours – attacked without right.
Until the outbreak of the war, during the occupation and several years after the war I lived in the country, working on a farm in the Lublin province, in the Krasnystaw administrative district, in the village of Maciejów, a part of the country between the Wieprz, and Bug, 14 km to the east of Krasnystaw. We were – as it seemed – far from the German border, so one had a sense of relative safety. Martially I was just after the draft board, accepted to the service in the light artillery – I was told that in autumn I would receive a call to the army, and during that time I had a lot of work at home and in the farm – threshing, ploughing, sowing, attending the livestock and so on. The war which soon broke out went on, so to say, on the side of my farm matters and rustic toil.
August that year was beautiful with its sunny weather, but in the air one could sense trouble coming from whispers, and worse, from Hitler’s persistent scream, received every day by a headphone radio. In the sky somebody saw the sign of a “twig” - one said. However, composure and calm flowed from speeches of minister Beck and Marshal Edward Rydz-Œmig³y and because of that there was not particularly a lot of hysteria among the nation. In the matter of Danzig and “the corridor” – one reasoned – the right was on our side. Germany was to meet resistance here, for the first time after a row of annexations in submissive and psychologically paralyzed countries. Although the aggressor was territorially stronger, then, after all, it lacked natural resources, it was said – above all, butter – which they replaced with some margarine as substitute. The possible superiority of the aggressor – one assumed – should be balanced by valour of our soldiers. Generally, a good opinion prevailed about the Polish army, in particular, about its cavalry and other Polish weapons, such as tanks, planes, anti-tank canons, as well as about the efficiency of Polish airmen (Zwirko and Wigura were triumphant then). Our eastern borders were safeguarded thanks to the non-aggression pact with USSR, and from the south thanks to pacts of friendship with Romania and Hungary, while westwards the allied armies of England and France stood at the rear of the enemy. Lithuania was humiliated as a result of a loss of Memel (Klaipeda). It followed from reckonings that one needed, above all. to hold out the first shock.
And so it happened: 1 September, on Friday about 5 in the morning, billows of smoke rose over Chelm. Everybody was saying: depo is burning. Uncle Kraczkowski ran through the village holding his head and yelling – a war! a war! – as if in a premonition that he was going to be killed by a German bullet. We hungered for all news from the front, and suddenly there was an announcement: general Bortnowski headed for Berlin, he is on rear of the enemy; said this young airman, Osiecki, from Cracow having sat his tiny aircraft on the estate’s soil (at uncle of the heir in Thorn estate). During that time in the afternoons, it rumbled in the west, the front was near Radom. This is what the people said, who were pulling in masses to the east – of various professions – chiefly civil servants, carrying all their belongings in their own arms, drawing on carts and bicycles – and often their children (somebody recognized doctor Panow, as he was swimming across the river Bug with his children, holding the shirt in his teeth). Towards the night the barn gates would open to offer the travellers lodging for the night; every night 30 people would sleep on the threshing floor. They were all heading behind the Bug, where defence was to be the organized. we as yet on the post, having our assignments. As a member of the Rifle Association, I was qualified by the monitor to the territorial defence of the country; I had to check identity papers of any guy going through the village on a motorcycle. Having put on a band, I performed my duty without any protection. At home on the wall hung a shooting rifle – a “Manlicher” without the ammunition – just for the spirit.
Sporadically a single car would venture into the village roads, although it was a farm-road without a hardened pavement (fit to traffic only at the time of drought). One day, a black limo appeared on the road, with two Russians in it – the driver in a tank man’s cap and an intellectual with minute hair over his lip, in a navy-blue outfit. Most clearly, they were scouts who having got out, persuaded young people to march to the east, to the Soviet Union. And so, soon there were three villagers who set off to stealthily return soon, crestfallen. Following the order, it was soldiers and civilians, first of all, who went to the east – in dust and dirt – behind the Bug...!
Meanwhile, some young stranger burst into my house and pulled a shooter’s uniform from the wall– my private one made of gabardine. I set out to pursue him on the bicycle to the locality Stopie near Che³m (a village well-known for German colonization). Luckily, I did not find that volksdeutsch chap and I returned empty-handed. Another time, appointed by the village administrator as a coachman to bring some hay for the army, I had a comical experience: hiding from an airman I tore my trousers against a pole and I had a problem, having nothing to join them with (finally I used a wire).
Having returned home, I saw for the first time Germans wearing unusual cyan uniforms who set off without making contact with people. Meanwhile, rain and mud came so the road became impassable for motorbikes. During that time in October Soviets came, making deep ruts in the mud with caterpillar tracks. What army was this for the love of god, complain God – in general small boys in unhemmed coats, with rifles on sackcloth straps. As people, soldiers were quite nice: they danced, sang, frolicked and they all encouraged to visit the Soviet Union. “The kraut” – they said – will not return, because we will not withdraw (the demarcation line was established behind Lublin on the west side, from the side of the Vistula). During that time after about a month, Soviet armies retreated and the Germans came – for nearly five years (in Lublin district until 21 July 1944).
Thus, I survived September campaign, then the German occupation, busy on the farm, in company, in conspiracy and in armed squads, (getting promoted sergeant and lately Lieutenant) acting perhaps not heroically, but not indifferently either.
To close the subject, it is necessary to stress that in the Polish countryside an efficient, and unusually quick education of the peasant-villager took place – his high political formation, so in this environment could develop – and develop it did – a vanguard of the extraordinarily fighting young people – the core of AK and BCh. The Polish peasant became straight away a ripe citizen of his country. consequently, in such circumstances, the conspiratorial activity could be, and was truthfully efficient, including and in my hamlet, Maciejowice, near Siennica Rozana in Krasnystaw district.
|
