extracts
Even today when I close my eyes I can still hear the rhythmical clatter of the wagon wheels and the announcing whistle of the engine as we passed through the different stations. In the cattle trucks there huddled together grown-ups and children, men and women, friends and strangers. There was no means of washing or changing for the night, no food but, cold and hungry, we felt like animals caught in a trap, unsure what the next day would bring or when and where this journey would end for no-one knew our destination. Not much could be made out through the small grated window which was generally encrusted with frost. We spent our time either lying or sitting on the wooden bunks as we couldn't take up any other position. Nor could we do anything but chat and even that didn't always hang together as the hopelessness of the situation depressed everybody.
Journey into Exile
HENRYKA LAPPO (UTNIK)
Osada Ulanówka, District Wlodzimierz Wolynski