extracts
Exile
EDWARD WRÓBEL
Osada Wola Pilsudskiego, District Dubno

The camp was planned in such a way that the commandant's house and a detention block stood in the middle. All around were barrack huts. One of the barracks was about two kilometres from the administrative office in the depths of the forest and this is where my family and some others were given accommodation.

The camp was not fenced in, but its perimeters were well defined. Apart from the railway station, the nearest forest habitation was about 30 kms away. There my mother sold her Siberian wild-cat fur coat for a pud (16 kgs) of rye flour. Because she wilfully absented herself from the camp, she was given six days' detention.

After being allotted a bed bunk, each had to prepare a sleeping place on the bare boards, stuffing whatever was possible between them and himself, for it was only in the Spring after collecting moss that mattresses could be made.

A duty rota was drawn up to keep the stove lit so as to maintain a decent temperature in the hut. As there was no shortage of wood, the fire burned day and night. After being allowed two days to settle in, we were allocated work by the administrators, who provided the tools, saws, axes and spoke-shaves. All but children and the sick had to work by felling trees, sawing, bark-stripping, cutting off branches and dragging these to a fire, which helped keep everyone warm. Children of twelve years were put to work. The camp contained a canteen for the preparation of meals, where bread was doled out to those at work or not-working (there being two rations). Meals were meagre, there being a shortage of milk, butter, fruit and bread â this last being of poor quality and small in quantity (400 gms for those working and 200 gms for those not). Fish soups were made from fish heads, cabbage soups contained little cabbage and as for the potato soup, it was difficult to find any potato at all. We had no choice but to eat whatever we were given as we were for ever hungry. Each of us longed for a time when we'd be able to eat as much bread and potato soup as we could.