Мирослав Сипа

In the end of January we came to the Carpathians. We were met. The snowfall was extremely heavy. We were met by Captain Chmelyk with his group. A sleigh with two horses had to precied us, so that we could walk. The snow was very deep. It was very romantic the way we entered the Carpathians. I had never been to the Carpathians before, and here with a full moon, and such a snow, falling continuously. The lights in houses looked like little fires. Arround morning we arrived at our camp site, near the beginning of the river Mizunka in the Region of Bolekhiv.

My parents were judged by the court in the village of Pohoriltsi in the Civil Hall, the trial was due to "anti-bolshevik" agitation. The man, that was elected on the head of the "revcom" in our town, who hailed probably from the eastern Ukrainian provinces, was probably spy left in our town, and lived there. He liked to crawl to other people storage spaces, etc. In town was stationed a tank group. A meeting was called and this man named Ivan was recomended as head of the "revcom". Many people protested this, but for some reason they head only my father and mother, because dad said: "How can a thief be elected as head?!". Well, this was quite a brave statement for which a court was called from Hlyniany and my father was sentenced to 5 years and my mother to 3 years for "anti - bolshevik" propaganda. However, thaks be to God, we did not sleep at home nights thatmuch when, the Red army was withdrawing. We slept in the garden or in the woods, and that way escaped being exiled at that time.

For students of the chemical school had to serve what was called duty to the country, for 30 days we attended a camp "Bauddienst". We built roads, bridges, and heavy duty works on land. For 30 days we did this, our supervisors were Folksdeutsch (Poles) in union with Germans and treated us badly. We were not fed well and our accomodations were inadequate. Without fail we went to prayes in the morning and in the evening, and had to work a full 12 hours: we had to dig earth, and bury masking the crimes of the German occupants in deep revines. There were executed officers and soldiers of the Italian forces held at the Citadel, and they were driven out. I was an occupant of an apartment on Khshanovs'ka street near the Citadel, so we witnessed all.

When I returned home, in the neighboring village of Stanymyr, they already erected a kind of arch of pine, and put out a red and blue and yellow flag in awaiting the Red army. And here a group of Polish army, which had a lot of men and women, in uniform, the Polish head of Stanymyr on a motorcycle with a Polish major at the head. This Polish were armed with machine gun positions. Notwithstanding that tanks were only 1,5 kilometers away, here the Polish army had machine gun emplacements. They rode on wagons, drunk, singing songs (I won't repeat the titles), because as they say Poland is comming to an end. They approached closer, and the whole village came out to see. It was very interesting to see the Red army. In fact all children came out to greet them, brought flovers for the Red army. Even though there were no tanks, armored personell carriers with barefoot occupants on both sides.