Мирослав Сипа

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.

I had a sister 2 years older than me, she attended the gymnasium of the Sisters of Saint Basel the Great, and was on a skolarship of Metropolitan Andrew Sheptytskyi. That meant, that all expendatures for the education were paid for by the Chamery of the Metropolitan from his fund. The Polish authorities wanted her to finish the 6th grade of the gymnasium in Lviv in a school named "Queen Yadviga" a totaly Polish school and wanted my father to bring her metrics to the Polish church. Therefor my father took it from one church and brought it the Polish church. My father however went to Metropolitan Andrej to ask for assistance. The Metropolitan readily agreed and let my sister remain with the scholarship grant, therefore she had to travel by train for lessons. At that time the rail branch "Berezany - L'viv" was not in ruins, later I traveled by the same train.

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.