Stanislaw Zurakowski

This interview preserves a victim’s account of their experiences as a Polish civilian and later prisoner during World War II. The victim describes their life in Ostrog, Poland, prior to the ear, their capture by soviet forces in 1939, and subsequent imprisonment in both Stanisławów and Chernigov Prisons. The account details their experiences as a prisoner in the Soviet Union, including hard labor in the Komi Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic and brutal treatment by guards, as well as their eventual service with the Polish Armed Forces in the East.

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Metadata

▶ Standardised Metadata

Element	Value
External Title	Zurakowski, Stanislaw (Oral history)
Interviewer Name(s)	Not provided by host collection
Interviewee Name	Stanislaw Zurakowski
Interviewing Organization	The Imperial War Museum
Date of Interview	1997
Archiving Organization	The Imperial War Museum
Duration	134
Format	MP3

▶ External Archive Metadata (as provided)

Element	Value
Category	Sound
Related period	1990 to the present day (production), Second World War (content), Second World War (association)
Creator	IWM (Production company) Wood, Conrad (Recorder) Zurakowski, Stanislaw (Interviewee/Speaker)
Production date	1997
Dimensions	whole: Duration 140, Number Of Items 5
Catelogue number	17301
Object Description	Polish civilian in Ostrog, Poland, 1939; inmate of Stanisławów Prison, Poland and Chernigov Prison, Soviet Union, 1939-1940; prisoner in Komi Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in Soviet Union, 1940-1942; private served with Polish Armed Forces in the East in Soviet Union and Iran, 1941-1942; served with 16th Lwów Rifle Bn, 6th Lwów Infantry Bde, 5th Kresowa Infantry Div, Polish II Corps in Italy, 1944
Content Description	REEL 1 Background in Ostrog, Poland, 1920-1939: family; education. Aspects of period as civilian in Ostrog, Poland, 1939: arrival of Soviet Army in town; treatment of father who was town mayor; relations between Poles, Jews and Ukrainians in area, 1939; attitude of population to entry of Soviet forces; attempt to escape from Soviet occupied Poland to Hungary. Aspects of period as inmate of Stanisławów Prison, Poland and Chernigov Prison, Soviet Union, 1939-1940: capture on Polish frontier, 9/1939; first interrogation by frontier; second interrogation by People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs (NKVD); passing of information between prisoners in Stanislawow Prison; removal to Chernigov Prison. REEL 2 Continues: character of People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs (NKVD) interrogators at Chernigov Prison. Aspects of period as prisoner in Soviet Union, 1940-1941: sentencing to 5 years hard labour; removal to 'show' prison in Leningrad; removal to Vologda, then Archangel, 1940; importance of being in aggressively assertive group to survive in camp at Archangel; fellow prisoner sentenced to 25 years for writing report on White Sea-Baltic Canal; treatment of prisoners by guards; transport of prisoners to River Pechora area in Komi Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic; work carried out with labour brigade; use of pine needle infusion against scurvy; beating of prisoners to death for theft; disputes over work 'norms'. REEL 3 Continues: suffering from dysentery and medical treatment received; opinion of work of Jewish and Armenian doctors; treatment for pleurisy; work on railway cuttings and shooting of long-term prisoners; improvement in diet after German invasion of Soviet Union, 6/1941; wish of majority of freed Polish prisoners to join Polish Armed Forces in the East in Soviet Union, 1941; Soviet claim that he owed state money for expense of his keep during imprisonment; survival skills learnt as prisoner; aid received from woman in Kuybyshev area; attitude of Chinese prisoners towards Soviet prisoners; fortune told to him as prisoner by fortune teller; fate of his father, killed in Katyn Massacre. Aspects of period as private with Polish Armed Forces in the East in Soviet Union and Iran, 1941-1942: joining Polish Armed Forces in the East at Totskoye, Soviet Union. REEL 4 Continues: equipment issued in Soviet Union; arrival of British equipment; dysentery outbreak amongst troops at Kitab, Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Union; relations between Poles and Uzbeks; journey from Soviet Union to Iran, summer 1942. Recollections of operations as private with 16th Lwów Rifle Bn, 6th Lwów Infantry Bde, 5th Kresowa Infantry Div, Polish II Corps at Monte Cassino, Italy, 1944: initial duties as driver; how he became a runner between No 4 Company and Battalion Headquarters at Monte Cassino. REEL 5 Continues: character of fighting near Phantom Hill; attitude towards Germans; prior recollection of question of waste of food and raw materials in Soviet Union during period of imprisonment.