Józef Czok

This interview preserves a victim’s account of imprisonment in the Soviet Union following the 1939 invasion of Poland. The victim recalls being wounded during combat, detained by Soviet forces in the hospital, and subsequently deported to prison camps including Shepetivka and Kozelsk. The interview includes observations of daily conditions in the camps, limited contact with civilians, and the transfer of prisoners.

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Metadata

▶ Standardised Metadata

Element	Value
External Title	Czok, Józef (Oral history)
Interviewer Name(s)	Not provided by host collection
Interviewee Name	Józef Czok
Interviewing Organization	The Imperial War Museum
Date of Interview	1997-03-08
Archiving Organization	The Imperial War Museum
Duration	71
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); Piesakowski, Tomasz Konstanty (Interviewee/Speaker)
Production date	1997-03-08
Dimensions	whole: Duration 75, Number Of Items 3
Catelogue number	17314
Object Description	Polish officer with 75th Infantry Regt, Polish Army in Poland, 1939; prisoner of war in Soviet Union, 1939-1941; served with 5th Wilno Infantry Div, Polish Armed Forces in the East in Soviet Union and Iran, 1941-1942.
Content Description	REEL 1 Aspects of operations as officer with 75th Infantry Regt, Polish Army in Poland, 1939: call-up as reserve officer, 8/1939; wounding by shrapnel and hospitalisation, 4/9/1939. Recollections of period as prisoner of war in Soviet Union, 10/1939-8/1941: arrival of Soviet forces at hospital in Tarnopol, Poland, 17/10/1939; deportation of Polish officers; arrival at Shepetivka Camp, 28/10/1939; lice and bug infestations at Shepetivka Camp; leaving Shepetivka Camp camp by rail; 12/11/1939; arrival at Kozelsk Camp; living conditions in Kozelsk Camp; reasons why Soviet authorities were holding Polish officers; prison camp work he did; communications with home. REEL 2 Continues: degree of contact with Soviet civilians around Kozelsk, late 1939; arrival of Soviet People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs (NKVD) troops and selection of officers to be 'sent home'; removal by rail to Gnezdovo, 5/1940; discovery on train of inscription by Polish officer being transported to Katyn; distribution of roubles at Gryazovets Camp; learning Russian language; arrival of Polish officers from Kozelsk II Camp, 7/1941; reaction of Polish officer prisoners of war to German invasion of Soviet Union, 6/1941. Aspects of period as officer with the 5th Wilno Infantry Div, Polish Armed Forces in the East in Soviet Union and Iran, 1941-1942: removal by train to Tatishchevo, 8/1941. REEL 3 Continues: leaving Soviet Union for Pahlevi, Iran, summer 1942; belief that Polish officers being sent to Katyn were actually being sent home, 4/1940.