“They took us on these sledges, there was an entire row of them – at night, heavy snow, powerful frost, and the wind drowned out the crying and tears of children. Our loved ones did not say goodbye to us because they didn’t know. It is so painful – because people were innocent, they had done nothing wrong, yet they were suddenly stripped of everything dear to them and could not even say goodbye to their families. In the neighboring village of Popiołówka, my grandparents – my mother’s parents, the Doroszkiewicz family – lived. They had no idea that we were taken that night,” recalled Hieronima Dzierma, who was deported to Siberia on February 10, 1940, at the age of four.
After the Soviet Union invaded Poland on September 17, 1939, the eastern territories of the country fell under the Soviet occupation. The deportations were part of a repressive policy aimed at removing the Polish intelligentsia, uniformed services, and people concidered potentially dangerous to the Soviet regime. The first deportation primarily affected families of military and civilian settlers, foresters, police officers, and government officials. These individuals were sent to Siberia, where they faced extremely harsh living conditions.
On the 85th anniversary of the first mass deportation, we have prepared a rich programme of commemorative events honoring this tragic chapter in history of Poland. Every year, we strive to remember all Polish citizens who were taken to the so-called ‘inhuman land.’ Yesterday, once again we lit candles on the railway tracks near the Sybir Memorial Museum to pay tribute to all deportees. It was from the nearby Poleski railway station (now Fabryczny railway station) that the first transport left 85 years ago, carrying terrified, defenseless people into the unknown.
Their memory was also honored at the Tomb of the Unknown Sybirak and at the monument dedicated to the Heroic Sybiraks Mothers.
Representatives of the authorities, the community of Sybiraks, and the people of Białystok paid tribute to those who were deported deep into the USSR and endured extremely harsh conditions during their exile.
