We Will Surely Die: Letter from Irena Grześkowiak to Her Father, Andrzej

Abstract

The letter below is one of several hundred contained in the archives of the Anders Army, the Polish army formed in the USSR as a result of the Sikorskii-Maiskii Pact of July 30, 1941. These letters—many of them unopened—were written by Poles deported font their homes after the Soviet invasion, typically children, women, and elderly individuals, seeking help in getting out of desperate conditions in the USSR. Though technically fee after the amnesty granted by the pact, many of these exiles lacked the wherewithal to leave their former places of detention. Soviet authorities frequently blocked their departure, wanting to keep them for forced labor. Women with small children and elderly relatives under their care did not have the money, food, documents, or strength to journey in search of outposts of the new Polish army. In some cases, men left their families to join the army, hoping to be reunited with them later. Many young children were stranded after such departures or the death of parents, who succumbed to the prevalent poverty, hunger, and disease.