(4) Interview

After a long, long journey, we finally arrived at our destination station, somewhere.

By the length of the journey, I would think it was near the Belgian border. We were taken by German soldiers to a camp surrounded by high wire fences topped with razor wire and inside were long barrack huts. Not the sort of place I would choose to work.

No time to settle, we were herded in to a room, and made to queue outside two doors to offices, one marked "Germans" one marked "Poles" We were told to line up outside the door for our nationality and I couldn't help noticing a number of Poles I knew queueing outside the "Germans" door. Being of pure Polish blood I went to the "Poles" door. When my turn came, I sat down in front of a SA officer who asked me

"Do you speak German?"

"Yes", I replied, "just enough!"

"So why are you in the Polish room?"

"Because I am Polish, born and bred," "My Father and my Grandfather were Polish"

Yes, he said with a conspiratorial wink,

"but you come from Kalisz, in the West, are you you really sure you are not German?....."

"No" I said, "Polish from the top of my head to my feet!"

I think he thought I was a fool. By saying I was German I'm sure I could have got an easier time, and I now realised why some of my Polish compatriots were queuing by the "German" door.

Now the SA man changed from a smile to anger and drew his side-arm.

"So tell me why I shouldn't just shoot you like a dog, Polack?"

I just stared him out and said "Better to be a dead Polack than deny my birthright!

At this, he holstered his gun and shouted,

"Get out"

As I was bundled in to another room full of people, I smiled and thought

"I am and always will be, Polish and I am prepared to go to my grave Polish."