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Background history
There are number of memorabilia in the collections of the Museum, which are connected with the stay of Polish soldiers in the Soviet captivity during World War II and, particularly, with Katyn Crime. However, the postcard being presented on this display is an unusually unique memento, since correspondence sent out from other camps than the special ones based in Kozelsk, Starobilsk and Ostashkov is rare to come across. Besides these three camps organized on the territory of the Soviet Union, there existed also other POW camps designed for non-commissioned officers and privates. In the country ruled by Joseph Stalin, there were many of them and the soldiers who were detained there were forced to work for the USSR. The camps functioned until the moment of the Third Reich’s invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941. Afterwards they were liquidated. The fate of the interned POWs varied: part of them were murdered, some others found themselves transferred to other camps and, if they were fortunate, they managed to see the Sikorski-Mayski agreement signed, in consequence of which they were able to re-join the Polish Army newly-formed in the USSR in August 1941. The camp in Radziwiłłów near the town of Brody, from which this postcard was sent by Idzi Ślęzak, was set up in October 1939 and was of the temporary character. It was based in the former building of a detachment of the Borderland Protection Corps. The majority of POWs staying in it came from Silesia and Pomerania. There were officers hiding among privates and non-commissioned officers, too. The interned were employed to construct the road joining Lvov and Kiev, working in very hard conditions of heavy dustiness, which led to eye diseases. The conditions in the camp were not any better. All that had a very bad impact on the POWs’ condition. Despite that, they did manage to organize a music band and a choir, whose performances attracted the camp personnel. Following the outbreak of the German-Soviet war, the POWs were evacuated to Starobilsk, from where they were eventually sent to Griazov and regained their freedom. The addressee of the postcard was the Polish Red Cross in Warsaw. It was transferred to the German Red Cross in Berlin later on. It contained the Pole’s request to open a search for his wife, whom he had not heard from since October 1939. We do not know the results of the search. There has merely been the postcard left behind – a small fragment of the history of two people separated by the war, yet one that was typical of many Polish families.
Prepared by: Bartosz Janczak
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Postcard from Radziwiłłów
Source of acquisition
The postcard was handed over to the Museum by the Chief Commission for the Investigation of Nazi Crime.
Description of the item
A postcard bearing a poorly legible stamp, written on a standardized form of 10cm x 15cm; in the left top corner – the emblem of the Red Star – the symbol of the USSR. The front page features the heading: “Postcard” written in Russian and French and a post stamp of 20 kopeks’ worth. At the very bottom there are two columns for writing the address of the sender, rendered in Russian and French. On the reverse side with no ruled lines, there is the sender’s (POW’s) handwritten message.
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