Home Army in Braslaw Region, 1944

"We, our former Home Army soldiers. In 1944, when the Soviet troops occupied our town. Yes, our commander said we could run away, if we wanted to, or stay where we were. Those of us who did not stay, that is those who laid down their arms, were taken to Russia to Kaluga. Yes, they were in Kaluga and were sent to Poland. And we stayed here. And what? We waited and waited, we thought there would be another coup, a war …"

• was born in 1928 in Ostrowiszki
• between 1942 and 1944 Antoni Aleksandrowicz was a member of one of three Home Army units operating in the district
• after the Soviets had entered Poland he was in hiding in the nearby forests for another five years
• he returned home only in 1949
• less than two years later he was arrested and spent a few months in prison