11 Nov 20 Leonard Grzegorek
Sergeant Leonard Grzegorek was born on 2 December 1903 in Mistrzewice near Sochaczew.
He was taken prisoner as a result of the battle on September 12, 1939 in the Magnuszewski Forest near the town of Augustów. He was wounded there and taken to a hospital in Radom, from where he was sent to Stalag VIII A in Görlitz after 5 days. During the 4 years spent in the camp, he was forced to work unloading and loading wagons, digging ditches to drain meadows and on estates at various farm work. The conditions were different. It happened that in one property they were good, and in another very bad, inhuman. Camp life was very difficult. Inadequate food, terrible hygienic conditions, brutal treatment, insults, and violence by the commanders, made Leonard Grzegorek attempt to escape from the camp. In August 1940, he fled to Czechoslovakia, 260 km from Görlitz, but after 110 days he was captured and re-imprisoned in Stalag.
When asked about the cultural life in the camp, he talks about the activities of the music band and the football team.
He mentions that there were also lectures on technical topics (aviation) and geography.
During his captivity, he corresponded with his wife, who lived in Grodno at the time.
He regained his freedom in 1942 by escaping from the camp in Görlitz to the town of Pruszków.