The video was recorded by the PILECKI INSTITUTE as part of the WITNESSES TO THE AGE project.
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Our today's interviewee:
Zdzisław Baszak (born in 1920), soldier of the Battle of Pszczyna and the September campaign. At the end of August 1939, a mobilization started in Tarnów. Messengers were delivering draft cards, summoning recruits to report at the Military Draft Office. The reactions of the recruits varied: some went straight to the barracks, others hesitated, some got drunk. One very common reaction was the decision to get married - the missionary church in Tarnów was flooded with couples who wanted to get married. The wedding guests couldn’t fit in the building, so they waited on the stairs outside. Eventually all recruits ended up in the barracks, where they received uniforms. Zdzisław Baszak was given a pair of boots that were much too big, which caused his footwraps to roll down and injured his feet. Finally he managed to switch his pair at the warehouse with the help of his friend. He disciplined recruits who had not gotten used to military life; sometimes he used quite drastic measures to reprimand the misbehaving soldiers. He also tried to make sure that the loose rounds of ammo were put into belts, but this task caused a lot of trouble. He severely injured his hands while taking the ammo out of the boxes. His hands and feet were badly damaged even before any fighting broke out.
Copyright by Instytut Solidarności i Męstwa im. Witolda Pileckiego.
9 сен 2021
