​​​​​​​​T H E   H I S T O R Y    O F   K R E S Y
Osady - Military Settlements 1921-1940​​​


Translation from the book  
Z Kresów Wschodnich R.P. Wspomnienia z Osad Wojskowych 1921-1940 
(From: The Eastern Borderlands of Poland, Memories of Military Settlements 1921-1940)
Pub: Ognisko Rodzin Osadników Kresowych (OROK)

         (Association of the Families of the Borderland Settlers) 
London, UK. 1992 and 1998 (out of print)
ISBN 1 872286 33 X 

Province (Województwo) WOŁYŃ

FRANCISZEK GALL
OSADA SIENKIEWICZE


District (Powiat) Horochów

Municipality (Gmina) Świniuchy

The Sienkiewicze settlement was inhabited by twenty settlers: Cavalry Sergeant Józef Gall, Cavalry Sergeant Józef Michna and Cavalry Sergeant Władysław Wilkosz were from the Infantry of the 1st Brigade of the Polish Legions. I don’t know the units and the ranks of some of those in the following list: Cavalry Sergeant Jan Wilkosz, Jan Kułakowski, Sergeant Łabus, Jancelewicz, Piekutowski, Corporal Stanisław Iwanicki, Captain Pasela, Sergeant Skupień, Jan Leśniak, Zamers, Józef Antkowiak, Patykowski, Dąbrowski, Stanisław Skubisz, Baliński, Łopaciński, Sergeant Jan Lang and Mr. Zamers, who came from the Opatów District, [Ed. note:Opatów lies between Radom and Rzeszów] and at first leased his plot to Mr Spychaj, then in the mid 1930s sold it to Mr Zawojski.

A few years before the outbreak of the war, the following passed away: Dąbrowski, Łopaciński, Józef Michna and Józef Antkowiak. They had ailments from the war. Their wives remarried. Mrs Pasel had servants and ran the farm on her own because her husband was a professional army officer and served in the army.

I don’t exactly know the very beginnings of the settlement because I was born in the Podhale region (the village of Dział, Nowy Targ District). I lived with my grandparents whilst my grandfather was alive. After his death in 1931, my father took me to the settlement. At that time, the settlement already looked magnificent; each settler was well set up. Everybody had fine fruit orchards, and five had apiaries.

My father had told me that the first years were very difficult, he lived in the manor house of a Russian landowner for some time. It was from his estate that the plots were parcelled off for the settlers. The Polish government had paid for this land so it was not taken for free. The landowner was still in possession of around 120 acres of arable land and some forest.


Then, every settler began to build; first of all they dug wells because there was no water. They bought farming equipment and a fairly small amount of livestock as, obviously, they had nothing, only their own two hands. The wells were expensive because the water was at a depth of 30 [Ed. note: Author does not specify units]. They took out loans for the buildings at the Agricultural Bank in Łuck.


Apart from work on the farm, one of the settlers was always a “sołtys”,  [Ed. note: Elected administrator] and my father - Józef Gall - was a councillor of the municipal authority.

On average, there were five children in a family but we had seven in ours.

At the beginning, the school was at Mr Leśniak’s place, in his private home, and because it was in the middle of the settlement, Mr Leśniak agreed to give the land for the school and in return, he was the school keeper and was paid by the municipal authority. The school was built in the years 1934-35. It was a grade two, six-class school. Ukrainian children from the area also attended this school. Zofia Kułakowska went to the lower secondary school in Łuck. The settlers were planning to send their children to university (the younger ones), whilst the older children had to help their parents out on the farm. There was also a library in the school, the following newspapers were subscribed: The “Ilustrowany Kurier Codzienny”, the “Podhalanka”, and the “Mały Dziennik”. [Ed. note: Illustrated Daily Courier,  Podhale Regional Daily and Small Daily].

There was also an Agricultural Association, a Village Housewives’ Association, and a Rifle Association. Cavalry Sergeant Władysław Wiskosz was an instructor at the Association.

A co-operative operated in Horochów. Each settler took their turn according to a list in collecting milk churns, taking them to the dairy and bringing back treated milk.

The settlement belonged to the Horochów parish so that’s where we went to church six kilometres away.

Celebrations were held on 3 May and 11 November. Apart from that, the Village Housewives’ Association would organise dances, “opłatek”,  [Ed. note: Polish Christmas tradition of meeting up to share the embossed wafer and singing carols] and “majówki” in the woods  [Ed. note: May family picnics]. The Village Housewives’ Association also had a first aid kit for domestic use in medical emergencies. The wives of the settlers came from different locations in Poland, but five were locals.

The relations with local Ukrainian people developed well. For example, during the harvest when workers were needed to thresh the cereals using machines, it was sufficient to tell one of them how many and when workers were needed and they would sort everything out without the slightest problem.

Following the tragedy of September 1939, the Jan Lang, Jan Kułakowski, and Zawojski families moved to Germany on 1 January 1940.


On the tragic day of 10 February 1940, the day of the deportations, Mr Łabuz hid, and his wife pretended that she was ill, so they left her behind. Mr Piekutowski’s wife also pretended to be ill, so she too was left behind, but he and their three children were taken away. They transported us to our school, which lasted until about midday; in the confusion, Mr Piekutowski told his children to flee home to their mother, which they did, so they were left behind. Mrs Łabuz and Mrs Piekutowska were locals, so they went back to their families the next day. Władysław Wilkosz and his whole family were also left behind because he had a small plot, only 12 acres. When they were allocating plots to the settlers, he was last, so there was no more land. He was offered a plot in Polesie, but he wanted to remain on this settlement where his brother was given a plot. When we were taken to Russia, our homes were occupied by Ukrainians. And when Germany occupied our lands in 1941, the Ukrainians murdered all the local Poles and along with those who avoided deportation Russia. Only Władysław Wilkosz, at his request, was sent by the Germans with his entire family for forced labour in Germany, and this saved them.



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