Interview with Daniella Bronisława Hausman

Polish civilian in Warsaw, Poland, 1939-1944; served as medical orderly with Home Army (Armia Krajowa) during Warsaw Uprising, 8/1944-9/1944; prisoner of war in Stalag XI-B Fallingbostel, Stalag VI-C, Oberlangen and alag XI-C, Bergen Belsen, Germany, 9/1944-4/1945

REEL 1 Background in Warsaw, Poland, 1923-1939: family; education; assimilation of Jewish pupils into education system; description of German attack and invasion of Poland, 1/9/1939; sight of German Army troops entering Warsaw, 9/1939. Aspects of period as civilian in Warsaw, Poland, 1939-1944: employment in brush factory; problem of food and fuel shortages; nature of German blockades and round-ups; attitude towards incarceration of Jewish civilians in Warsaw Ghetto; question of Polish anti-Semitism; daily life and living conditions; story of arrest of brother; question of Soviet support for Poland; attitude towards German invasion of Soviet Union, 6/1941; description of Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and aftermath, 1943. REEL 2 Continues: situation in Warsaw, 1942-1943; role of Polish Resistance against German occupation; German execution of hostages; secrecy of resistance operations; memory of listening to British Broadcasting Corporation radio news bulletins; reaction to death of General Władysław Sikorski. Aspects of operations as medical orderly with Home Army (Armia Krajowa) during Warsaw Uprising in Warsaw, Poland, 8/1944-9/1944: description of training and operations; prior recollection of presence of German wounded from Battle of Stalingrad in city, 1943; preparations for uprising and question of Soviet support, 7/1944-8/1944; problem of receiving air supplies; role as medical orderly; description of Warsaw Uprising and German forces' reaction to it, 8/1944; celebrations in square of Old City, 8/1944; living conditions in Warsaw Uprising; story of booby-trapped German tank and casualties. REEL 3 Continues: treating burns victim; opinion of role of church during uprising; story of hiding Jewish girl; description of escaping through sewer system; story of death of brother; role on barricades; problem of lack of weapons and supplies; opinion of Soviets; surrender of Home Army (Armia Krajowa); reason for choosing to become prisoner of war; German treatment of Polish prisoners of war taken during Warsaw Uprising. REEL 4 Continues: Recollections of period as prisoner of war in Stalag XI-B Fallingbostel, Stalag VI-C, Oberlangen and Stalag XI-C, Bergen-Belsen, Germany, 9/1944-4/1945: comparison of treatment by German and Ukrainian guards; rail journey in cattle trucks to Stalag XI-B Fallingbostel, 9/1944; description of camp and conditions; how female prisoners of war stopped menstruating; move to Stalag VI-C, Oberlangen, 9/1944; moved to Stalag XI-C, Bergen-Belsen, 4/10/1944; description of camp and conditions; liberation of Polish female prisoners of war, 4/1945; treatment of prisoners of war in camp; journey from Germany to GB via Netherlands disguised as member of Women's Auxiliary Air Force; training with Women's Auxiliary Air Force at RAF Wilmslow on arrival in GB. Aspects of post-war life in GB: marriage; communication with mother in Polish People's Republic; reason for wanting to stay in GB; problem of adapting to British lifestyle; visit to Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, 1962. REEL 5 Continues: story of mother's visit to GB, 1955; description of return to Poland for 50th anniversary of Warsaw Uprising, 1994; attitude of Polish civilians towards Warsaw Uprising and Home Army (Armia Krajowa) veterans; story of helping Solidarity Movement during 1980s; reflections on role in Home Army (Armia Krajowa) and Warsaw Uprising.