Deportation to the Arctic

When the USSR invaded Poland in 1939, Stalin ordered the deportation of anyone he perceived as posing a threat. Since my grandfather was a forest worker with an excellent knowledge of the vast forests of the Bialystok area, he was deported along with his family. My mother recalls a particular night not long after the Russians invaded when the NKVD arrived and gave the family two hours to pack. My grandmother got talking to a young soldier who was detailed to stand guard. She made some hot milk to warm him up. When she asked the NKVD officer what she would need to take, he said not to worry abo... Mehr ...