大象传媒

Stephania's story is part of a collection recorded for a reminiscence project to celebrate the history of the Ukrainian community in Gloucester, and contributed to the 大象传媒 People's War with permission.

I was born in Tannankov, Poland. My family had a smallholding. I spoke Polish at school and was taught Ukrainian from the third year, when I was about 9 years old. We had a Ukrainian church and priest in the village, and we spoke Ukrainian at home.

The Germans took me when I was 15 years old. I was the only one taken from my family as all the elder children hid themselves. My family was forced to relocate under Stalin. They took only what they could carry. One of my brothers spent 14 years in a Russian prison.

The Germans took me to a transit camp in Krakow, Poland where I stayed for about a week. I cried night and day because I was very homesick. I was then moved to Tyrol, Austria. Local farmers came and chose workers for their farms. At first no one would choose me because I was very small.

I went to work on a smallholding in a village which had about 7 houses. The countryside was very mountainous and very beautiful. The farmer's wife treated me like a daughter. I learnt to speak German while I was on the farm. I stayed there until 1945.

I met my future husband in 1946 in Saltzburg, Austria. We came to England in 1948 as displaced persons. I moved to Gloucester in 1968.

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