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odcecki

Joined: 24 Jun 2023
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Location: Ontario, Canada
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Posted: Sat Jun 24, 2023 5:11 pm Post subject: Translating Polish WW2 Memoirs

I recently came into possession of several pages written by my grandfather's sister, about her life and experience during WW2. These are invaluable to me because my grandfather was a very quiet, closed person and barely spoke English, and he never ever talked to me about his life. By the time I was old enough to wonder about his experiences, he was gone. A distant relative reached out to me a while ago and passed along some scans of my great aunt's memoirs. I never met her because my grandfather came to Canada after the war. The problem is that they are written in Polish (which I have zero knowledge of), and not only that but the handwriting is almost impossible to make out. The fact that it's written on grid paper and further information is lost in the quality of the scan, doesn't help things. I've tried using several methods of AI to transcribe and translate it, and I've also tried simply guessing at what each letter is individually and typing them into a translator, but it all ends up complete nonsense. There's no guarantee that my great aunt spelled everything correctly, either. The only resolution I can think of is if I could find someone who knows Polish well, who knows what Polish words look like and can maybe guess at what they are even if some of the letters are unreadable. I can't stress how much it would mean to me to find someone who can help. So I'm posting them here in the hopes that someone might be willing to help me. I'd appreciate it so, so much if so.

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Sophia
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Joined: 05 Oct 2014
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Posted: Sun Jun 25, 2023 4:29 am Post subject: Re: Translating Polish WW2 Memoirs

odcecki wrote:

Hi Odcecki,
Welcome to the forum!
While I am not fluent in Polish, I am able to read this handwriting and I could transcribe it for you. I tried a little bit of it last night, and I can see that it is written in such a way that it will translate coherently.
If, however, some other volunteer here on the forum is already hard at work doing an actual translation, could you please just leave a note here, so that we are not both working simultaneously?
Thanks,
Sophia

P.S. I would like to point out to you the wording at the end of page 5. It says this:

"Wspomnienia w wersja oryginalnej zapisała córka Krysia.
(1) i (2) strone zapisała Mama i Babcia.
24 i 25 październik 2011r."

"Memories in the original version were written by Krysia's daughter.
Pages (1) and (2) written by Mom and Grandma.
October 24 and 25, 2011"

So, you have images of a transcription, not the original texts.

Sophia
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Posted: Sun Jun 25, 2023 8:05 am Post subject:

Hi Odcecki,
The first of the five pages is all pre-war. I have difficulty reading some of the words and am uncertain of the place names.
Anyway, you will get some information from it. Beneath my transcription, I am adding the Google translation (never as good as an actual translation). For now, I will wait and see if anyone else from the forum has an interest in doing the translation.
Best regards,
Sophia

Wspomnienia Mamy i Babci Marysi z czasów młodości i wojny.

Na świat pozyszłam 2 stycznia 1922r w Leżniewiczach powiat Wołożyn wojewódstwo Nowogródzkie na dawnych terenach Polski obecnie Białorusi. Moi rodzice: Anna z domu Ryżejna i Józef Odcecki. Oprócz mnie miele troje dzieci, Józefa urodzona 1923r, Józef 1925r (obecnie mieszka w Kanadzie) i Michał urodzony 1929r (nie żyje).

Moi dziadek ze strony mamy Ryżejna Antoni miał duże gospodarstwo w którym byli wynajęci ludzie do pracy. Dziadek ze strony taty Szymon Odcecki był instruktorem w Nadleśnictwa Dubry. Mój ojciec był Leśniczym miał ukończone [cannot read two words: Gowackaje Uczyliszcze ?] w Wilnie. Dzieciństwo miałam do czasu wojny szczęśliwe, niczego nam nie brakowało. Mielismy duży dom i duźe zabudowania. W domu mielismy bardzo ładne meble sprowadzone z Wilna. Zastawa była bardzo ładna srebna na ścianach gobelyny, cztery psy dwa mysliwe i dwa [not sure: pukaowe]. Ojciech bardzo [not sure: abiet] o nasz wygląd i nasze wykrzstałcenie, wysyłał nas do najlepszy szkół jak na tamte czasy opłacieł staneje kupowaś najlepsze ubrania bardzo [cannot read word] o nas. Ubranie przywoził z Wilna i Białegostoku.

Memories of Mother and Grandma Marysia from the times of youth and war.

I was born on January 2, 1922 in Leżniewicze, Wołożyn county, Nowogródek voivodship, in the former territory of Poland, now Belarus. My parents: Anna née Ryżejna and Józef Odcecki. Apart from me, they have three children, Józefa born in 1923, Józef in 1925 (currently living in Canada) and Michał born in 1929 (deceased).

My maternal grandfather Ryżejna Antoni had a large farm where people were hired to work. My paternal grandfather, Szymon Odcecki, was an instructor in the Dubry Forest Inspectorate. My father was a Forester and he graduated [cannot read two words: Gowackaje Uczyszcze?] in Vilnius. I had a happy childhood until the war, we lacked nothing. We had a big house and big buildings. At home we had very nice furniture imported from Vilnius. The crockery was very nice silver tapestries on the walls, four dogs, two hunters and two [not sure: knockers]. Fathers were very [not sure: abiet] about our appearance and our education, he sent us to the best schools at that time, paid money to buy the best clothes, very [cannot read word] about us. He brought clothes from Vilnius and Białystok.

odcecki

Joined: 24 Jun 2023
Replies: 4
Location: Ontario, Canada
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Posted: Sun Jun 25, 2023 2:04 pm Post subject:

Hi Sophia,

I cannot express to you how grateful I am. I haven't heard from anyone else about the translation and the portion you've given me is absolutely amazing. Even the words you can't read, it's easy to understand the idea. I'm so excited to know what my great-aunt wrote, since my grandfather lived with his sister before and during the war, and so they would have shared similar experiences. He never spoke about his life and I'm curious to learn whatever I can. I really miss him.

If you're able to read the writing and can just transcribe what is written, a Google translation is perfectly fine. I'm just SO incredibly grateful - thank you so much for your time and effort. I don't want to request more of your time if it's too much work, but if you are able to transcribe the last 4 pages, it would mean so much to me and my family. I'm not aware of any other copies of these memoirs, and I didn't know they weren't all written by the same person... all I was given were these 5 scans.

Again - thank you, thank you for all your help. It's amazing to finally know what these say. The rest of my family is curious about these memoirs as well, so I'll be sharing your transcription with everyone.

Sophia wrote:

BarbOslo
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Location: Norway
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Posted: Sun Jun 25, 2023 4:29 pm Post subject:

Hi Sofia,
Please let me know if you started transcription and translation of the rest. If not, I'll take this tomorrow.

-Barb

Sophia
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Posted: Sun Jun 25, 2023 4:43 pm Post subject:

BarbOslo wrote:

Hi Sofia,
Please let me know if you started transcription and translation of the rest. If not, I'll take this tomorrow.

-Barb

Hi Barb,
Thank you! I have not yet started on the other pages yet. I would be grateful if you could do this.

Hi Odcecki,
Thank you for your kind words. I am happy to try to help. I noticed that there are a few irregularities in spelling, this is not a criticism, this is just how people write. I feel that Barb will be able to do a better job figuring this out than I can.

With best regards,
Sophia

odcecki

Joined: 24 Jun 2023
Replies: 4
Location: Ontario, Canada
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Posted: Sun Jun 25, 2023 10:19 pm Post subject:

Hi Barb,

If you don't mind taking a stab at the other 4 pages, I would be so appreciative. I'm really happy with the transcription Sophia did for me for the first page because I find it impossible to read the handwriting but when I compare the words side by side with the typed version, I can see that they match - and Google does the rest.

I'm sure these memoirs might not seem that interesting to other people but it's full of things I never knew before - things even my dad didn't know. It actually explains a lot about my grandfather's character when I knew him, like his concern with education and also his interest in farming and forestry. It's a huge gift for my family to feel like there's still a real chance to understand our ancestors, even though they themselves are all gone.

I know it's a lot of work and if you'd be willing to help me with any of the rest, I'm so excited to know what else it says. It's like waiting for the next episode of your favorite show. To both of you, I can't believe your kindness. Thank you so much.

BarbOslo wrote:

Hi Sofia,
Please let me know if you started transcription and translation of the rest. If not, I'll take this tomorrow.

-Barb

BarbOslo
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Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2023 1:04 pm Post subject:

Hi,
I have finished the transcription (all pages) and the translation (all, except page 2).
I filled in the words on page 1, which Sophia couldn't read. Sophia's translation of page 1 is correct.
I will translate page 2 later tonight or tomorrow. This page is a bit chaotically written, with long sentences, without commas. I need to change the text to more current Polish.
The text contains some Russian / Ukrainian words converted into Polish. So my Russian skills helped. This page probably cannot be translated by Google translator.
I added explanations of certain words and terms where it was necessary. Maps too. It is not easy to interpret a text like this, but I hope you understand. You can always put the original in Google Translate.
Transcription of all 5 pages will come first.

Wspomnienia Mamy i Babci Marysi z czasów młodości i wojny.
1.
Na świat przyszłam 2 stycznia 1922r w Leżniewiczach powiat Wołożyn województwo Nowogródzkie* na dawnych terenach Polski obecnie Białorusi. Moi rodzice: Anna z domu Ryżejna i Józef Odcecki oprócz mnie miele troje dzieci, Józefa urodzona 1923r, Józef 1925r (obecnie mieszka w Kanadzie) i Michał urodzony 1929r (nie żyje).
Mój dziadek ze strony mamy Ryżejna Antoni miał duże gospodarstwo, w którym byli wynajęci ludzie do pracy. Dziadek ze strony taty Szymon Odcecki był instruktorem w Nadleśnictwie Dubry.
Mój ojciec był leśniczym miał ukończone Garockoje Uczyliszczew Wilnie *. Dzieciństwo miałam do czasu wojny szczęśliwe, niczego nam nie brakowało. Mieliśmy duży dom i duże zabudowania.
W domu mieliśmy bardzo ładne meble sprowadzone z Wilna.
Zastawa była bardzo ładna srebrna, na ścianach gobelyny*, cztery psy dwa myśliwskie a dwa pokojowe. Ojciec bardzo dbał o nasz wygląd i nasze wykształcenie. Wysyłał nas do najlepszych szkół jak na tamte czasy, opłacał stancje kupował najlepsze ubrania bardzo dbał o nas. Ubranie przywoził z Wilna i Białegostoku.

Explanation of certain words and terms related to the page 1
Leżniewicze powiat Wołożyn województwo Nowogródek - Leżniewicze, Wołożyn county, Nowogródek voivodship
Garodskoje Uczyliszcze - (городское училище в Вильно) City College / University in Vilno
gobelin - is a woven wall hanging
Wilno - is the capital and the largest city of Lithuania
Białystok – is the largest city in northeastern Poland and is the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship

2.
Gdyby nie wojna to wszystkie jego marzenia spełniły się. Przyszła wojna, plany zostały pokrzyżowane, przyszły najgorsze czasy w moim życiu.
Przyszedł rok 1940, był wywóz na Syberię* i wszystko skończyło się, bardzo było boląco, rabowali, wszystko zabierali, ładowali na wozy i odwozili aż na stację Juraciszki*. Była noc, 3 godzina jak nas obudzili i powiedzieli, że wywozimy na Syberię i robili przegląd, bo myśleli że znajdą broń a tak że nic nie znaleźli. Jak do nas wojsko wkroczyło do domu to my trochę mebli na strych wynieśli. Oni jak wkroczyli to zbadali ile nas osób jest wiec ja byłam z tych rodzin jedna ale mnie nie było bo pojechałam do więzienia dla taty paczkę żywnościową podać. To nie było wszystko. Jak weszli do pokoju i mama spytała gdzie będziecie obysk dziełać* i powiedzieli że wszędzie, bo były drzwi na czerdak* i dała nam znać żebyśmy schodzili z czerdaka bo będą wszędzie szukać. Ja jak zobaczyłam, że dziadek idzie do nas bo słyszał że nas wywożą, a była zima ostra, śnieg skrzypiał jak dziadek drzwi otworzył i myśmy na jedyn skrzyp otworzyliśmy drzwi i uciekłam na podwórko a śniegu to było po szyję ja prędzej uciekłam do dziadka i wyglądałam jak mamę ładowali na sanie i co mogła to brała a reszta zostało rozgrabione. Ten mój podruh* co do mnie chodził, nie mieliśmy ślubu i tu był problem wiec pojechaliśmy do Sielsawietu* żeby dali że mamy ślub 2 miesiące to uzgodnili że wcześniej byłam zamężna. Pojechałam dać dla siostry do Lidy*, że nas rozbrożli całą naszą rodzinę. Siostra była w gimnazjum to od razu wyjechała do Litwy*. Na wieczór mama dala znać żebyśmy wracali, bo mama z chłopakami wróciła do domu. To było to że nasza rodzina była dużo, a nas było mało bo dziadkowie po wylewach ja to byłam jedyną opiekunka nad dziadkami.

Explanation of certain words and terms related to the page 2
Syberia / Sybir - Siberia vast region of Russia and northern Kazakhstan, constituting all of northern Asia. Siberia extends from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east and southward from the Arctic Ocean to the hills of north-central Kazakhstan and the borders of Mongolia and China.
Juraciszki - a village existing until 1939 in Nowogródek Voivodship in Poland (now in Belarus).
obysk dziełać - (in Russian обыск делать) - make a search, searching, revision.
czerdak - (in Russian чердак) - loft
podruh - (in Ukrainian) - means a person who is important to us, with whom we share something special
Sielsowiet - (in Russian сельсовет) - in the past, an authority or an administrative-territorial unit in the former USSR
Lida - is a city of Grodno region of Belarus
Litwa - Lithuania, country of northeastern Europe

3.
Drugi wywóz na Syberie był 19 kwietnia 1941 r.
Mamę i braci wywieźli w Pawładawską obłaść, Kubiszewskij rejon i tam mama była do czasu ukończenia wojny. Starszego brata Józka zabrali na wojnę w 1946 r. Ja zostałam na Białorusi – dawniej były to Polska. To była okropna wojna, partyzantka, złodzieje. Oni tylko rabowali i zabijali niewinnych ludzi. Dotychczasowe moje życie się rozeszło.
Jak się skończyła wojna ja pojechałam do Sielsowietu* (urzędu) zabrać swoje meble i inne rzeczy, które nam zabrano. Następnego dnia przyszli do mojego domu Rosjanie i mnie aresztowali.
Przed sobą pędzili mnie do lasu. To było straszne. Oni jechali na koniach, a ja i jeszcze jeden młody chłopak w strachu przed nimi. Nagle zatrzymali się na moście i zaczęli strzelać do chłopca – zabili go na miejscu, na moich oczach.
Ja widząc to zaczęłam płakać, całowałam ich po nogach, błagałam żeby darowali mi życie. Darowali. Powiedzieli, że nie zabija mnie tylko dlatego, że mój mąż służy w wojsku – walczy za rodinu* (ojczyznę).
Zostawili mnie w lesie. Ja w wielkim strachu nie wiedziałam dokąd iść. Aż tu widzę idą dziadkowie – szukali mnie i byli pewni ze mnie już żywej nie zobaczą.

Explanation of certain words and terms related to the page 3
Pawładowska obłaść, Kujbiszewskij rejon (in Russian Павелдовская область Куйбышевский район) - Kuybyshev - is a city in Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia, 315 kilometers west of Novosibirsk. Today it is called Samara
Sielsowiet - (in Russian сельсовет) - in the past, an authority or an administrative-territorial unit in the former USSR
rodina - (in Russian pодина) – motherland

4.
Radości nie było końca. Wszyscy płakaliśmy z radości. Ja byłam dla nich ostoja życiową i jedyna żywicielką. Oni byli starzy i schorowani.
W tym czasie nie było nigdzie spokoju.
Partyzanci byli wszędzie.
Jeszcze raz przeżyłam to samo, a za to, że moi rodzice byli wywiezieni na Syberię, a razem z nimi moje rodzeństwo.
I tym razem Bóg zmiłował się nade mną.
Uciekłam od śmierci. Ale co przeżyłam, ile łez wylałam to wiem ja i sam Bóg.
W 1946 r. pozwolono mi mieć kontakt z rodzina zesłaną na Syberię.
Dla mnie była to wielka radość. Mogłam i przesłać paczkę 10 kg. Były to papierosy, które Mama zamieniała na jedzenie. Cieszyłam się, że w ten sposób mogłam im pomóc.
Pod koniec 1946 r. rodzice i rodzeństwo przyjechali do Polski i osiedlili się na Żuławach Zachodnich. Ja do nich dojechałam ze swoja rodzina (mąż Stachu i 4 córki). Był to 1957 r.
Moja rozłąka z rodzicami i rodzeństwem trwała aż 16 lat.
Żeby to wszystko dobrze zrozumieć, trzeba samemu to przeżyć.
Nie było dnia żebym ja nie płakała. Oczy zapuchnięte od płaczu, serce rozrywane przez tęsknotę. Byłam przecież bardzo młoda (18 lat) jak na mnie spadło tyle obowiązków.

Explanation of certain words and terms related to the page 4
Żuławy - The Low Land - the region situated among Gdansk, Malbork and Elblag. A special place due to its history, architecture and people who live here. This land has specific geographical location – it is situated in a depression and has to be drained artificially. It is full of rivers, ditches and canals.
Stach - Polish shortening of the name Stanisław (English Stanley)

5.
Dziękując Bogu wszystko zniosłam. Swoja młodość wspominam boleśnie, ale też radośnie.
Dochowałam do śmierci 4 dziadków – starych i schorowanych.
Urodziłam i wychowałam 4 córki. Nigdy na nic nie narzekałam. Ja nie wiedziałam, że może być lepiej. Tak miało być i było. Praca i jeszcze raz ciężka praca.
Wojna zrujnowała moje życie, ale ja i tak dziękuje Bogu za wszystko. Za to, że mam bardzo dobre córki. Doczekałam się 6 wnuków i 7 prawnuków. Żyje w wolnym kraju i dożyłam 90 lat.
Spotkałam się z mama i rodzeństwem. Z ojcem nie było mi pisane spotkać się. Zmarł na zawał w Polsce w 1949 r.
Wszystkie te lata minęły bardzo szybko, jak sen. Było i jest bardzo dużo wzruszeń.

Wspomnienia w wersji oryginalnej zapisała córka Krysia.
(1) i (2) stronę zapisała Mama i Babcia.

24 i 25 październik 2011

English translation (pages 3-5)
3. The second deportation to Siberia was on April 19, 1941. Mother and brothers were deported to Paweldawska oblast, Kubiszewski region, and mother stayed there until the end of the war. They took my older brother Józek to the war in 1946. I stayed in Belarus - formerly Poland. It was a terrible war, partisan warfare, thieves. They only robbed and killed innocent people. My life so far has shattered into pieces. When the war ended, I went to Sielsowot (office) to take my furniture and other things that had been taken from us. The next day the Russians came to my house and arrested me. We walked ahead of them into the forest. It was scary. They were riding horses, and me and another young boy were very afraid of them. Suddenly they stopped on the bridge and started shooting at the boy - they killed him on the spot, in front of me. Seeing this, I started to cry, kissed their legs, begged them to spare my life. They spared my life. They said that he doesn't kill me just because my husband is in the army - he fights for his country. They left me in the woods. I was very scared and didn't know where to go. And then suddenly I see my grandparents coming - they were looking for me and they were sure that they would never see me alive again.
4. There was no end to the joy. We all cried for joy. I was their life support and sole breadwinner. They were old and sick. There was no peace at that time. Partisans were everywhere.
Once again I experienced the same, and because my parents were deported to Siberia, and with them my siblings. And this time God had mercy on me. I escaped from death. But what I experienced, how many tears I shed, I and God alone know.
In 1946, I made contact with a family that was sent to Siberia. For me it was a great pleasure. I could send a 10 kg package. They were cigarettes that mother used to exchange for food. I was happy to be able to help them in this way.
At the end of 1946, my parents and siblings came to Poland and settled in Żuławy Zachodnie. I came to them with my family (Stachus husband and 4 daughters). It was 1957. I was separated from my parents and siblings for 16 years. To understand everything, you have to experience it yourself. There wasn't a day I didn't cry. Eyes swollen from crying, heart torn by longing.
After all, I was very young (18 years old) when so much responsibility fell on me.

5. Thank God I endured it all. I remember my youth painfully, but also with joy. I survived my 4 grandparents who were old and sick. I became a mother to 4 daughters. I never complained about anything. I didn't know it could get any better. It was meant to be and it was. Work and more hard work.
The war ruined my life, but I thank God for everything anyway. For having really good daughters. I got 6 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren. I live in a free country and have lived to be 90 years old.
I met my mother and siblings. I wasn't meant to meet my father. He died of a heart attack in Poland in 1949. All these years passed very quickly, like a dream. There was, and still is, a lot of excitement.

Memories in the original version were written by daughter Krysia.
(1) and (2) the page written by Mom and Grandma.
October 24 and 25, 2011

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Sophia
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Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2023 5:00 am Post subject:

Hi Barb,
Just extraordinary work you've done! Thank you for cleaning up the various errors in my transcription. Also, the map is very helpful.

Hi Odcecki,
It is well worth it to replace my transcription of page 1 with what Barb did. Also, if you look at how Google translated that note at the bottom of page 5 and compare it to the way Barb translated it, you will see why a real translator beats a machine translation every time. Google thought the writer was Krysia's daughter. That is not correct. The writer was a daughter, whose name was Krysia.
Thank you for posting this very interesting document. We all ought to honor the sacrifices of people who endured living through war.

Best regards,
Sophia

P.S. Odcecki, it occurs to me that if you are not familiar with the Polish language, you might have some difficulty understanding how certain names match up with nicknames. Jozek is a form of Jozef, and Marysia is a form of Maria and Krysia is a form of Krystyna.

odcecki

Joined: 24 Jun 2023
Replies: 4
Location: Ontario, Canada
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Posted: Fri Jun 30, 2023 7:58 pm Post subject: THANK YOU!!

Hi Barb,

Wow, this is incredible!!! I'm so sorry I wasn't able to reply earlier; I'm recovering from an extended power outage we had. We had no internet or screens for a few days straight. Please accept my apologies for the delay.

I'm blown away at all the work you put in and what an amazing job you did. I appreciate the little notes and definitions SO MUCH. I'm just trying to wrap my head around it all, to be honest. THere's so much to take in and process.

Your translation has been extremely enlightening and provides a lot of answers - although I see what you mean about page 2 being difficult to understand since it bounces around and the thoughts are really jumbled. It provides a lot of answers but also creates a few questions and when I'm more settled and caught up, I hope you don't mind if I actually give you a little background of my family's history - the part of it that I know - because maybe having some context will help make sense of page 2. Right now there are some contradictions with what my family originally thought had happened, and a simple change in the wording could totally change things. So I have some questions about the text, I just need to figure out what they are.

I appreciate everything you've done so incredibly much, I can't even tell you. I'll write another reply soon, I just wanted to let you know how thankful I am as soon as I had the chance. I can't express it enough. I'm sharing this with my family as well and we're all just overwhelmed with the amount of information and thoroughness... this is SUCH a gift.

Thank you thank you so much!

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