The video was recorded by the Pilecki Institute as part of the “Witnesses to the Age” project.

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Our today’s interviewee:
Leszek Zabłocki (born in 1924 in Warsaw), a veteran, member of the Military Organization Lizard Union, former inmate of the Pawiak prison and three concentration camps. He recalls his detention at the Pawiak prison in Warsaw and the prisoner resistance movement, thanks to which he learned about the landing of the Allies in North Africa. In January 1943 he was deported to the Majdanek concentration camp. As a minor, he worked in the kitchen at first, then he became a paver. Next, he had to pull a cart with various supplies around the camp. He witnessed many tragic events, such as the brutal beating of a Bible student (a Jehovah’s Witness) who refused to wear a triangle indicating his prisoner category. The hardest moments were the selections during which the camp physician decided who was fit for work. The individuals he picked were allowed to continue working, while the rest soon disappeared – most likely in the gas chambers. There were also completely different situations – a Ukrainian prisoner got caught drunk and managed to avoid punishment by explaining that he was drinking because he felt very sad on account of the Soviet military success. In April 1944, KL Majdanek was evacuated and Leszek Zabłocki was put on a transport headed in an unknown direction. He managed to inform his family of this fact.

Copyright by Instytut Solidarności i Męstwa im. Witolda Pileckiego.