Ewa Lada was born on June 26, 1923, in Warsaw, Poland. Her father, Tadeusz, was born in 1877, and was a lawyer and civil servant in Warsaw. Her mother, Maria, was born in 1887 in Warsaw. Their marriage was the second for Tadeusz. After his retirement, Tadeusz bought the Sosenki farm near Rovno, (Rivnens ka oblast, Ukraine) in eastern Poland.
When Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, the family left the farm and rented two rooms in Rowne, Poland (Złoty Stok, Poland). They had to give up their valuables, weapons, and radios. Fearing deportation, Tadeusz moved to a different town and Ewa’s maternal grandmother, Amelia Horoch, moved in with Ewa and Maria. After Germany invaded Russia on June 22, 1941, Tadeusz returned to Rowne. He and ten acquaintances secretly listened to the BBC news, a crime punishable by death. One participant turned the others in and on August 30, the Gestapo arrested Tadeusz. He told Ewa to be a good patriot and a good Polish girl, and said goodbye. After Amelia died in 1941, two Jewish women moved in with Maria and Ewa. One claimed she was a relative, and the other, Pela, was recommended by a family friend. In 1942, Ewa contracted diphtheria. Maria and Pela stole injections from the pharmacy where Pela worked, and saved Ewa’s life.
In May 1944, Ewa and Maria moved in with Ewa’s maternal uncle, Jozef Horoch, in Warsaw. On August 1, the Warsaw insurrection broke out as Polish resistance fighters attempted to liberate Warsaw. Ewa joined the Armia Krajowa [Home Army], known as AK, a non-Communist underground resistance group. Her pseudonym was Basia and she worked as a stretcher bearer, collecting wounded fighters and bringing them to the field hospital. Eve met Danuta Szeniawska and they became fast friends. One day they returned with wounded to find the hospital destroyed by bombs. On October 2, 1944, the Germans defeated the Polish resistance. Ewa and Denuta were among 1,000 female Polish insurgents captured. The women were packed in a cattle car and transferred to Stalag X-B prisoner of war camp in Sandbostel, Germany. The prisoners dug holes in the cars, and stuck Polish flags in them. At one point the train stopped; the women were taken off, stripped in front of German soldiers, deloused by Russian prisoners with a mixture of kerosene and tar, and rinsed off. The soldiers laughed at those who were fat. The trip resumed and they arrived at the camp. Camp conditions were tolerable; male prisoners snuck Ewa apples and hot chocolate through the fence. Ewa and Denuta cleaned offices and Ewa stole discarded paper, pencil stubs, and colored markers. Danuta sewed the papers together into a notebook that Ewa used as a diary. She wrote and drew in it at night, and hid it and her writing materials under her straw mat.
In December 1944, Ewa and Denuta were transferred to Oberlangen Strafflager VI C prison camp in Emsland, Germany. The 2 girls shared a bunk. Ewa cleaned latrines and dug peat moss and loaded it onto carts. Meals consisted of thin soup and bread. While unloading a shipment of potatoes, Ewa and Denuta stole some and hid them under their mattresses.
On April 12, 1945, Ewa heard tanks. The German guards left and the camp was liberated by the 1st Polish Armored Division of the British Army. The prisoners lined up for roll call, sang the Polish national anthem, and were relocated to Niederlangen, Germany. Ewa and Denuta adopted 2 trained German Shepherd dogs for protection. The British authorities permitted families to reunite with relatives serving in the British Army in Italy. Denuta’s stepfather was serving as a captain, and Ewa made up a relative. The girls, with their dogs, hitchhiked to Mottola, Italy. Ewa took a Morse code typing course and worked as a telegraph operator for the British Army. Denuta left for Bologna to study medicine and took Ewa’s diary with her. Ewa went to Rome where she met fellow A.K. member Ryszard Przemyski. Her mother wrote and told her not to return to Poland. The couple moved to Camp Foxley, a displaced persons camp in Hereford, England. They married and lived in a barrack with another family. Ewa worked as a field hand and Ryszard worked in a carpet factory. They had two children.
In 1954, Ewa’s relative, Malida Ray who lived in the United States arranged for the family to emigrate. They arrived on May 7, 1956, settled in Pennsylvania, and Americanized their names to Eve and Richard.
Tadeusz was not seen again and recognized by a court decision as deceased on May 9, 1946. Maria died February 10, 1967, at 87, in Poland. After graduating from medical school in Italy, Denuta and her husband emigrated to the US and established a psychiatry practice in Iowa. In 1990, she found the diary and sent it to Eve. Richard died on March 24, 1999, at age 75.
Ryszard Przemyski was born on November 24, 1924, in Poland. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland and, by September 29, they occupied Warsaw. The schools were closed but Ryszard, a high school student, continued his studies in secret. He joined the Armia Krajowa [Home Army], known as A.K., a non-Communist underground resistance group. He was a member of Group 7 and his pseudonym was Ruczaj.
On August 1, 1944, the Warsaw Insurrection broke out. Believing they had the support of the Soviet Army who occupied the western half Warsaw, the A.K. attempted to liberate the city. The Russian troops did not come to their aid, and on October 2, 1944, the Germans defeated the Polish resistance. Ryszard was captured and sent to Stalag III-A, a prisoner of war camp in Luckenwalde, Germany. Food was scarce, generally just enough to stay alive. Ryszard often stole potatoes and in turn was beaten with a rifle butt. He worked cutting wood in light clothing; it was thought that prisoners would not work well if they had a coat to keep warm. On April 6, 1945, the Germans deserted the camp and left the gate locked. On April 22, Russian troops liberated the camp. The prisoners stayed until an administrative team arrived. Ryszard and some friends found weapons, went into the country, and took a pig from a German farmer. A butcher in their group killed it and they brought the meat back to the camp. Having been previously starved, some ate too much and died. Ryszard watched as Soviet tanks moved toward Berlin as hundreds of people fled the city.
The Russians liberated Berlin on May 6, 1945. In June, Ryszard was sent back to Poland and found out that the Russians were arresting resistance members. Ryszard and a friend decided to head west. They buried themselves in a coal car headed for Berlin, hid in a bombed out house, and made their way to the American occupied Templehof Airport. There, they joined the Polish 2nd Corps, a unit of the British Army, stationed in Italy.
Ryszard met fellow A.K. member, Ewa Lada, in Rome. The couple moved to Camp Foxley, a displaced persons camp in Hereford, England. They married and lived in a barrack with another family. Ewa worked as a field hand and Ryszard worked in a carpet factory. They had two children.
In 1954, Ewa’s relative, Malida Ray, who lived in the United States, visited the family and arranged for them to emigrate to the US. They arrived in New York on May 7, 1956, settled in Pennsylvania, and Americanized their names to Eve and Richard. Richard died on March 24, 1999, at age 75.
