I came to Bolesławiec with my family in June 1945. Perhaps someone would be interested to know why I settled here. Well, my entire family was deported to Germany for forced labor in 1939. During the final years before the end of the war, we worked and lived in Węgliniec. During the war, we made many Polish friends who worked in Bolesławiec, and we often visited them here. This is how we came to know the city, and after the war, my family and I settled here. In Bolesławiec, our third child was born in July, becoming the first citizen of the city of Bolesławiec.
We celebrated our first Christmas Eve in 1945 with the entire family and my brother. Our Christmas Eve was sad and poor, even without a Christmas tree. There was no Mass in the church. In our hardship, my brother came to our aid; he ran the “Lech” restaurant on Prusa Street. He gave us a piece of Christmas wafer and a duck. Since power was in the hands of Soviet soldiers, we had to quickly turn off the lights, cover the windows and block the front doors, because the Soviet soldiers were looking for “dzioushkas” to have fun with them.
Our guest on Christmas Eve was Jakub, an Italian soldier who visited us very often.
Despite the poverty and sadness, and the fact that the house was cold, we spent the holiday in a family atmosphere, sharing familial love and our modest food.