Epilogue - the period after the liberation

         At the end of April we were liberated by American soldiers and after a short time we withdrew with them to the west, because the land we were on would soon be occupied by the Russians. The American army made an impression on us; they seemed to be very different from the armies we had known; they were rather easy going. We associated them with cowboys on Harleys rather than on horses.

         After many perturbations I finally ended up in Fallingbostel again, where they had built a big camp for refugees and former prisoners of war. There we lived in the former German barracks.
         I joined the school company and before September 1946 I completed the fourth form in the Kasprowicz gymnasium.

         I stayed there for such a long time because I could not make up my mind whether to go back to my country (virtually occupied by the Soviets), or emigrate to the west.
         The decision I had to make was a hard one.
         Ultimately I came back in September 1946. I stayed in Poznań at my sister's place who studied at Higher School of Engineering, and next I left for Gdańsk where my father had settled down after the war. There I went to the M. Kopernik Secondary School of General Education No.1 where, on an accelerated course, I completed two forms within one year and sat a final exam for the school.

         There was one more event I wanted to mention about.
         In October 1946 I accidentally fell into a trap that had been arranged by the Office of Security. They took me to the U.B. (Office of Security) Headquarters in Gdańsk where I spent ten days. I was being questioned - luckily they did not beat me up, however I could hear how the others were being questioned! After having signed an obligation that I would not reveal to anyone where I had been, they let me go and I came back home.
         Because I vanished into the blue, my father informed the militia about my being missing, and then informed them again that I was found without telling them where I had been. Next day in the morning the militia officers appeared; they took me to the police station to explain my disappearance, otherwise they would not let me go. Choosing the lesser of two evils and still remembering about the obligation I had signed, I said I could not tell them anything. Being constantly plied with questions I told them I had never walked away from the area of Gdańsk, which was important, because they suggested that maybe I had gone to the "forest" at that time. Finally the interrogator probably guessed where I had been and that very evening I went back home.
         It must be said that throughout that time I was wearing an English uniform, because I had no other clothes and this, undoubtedly, did not work in my favour. Throughout the year an undercover agent from the U.B. (the Office of Security), kept coming over to my flat just to remind me that they were watching me.






         prepared on the basis of the notes in the diary and remembered events..
         Master of Engineering Janusz Gunderman
         a retired reserve lieutenant
         "Gustaw-Harnaś" Battalion's corporal
         "Aniela" Company
         ps. "2671", "Janusz"
         the National Military Organisation - the Home Army

         The most important decorations possessed.
         1. The Cross of Valour - awarded 05.12.1989., no. DK-11769/W, at the commander's of the "Północ" (North) Group command, dated 31.08.1944.
         2. The Home Army Cross - awarded 24.05.1987., no. 38483, London
         3. The Polish Military Medal, 1st and 2nd time - awarded 15.08. 1948., no. 41053
         4. The Warsaw Uprising Cross - awarded 07.07.1982., no. 57-82-30 K
         5. The Partisan Cross - awarded 18.04.1995., no. 52-95-2.

translated by Lukasz Glowacki

Janusz Gunderman, born on November 24th, 1926 in Poznan the NOW and the Home Army Corporal pps. "2671", "Janusz" "Gustaw Harnaś" Battalion "Aniela" Company prisoner of war no. 140334