Tadeusz Manturo

He was deported by the Soviets on 20 June 1941 together with family: father Jozef and mother Władysława and siblings: 12-year-old sister Anastazja, 16-year-old brother Jan, and 14-year-old sister Lucyna.

The Germans had invaded Poland from the west on 1 September 1939, and the Russians invaded from the east on 17 September 1939. They had divided Poland between them. In the Russian-controlled area, the plan to ethnically-cleanse the area soon took effect with the first of four mass deportations to Siberia that were carried out in 1940 and 1941.

The Manturo family were forcibly taken from their home at gunpoint, by Russian soldiers. They had been given less than an hour to pack what they could, without knowing where they were being taken. They took what they could carry and had to leave the rest behind.

They were taken to the railway station and loaded into cattle cars with 50-60 other people. This included infants, toddlers, children, teens, adults, and seniors. Most of the adults and seniors were women. The cattle car had two shelves at either end, where people could sit or sleep – the rest had to make do with the floor. There was a cast iron stove, but they soon ran out of wood to fuel it. There was also a hole in the floor that served as a toilet.

They travelled like this for weeks, and were given some water, stale bread, and watery soup, only a few times. When someone died, their bodies were cast out next to the tracks and left there. Many infants and elders did not survive this journey.

They reached the village of Worju in the Republic of Komi, about 150 km from Syktyvkar. His father and older brother were assigned to deforestation there, and his mother, who had a sewing machine was a seamstress. His sister Anastazja died of pneumonia, and brother Jan joined the Berling Army in 1943.

The Manturo family then ended up in a cattle farm near Krasnodar in the Urals, where chickens were raised. In one of the letters from the Berling front, Jan wrote: " I think about you a lot, that you must suffer so much, and mostly Tadzio, that he is such a child and that must suffer from hunger and to cut trees. My sadness is your fate. But we must hope that we will soon return to the Homeland".

The Manturos were repatriated to Poland in 1946, but without Jan, who had been wounded at the frontline and disappeared without a trace.

After the war, adeusz Manturo worked in the health service. He was co-founder of the Ciechanowiec Lovers Society. He was a man full of humor and kindness.

On 10 January 2026, Tadeusz Manturo passed away at the age of 94 years. He was buried in the local cemetery.