Marian Blaszczyk (1913-1989) whilst a prisoner of war in Stalag IA. Copyright: Janusz Kaminski. Marian wrote the following "Account from 1939". On 28 August 1939, I was recruited by 2nd Balloon Battalion in Legionowo as Executive Officer of Barrage Balloon Squad. On 6 September 1939, we took the equipment and boarded the train via Sulejowek, Minsk Mazowiecki and Mrozey towards Siedlce as Second echelon to Brzesc on Bug. Near Mrozy and Kaluszyn, after 4-hour bombardment by the enemy airforce, the train and the railroad had been destroyed together with the equipment. After a few days of fire exchange with German sabotage group, attacking from the village Laczka, we were struggling through to Warsaw in small groups. On 21 September 1939, near Garwolin, I received wounds to my legs and was taken as prisoner. We were then transported to East Prussia, town Stablack, POW camp Stalag 1A, where I was assigned registration number 61159 and admitted to the POW hospital. After my wounds healed, I started to work at the hospital as the chief of the operating theatre. I learnt the profession under the guidance of Polish POW doctors, such as: Lt. Kortas, Lt. Wojtowski, Cpt. Slaby of Westerplatte, Lt. Muszynksi, Lt. Malolepszy, Lt. Bosiacki, Lt. Stankiewicz and 2nd Lt. Swiatkiewicz, and doctors of other nationalities. On 10 February 1945, after the liberation of the camp and the hospital by the Soviet Army, I handed over the keys and the equipment of the operating theatre to the Soviet doctors. After we were transfered beyond the front line to the town Gumbinen (East Prussia), together with Lt. Wojtowski and Lt. Stankiewicz we were orgainising dispensaries for repatriates. I returned to Poland on 20 July 1945.