"Where The Devil Says Goodnight": Exile to Siberia, 1940-1946 - Paperback

by Daniel Starza Smith (Translator), Alfreda Starza-Miniszewska (Author)

Alfreda Starza-Miniszewska was just 12 years old when Soviet soldiers burst into her family's house and gave them two hours' notice to pack up and leave. They were forced onto a cattle train and sent to labour camps in the desolate north of Russia. While just a young girl, she experienced extreme cold, starvation and brutal oppression. She developed tuberculosis, pleurisy, pneumonia, malaria, and was chased by wolves, bears and a wild man living rough in the forest. Starvation drove her to eat fish-eye soup, dog meat and even a leather belt. Yet even in her worst moments, she found hope and strength within herself and among the exiled Polish community. Standing as a memorial to her mother and sister, whose bravery and ingenuity repeatedly saved Alfreda's life, this book records her memories of six years in darkest Siberia, "where the Devil says goodnight".

Author Biography

Born in a Polish region of Belarus, Ala Starza-Miniszewska was deported aged 12 with her family to Siberia, where she spent six years, before being resettled in Poland at the end of the war. After moving to England later in life she was a teacher of Russian for many years. She is now retired and lives in Derbyshire.