Story 5-7

## **Story 5: Love in the Shadow of War (1930–1946)**

In 1930, in a small town in the Podkarpacie region, **Katarzyna** ran a family bakery. Her life was quiet, orderly, full of daily rhythm: baking bread in the mornings, selling in the shop in the afternoons, and cleaning and writing bills in the evenings.

One day, **Stanisław**, a young teacher from Krakow who had moved there after losing his job at the city school, arrived in town. From the first moment, Katarzyna felt that his presence would change her life.

* "Don't you know life outside this town?" he asked, looking into her eyes as she brought fresh bread to the market.

* "Life here is difficult, but stable. I don't know if you'd like to experience that," she replied with a slight smile.

Their love blossomed slowly. Stanisław taught Katarzyna to dream of a world beyond the town's borders, and she showed him the everyday courage of ordinary people.

In 1939, World War II broke out. German soldiers occupied the town. Katarzyna's oven was destroyed and her shop was looted. Stanisław was arrested for helping local Jewish families. Katarzyna endured months of anxiety, hiding neighbors and helping her family survive the occupation.

After the war, in 1946, Stanisław returned. They met in the bakery's ruined but still standing house.

* "You're still here..." he said quietly, breaking the silence.

* "I couldn't leave. This is my place," Katarzyna replied.

Their story showed that **love and courage endure even in the most difficult times**, and that the daily struggle for survival can unite people for life.

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## **Story 6: The Turn of the Polish People's Republic (1965–1985)**

In 1965, in Katowice, a young engineer, **Tadeusz**, began working at a newly built steelworks. The work was hard, the noise of the machinery was depressing, and life in an apartment in a social housing building left no room for privacy.

Tadeusz met **Grażyna**, a girl studying medicine at a nearby university. They met in parks and cafes, trying to find a little freedom in the gray everyday life of the Polish People's Republic.

* "I feel like I'm trapped, even though the city is bustling with life," Tadeusz said, sitting on a park bench.

* "You know, sometimes you have to escape with your thoughts, even if you can't physically," Grażyna replied, holding his hand.

In 1980, strikes broke out at the Gdańsk Shipyard, and the wave of political change reached Katowice. Tadeusz, though technically uninvolved, participated in secret meetings of employees who discussed change and freedom.

Grażyna then gave birth to their first child, and the couple had to reconcile **family life** with growing social and political tensions. Each day required a decision: whether to remain silent or fight for a better future for their children.

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## **Story 7: In the Shadow of the Border (1920–1939)**

On the Polish-Czech border lived **Mikołaj**, a young forester who cared for his family's forests. His father had died in World War I, and his mother ran a small inn for travelers.

Mikołaj spent his days guarding the forest edge, tracking the movements of animals and people. In the forests, he often encountered **Anna**, a teacher from a nearby village, who came to teach the children. They began meeting in secret because their families were in conflict over land and the forest's boundaries.

* "We can't be together in the light of day, Nicholas," Anna would say.

* "We can also create something real in hiding," Nicholas replied.

Their story was full of adventure, fear of the authorities, and risk. The outbreak of war in 1939 interrupted their peace – Anna was deported, and Nicholas had to hide in the forests, protecting his family and loved ones.

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