DL Essay Competition - "Remembering Stefan Lorence’s Story"

Remembering Stefan Lorence’s Story

Remembering Stefan’s story is my essay on remembering the ones who fell in action. Stefan is my great-great-grandfather. He was a rifle collector who served in the Polish Army during World War II, meaning he would go out and collect guns from the fallen. Sadly, while on duty with his fellow Poles during his usual round of the forest, he was captured. He was then transported by the Nazis to the prison in Sanok, located in Poland. The prison was made to hold 220 inmates; instead, it held 619. Not only was the prison overcrowded, but the detainees also endured unimaginable torture and living conditions.

On the 5th of July, 1940, Stefan and around 112 other Polish inmates were told that they were being moved to a different prison due to overcrowding. Little did they know, that was far from the truth. On this day, the Nazis transported them to a nearby village called Tarnawa. This was part of Operation AB, now known as Egzekucja na górze Gruszka. The Nazi soldiers made them dig their own graves — essentially, a pit where all 112 of their remains would be thrown in and forgotten. They were then lined up in a single file line and shot in the head before being thrown into the death pit. Women and teenagers weren’t spared; some victims were as young as fifteen.

However, there was one lucky man named Jan Schaller who made a successful escape attempt. Earlier, while being let out of his cell, he had cut his vein, and, in a state of apparent weakness, he was placed on the last bench in the truck. In the darkness, he jumped out of the moving vehicle and managed to escape. Another witness reportedly saw the Nazis collect fourteen more peasants for execution.

Helena’s Side

In modern-day Sanok, the town is located on the banks of the River San. Back in World War II, the western bank was occupied by the Soviets, while the eastern side was controlled by the Nazis. Helena Bedzyk was married to Stefan Lorence in 1936, and in 1939 they had a son named Stanislaw. As I mentioned earlier, Helena lived on the Soviet side, but Stefan was imprisoned on the Nazi side. She would travel across the river with their one-year-old son on a special pass called a przepustka, just to visit Stefan.
Helena would then need to flee three more times — once from the Germans, once from the
Soviets, and once from a group of Ukrainians called the Banderowcy. The Banderowcy were one of the most inhumane groups that walked those areas. After the war, Helena never remarried; she raised her son alone.

Why I Wrote This Essay
I wanted to write this essay because a lot of people overlook how Polish people lived during the war and what actually happened on Polish soil. The theme of remembrance should not only be about how they died. For me, it means the pain and suffering from the uncertainty of life — how they lived through the hardships they faced.

I don’t care if I win or lose this competition; I want the world to hear my family’s story —
Stefan’s story. History never forgets; it remembers the blood, sweat, and tears. It remembers the good and the bad. It remembers the smiles, the happiness, the laughter — it remembers.

So, Remembrance Day isn’t just the two minutes of silence; it’s how history remembers our
past. History never forgets — it remembers.