Tape 1 Side 1
Paul Sapieha reflects on All Saints’ Day about his childhood at Siedliska, the family estate in south-eastern Poland. He describes the peaceful pre-war life there, the disruption during 1918 when Austrian forces disbanded, and the Ukrainian occupation that followed until a Polish division liberated the area at Christmas.
He recalls visits to the family cemetery with his father, who explained the property’s history. He describes playing accordion with his children Krysia and Nicholas, and acknowledges feeling that the peace would not last: “I always felt that this may be the last time.”
He discusses moving to Tarnowskie Góre in Silesia around 1936, installing electricity, and modernising the house. He reflects on his wife Gilly’s difficulty adapting to rural Polish life despite her American upbringing.
After 1939 the family fled: Gilly took the children via Romania to Mesurberen in Hungary; Paul and Gilly eventually sailed from Genoa to New York in May 1940. He describes cramped conditions in a New York flat on 68th Street as “absolutely atrocious,” though he himself was adaptable to hardship. He attributes his children’s resilience to strong heredity.
He emphasises the importance of religious education, believing children need faith’s stability regardless of denomination.