I survived and still live
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Maria Kuś, nee Gajda, was born on September 8, 1931 in Gogołowa, currently the part of Wodzisław District. She comes from Catholic working-class family. Her father run his own carpenter’s workshop and had the tile of master carpenter and trained people for a profession of a carpenter. Mother was a housewife; she spoke Polish and German, although they spoke Silesian dialect at her house. Maria spent her childhood in the village, grandparents played an important role in her life. Mrs Kuś’s father and uncle fought in the Silesian Uprising. During the Second World War, Maria attended German school and middle school. Father was discharged from the military service. After the war, Maria attended Administration and Economics Secondary School in Rybnik. She passed a secondary school-leaving exam in 1950. She soon married Józef Kuś - a locksmith. She knew him since childhood. They built a house in Seroka, which is now the district of Jastrzębie-Zdrój, and where their three daughters were born: Janina, Zofia and Danuta. In 1971, Hard Coal Mine „Borynia” was opened near their house. Maria can speak Polish, German and Silesian dialect fluently. Józef Kuś died in 1995. Maria Kuś still lives at her house with daughter Danuta and her family.
