11 September we arrive in Ghent (Gent) and relieve the English divisions that have captured most of the city. On the northern part the fighting continues. Germans are holding firm. They bombarded the city with artillery and heavy mortars.
The city itself is beautiful - a lot of historical monuments, beautiful houses of old and new style. Life here goes on in a normal way. Trams run. A lot of population. Pretty women, tastefully dressed, solemnly welcome Poles. In the city you can get all kinds of drinks in sufficient quantity. It is a little worse with food. It is very expensive. People speak French, many speak English. We stay in the town for 5 days, as it is not yet sufficiently cleaned of Germans. The civil authorities arrest Gestapo men and collaborators in masses. They lead them in groups through the city streets with their hands up.
Many of them are women.
The fighting in the north continues.

Kazimierz Duda - War Chronicles - 5 to 16 September - Page 76