Polish nurse, 97, recalls training for a war that terrified her

Wanda Kialka poses at her home in Wroclaw, July 29, 2019. REUTERS/Natalia Dobroszycka

WROCLAW, Poland (Reuters) - Wanda Kialka was 17 when a friend suggested she join a military training camp for women outside Vilnius, then a part of Poland, as a way of preparing for something both hoped would never come - another war.

The girls' summer of 1939 was spent playing war games, learning how to shoot, how to treat basic wounds, and feeling useful. Few suspected war was imminent.