Soviet Survivors

Interview of engineer Nadezhda Trush about her arrival in Ravensbrück concentration camp. Nadezhda tells of her arrest by denunciation and of being sent off to a concentration camp in Germany. She…

Letter of prisoner of war Gennady to his family after liberation by the Red Army, in which the soldier briefly talks about arrival in the camp in Luckenwalde

The story of Vera Bagina, head of the Kyiv orphanage, about its work during the occupation of the city. Bagina recalls the living conditions of children in the institution, the requirements to…

Doctor Vera Bogdanova's account of her stay in a POW camp in Kremenchuk. She describes living conditions in the camp, abuse of prisoners of war, shootings and deaths from disease. Bogdanova also…

Interview with military wife Ekaterina Dolgacheva about her time in Ravensbrück concentration camp. Dolgacheva indicates that she was caught up in the war in Poland, where her husband served. She…

The story of librarian Maria Egorova about life in Smolensk during the Nazi occupation. She described her work in the library at Rosenberg's headquarters, the shooting of prisoners of war, the…

Concertmaster Teofilia Gandverker's account of the persecution and extermination of Jews in Lviv during the Nazi occupation. She describes the horrible treatment of Jews, the sophisticated abuse of…

The story of Kremenchuk resident Petr Gritsenko about the shooting of Jews and prisoners of war during 1941 and 1942, which he personally witnessed. Gritsenko also recalls the forced transportation…

Maria Kheitkova's story about her work at a valenok factory in Luga. She describes the order at the factory, the meager food, the involvement of children in the work. Kheitkova also recalls being…

The story of Jakov Karpuk-Shadrich, a resident of Rivne, about the extermination of the Jews. He recalls the order of the occupation authorities to gather all Jews in the ghetto, and describes their…

The story of the ballet master of the Odesa Opera Theater Petr Karsavin about the situation of the theater during the occupation of the city. Karsavin recalls the first days after the entry of the…

The story of mechanic Nikolai Lager is about life during the occupation in Kharkiv. He recalls robberies, repression against Soviet functionaries, and the extermination of Jews. Lager tells of…

Anna Lavrenko's story of persecution for helping partisans and life on the collective farm during the occupation. Lavrenko was arrested several times for suspicion of helping the partisans. She…

The story of Sergei Lepin, an artist of the Riga Theater, about his life during the occupation. He recalls that he was forced to go into hiding because of the threat of arrest and had difficulty…

The story of the chaser of the Naval Factory in Sevastopol Petr Lubenets, is about his life during the city occupation. He recalls the beginning of hostilities in the city, bombardments, their…

Interview with teacher Aleksandra Novikova about life in Smolensk during the Nazi occupation. Aleksandra talked about the working procedures in the school, about the removal of texts mentioning the…

The story of student Valentina Pyzh about her stay in the concentration camps Auschwitz and Ravensbrück. Valentina recalls the shooting of her father for his underground activities, the death of her…

The story of Melitopol teacher Vera Rukosueva about her work during the occupation at the labor exchange, the forced removal of the population to work in Germany. Rukosueva describes the process of…

The story of collective farmer Polina Serdiuk about life before the occupation, the arrival of the Germans in the village, and fellow villagers' attitude toward them. Serdiuk recalls the celebration…

The story of the teacher Anna Shevardina about the retreat of Soviet troops from Smolensk, the entry of Wehrmacht troops, and the relationship with German soldiers. She told about working conditions…