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We lived less than a year during the Soviet power when the Great Patriotic War began. On 22nd June 1941 German and Romanian armies occupied Moldova. The college in Rezin was closed on that same day. I got to my village by vehicles. Local authorities there announced that the Germans were killing Jews and we had to evacuate. My mother packed our luggage.
The nearest railway station was in Shuldaneshty, some 40 kilometers from our village. A few Jewish families were given horse-drawn carts to get there. At the station we boarded a train. I went with my parents and my sister Sheiva. We had no information about our older sister Haya. We arrived in Novomoskovsk, Dnepropetrovsk region, where we began to work at the collective farm.
This collective farm had to drive its cattle to the Northern Caucasus. A few families that knew about cattle were sent along to take care of it. We walked day and night taking a short rest every now and then. We had to cover over 1000 kilometers. Our father had a severe cold. When we reached Chechnia he got much worse. After a few days he died. We buried him at the local cemetery and continued on our way.
We reached the village of Bekeshevskaya, Ordzhonikidze region, where we decided to stay. My mother went to work at the collective farm and I went to the 7th grade of the local school. I didn’t know Russian, but I understood that I would have to master it to continue my studies in the USSR.
In summer 1942 we went on. The Germans were close to the Northern Caucasus. We got to Turkmenia by boat and continued on our way by train. We came to Kata-Kurgan in Uzbekistan, over 2500 kilometers east of Kiev. My mother and I worked in a collective farm not far from the town.
We were accommodated in the clay hut of a local Uzbek woman. My sister Sheiva stayed alone when we were at work. We received bread per bread coupons, but there were long lines to get it and besides, its supplies were very rare. My mother sent Sheiva to a children’s home where they provided food for children and where she could study.
The nearest railway station was in Shuldaneshty, some 40 kilometers from our village. A few Jewish families were given horse-drawn carts to get there. At the station we boarded a train. I went with my parents and my sister Sheiva. We had no information about our older sister Haya. We arrived in Novomoskovsk, Dnepropetrovsk region, where we began to work at the collective farm.
This collective farm had to drive its cattle to the Northern Caucasus. A few families that knew about cattle were sent along to take care of it. We walked day and night taking a short rest every now and then. We had to cover over 1000 kilometers. Our father had a severe cold. When we reached Chechnia he got much worse. After a few days he died. We buried him at the local cemetery and continued on our way.
We reached the village of Bekeshevskaya, Ordzhonikidze region, where we decided to stay. My mother went to work at the collective farm and I went to the 7th grade of the local school. I didn’t know Russian, but I understood that I would have to master it to continue my studies in the USSR.
In summer 1942 we went on. The Germans were close to the Northern Caucasus. We got to Turkmenia by boat and continued on our way by train. We came to Kata-Kurgan in Uzbekistan, over 2500 kilometers east of Kiev. My mother and I worked in a collective farm not far from the town.
We were accommodated in the clay hut of a local Uzbek woman. My sister Sheiva stayed alone when we were at work. We received bread per bread coupons, but there were long lines to get it and besides, its supplies were very rare. My mother sent Sheiva to a children’s home where they provided food for children and where she could study.
Location
Ukraine
Interview
Boris Slobodianskiy