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On Sunday 22nd June 1941 it was my turn to work on the weekend. I came to work in the morning, and my colleagues told me in secret that Germany had attacked the USSR, that there were battles in Belarus going on, and Kiev was bombed. Telephone operators were aware of many things: working at the telephone station we occasionally heard pieces of conversation.
Of course, I felt scared at once, but then I calmed down. Radio and newspapers had mentioned a possible war before, but always in the context that our army was invincible and that we would defeat the enemy on their territory. And of course, I believed this like everybody else did. We were convinced that our army was the strongest, and our military equipment was the best. Nobody had any doubts that the war would last only a few days, or probably weeks.
I went home for lunch. My sister was visiting us. She was having lunch with Mama. We were having a chat, but I didn’t tell them about the war not to spoil their mood. Only when leaving for work after lunch I told Mama and Betia that if they heard about the war, let them not panic since everything would be over pretty soon. And I left for work calmly.
We had a radio at home. They listened to Stalin’s speech, who said that we would win. We believed this so much that we didn’t even consider evacuation. My sister left home, and Mama and I didn’t even think of moving away.
My mother remembered World War I, when she saw Germans. She said Germans were very polite and didn’t hurt anybody. Numerous Ukrainian gangs during the Civil War were much worse. We didn’t know about the brutality of fascists or that they were exterminating Jews.
There were no arrangements for evacuation in Chernevtsy, and people were taking their chances to leave on wagons or even on foot. We didn’t even take an effort to leave. My brother was short-sighted, and wasn’t recruited to the army. He stayed in Chernevtsy with his family.
Germans occupied Vinnitsa region shortly after the war began. Many of those, who had left Chernevtsy, had to come back since the region was encircled by German troops, and there was no chance to break through the encirclement. The Germans invaded Chernevtsy without a single shot, but they didn’t stay. They formed the local Ukrainian police.
Of course, I felt scared at once, but then I calmed down. Radio and newspapers had mentioned a possible war before, but always in the context that our army was invincible and that we would defeat the enemy on their territory. And of course, I believed this like everybody else did. We were convinced that our army was the strongest, and our military equipment was the best. Nobody had any doubts that the war would last only a few days, or probably weeks.
I went home for lunch. My sister was visiting us. She was having lunch with Mama. We were having a chat, but I didn’t tell them about the war not to spoil their mood. Only when leaving for work after lunch I told Mama and Betia that if they heard about the war, let them not panic since everything would be over pretty soon. And I left for work calmly.
We had a radio at home. They listened to Stalin’s speech, who said that we would win. We believed this so much that we didn’t even consider evacuation. My sister left home, and Mama and I didn’t even think of moving away.
My mother remembered World War I, when she saw Germans. She said Germans were very polite and didn’t hurt anybody. Numerous Ukrainian gangs during the Civil War were much worse. We didn’t know about the brutality of fascists or that they were exterminating Jews.
There were no arrangements for evacuation in Chernevtsy, and people were taking their chances to leave on wagons or even on foot. We didn’t even take an effort to leave. My brother was short-sighted, and wasn’t recruited to the army. He stayed in Chernevtsy with his family.
Germans occupied Vinnitsa region shortly after the war began. Many of those, who had left Chernevtsy, had to come back since the region was encircled by German troops, and there was no chance to break through the encirclement. The Germans invaded Chernevtsy without a single shot, but they didn’t stay. They formed the local Ukrainian police.
Location
Ukraine
Interview
Frida Shatkhina