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On Sunday 22nd June, at 4am, bombing began. The war had started. The regiment lined up and left and I stayed waiting for my battalion to come back. The regiment commander sent me to the station to help evacuate officers' families. There was a freight train waiting, women and children crying. I helped them to load their luggage and get on the train. When the boarding was over, the commanding officer ordered me to escort the train with the remaining soldiers.
When we were passing Minsk, we could see the German tanks. Our train passed, when their encirclement closed behind us and all those, who had failed to escape, civilians and military, had no more chance to. The Germans captured our military storage facilities with state of the art weaponry and food stocks. I was lucky to have escaped. My lessons of mathematic gave me this opportunity.
When we were passing Minsk, we could see the German tanks. Our train passed, when their encirclement closed behind us and all those, who had failed to escape, civilians and military, had no more chance to. The Germans captured our military storage facilities with state of the art weaponry and food stocks. I was lucky to have escaped. My lessons of mathematic gave me this opportunity.
Period
Year
1941
Location
Belarus
Interview
Osip Hotinskiy
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