Tag #149018 - Interview #78036 (Mendel Kreimer)

When the war began on 22nd June 1941, the military office mobilized me and my friend Ilia Barenstein for grain harvesting on the bank of the Dnestr. We were taught to mow and harvest and to leave no crops for the enemy. Later, we were taken to dig tank ditches near Odessa. The soil there was like stone! However, I was used to hard labor since childhood, and it was no problem for me. There was a Soviet slogan: 'who works not for us, works for the enemy!', and it was mandatory to fulfill the standard scopes. Stronger guys helped those who failed to complete their scopes. Then Stalin issued an order that he had no trust in Bessarabians, and we were sent away! German troops were approaching Nikolaev and Odessa region. Ilia and I walked to the east.