Tag #150864 - Interview #78046 (peter rabtsevich)

In the evening of 22nd November 1942 Krull saw me off to the railway station, and I boarded a train to Brest. I arrived in Kiev on 28th November and spent my first night at the railway station. The police first didn't allow me to stay in the waiting room for Germans. I addressed the gendarmerie showing them my identity card, and they allowed me to stay in the waiting room. In the morning I went to the office of my company. The guard showed me into Shtoide's office. Shtoide allowed me to come in and sit on the sofa. I fell asleep right away because I hadn't slept for six nights.

Shtoide, Krull's acquaintance, woke me up at 9am and took me to the staff administration of Field Department No. 2 in Podol [10]. I went to the human resources office to have my employment documentation processed. The human resources manager said that it was bad that they were sending employees in the Eastern direction when they were supposed to be sending them to the West. I told her that I came where my job assignment was and if she needed further clarification she should address Mr. Shtoide. I obtained my identity card and was told to go to the employment office to obtain my work certificate. Officials there started asking me questions about me being sent to the East. I addressed a German man. I spoke German with no accent. I also had fluent Polish and Russian. I didn't look like a Jew either. The German ordered them to issue my work certificate. This work certificate served as a permit to stay in town. Every Saturday they stamped it, and if the police stopped somebody to check his work certificate and there was no stamp for the previous week this person was subject to go to work in Germany.