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My sister stayed with us in my uncle-s house. At some time mama had no customers and had to sell her sewing machine. This sewing machine was the only thing we could sell. Soon my mother began to sew again. One of my uncle’s tenant’s daughter and wife died during the epidemic of typhus in the ghetto, and he gave his sewing machine to my mother.
In late 1943 the Germans began to retreat. Mama often went to listen to the radio at our neighbor’s. Each time she came back in a cheerful mood telling us which towns our army liberated again. Our army was approaching the Vinnitsa region and we couldn’t wait till they came. We were hoping to live till the war was over. In early March 1944 German columns began to march past our house in their retreat. One day a German soldier came into our house. We got very scared that he might kill us. He looked at my mother, said to her “Mein Mutter”, hugged her and began to cry. Then he left. Maybe my mother reminded him of his mother, who knows … There were trucks, wagons and military equipment crossing the bridge over the river, when all of a sudden the bridge burst up into the air. The flow of water was taking corpses onto the bank, but nobody approached them. Later people began to pull of their boots and coats. On that same day the railroad bridge over the Dnestr was blasted. We understood that Germans were not coming back, if they had exploded the bridges. On 19 March 1944 three Soviet tanks followed by infantry entered Mogilyov-Podolskiy. We were free! All people came out to greet the liberators, shake their hands and thank them. This was a holiday for all of us.
In late 1943 the Germans began to retreat. Mama often went to listen to the radio at our neighbor’s. Each time she came back in a cheerful mood telling us which towns our army liberated again. Our army was approaching the Vinnitsa region and we couldn’t wait till they came. We were hoping to live till the war was over. In early March 1944 German columns began to march past our house in their retreat. One day a German soldier came into our house. We got very scared that he might kill us. He looked at my mother, said to her “Mein Mutter”, hugged her and began to cry. Then he left. Maybe my mother reminded him of his mother, who knows … There were trucks, wagons and military equipment crossing the bridge over the river, when all of a sudden the bridge burst up into the air. The flow of water was taking corpses onto the bank, but nobody approached them. Later people began to pull of their boots and coats. On that same day the railroad bridge over the Dnestr was blasted. We understood that Germans were not coming back, if they had exploded the bridges. On 19 March 1944 three Soviet tanks followed by infantry entered Mogilyov-Podolskiy. We were free! All people came out to greet the liberators, shake their hands and thank them. This was a holiday for all of us.
Period
Location
Ukraine
Interview
Riva Pizman Biography