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My wife, my son and my mother-in-law were staying in Kramatorsk. I was sent to infantry division 823 of the South-Western Front near Kiev. I went to the Headquarters to tell them that my profession was mechanical engineer and that I wanted to serve in the artillery units. I was appointed as artillery unit 823 deputy commanding officer for technical services. This regiment was defending Kiev and the suburbs. In September 1941 the South-Western front was encircled by fascists and they occupied the whole Kiev region area. The Germans got many prisoners-of-war. Once we tried to break through the encirclement of the Germans, but I failed. I was wounded. It was my leg – fortunately, I had all necessary medications and bandages to treat the wound. We decided to hide in the haystack during the night and then look around in the morning to find a spot to cross the front line. Early in the morning I woke up from the smell of smoke. The Germans were burning haystacks where soldiers were hiding. I was captured as well as many of my comrades. All prisoners-of-war were taken to the collective farm yard in Bykovnia near Kiev. They gave the order for “Yuden’ – Jews to make a step forward. One Jew came out of the line and told the others to do the same. He said that the Germans were a civilized nation and did not intend to do any harm to the Jews. Other Jews began to step forward. I stayed where I was. Then one German began to walk between the lines looking at us. He came near me and asked whether I was a Jew. I said “No, no – Caucasus”. (Of course, all of my comrades knew that I was a Jew, but they didn’t give me away. We didn’t have any national conflicts and we were faithful to our front-line brotherhood ties that were stronger than any blood ties could ever be). This saved me. Almost all Jews stepped forward, because nobody knew that they were executing Jews. There were over 50 Jews: a general, few colonels, officers and privates. They were told to take off their clothes and then they were shot. Their bodies were thrown into a trench. The rest of us were escorted in the direction of Ovruch, Zhytomir region. My Ukrainian friends were holding me and I managed to walk as far as Ovruch. We didn’t get any food or water on the way. A Slovakian regiment was located in Ovruch. After they occupied Czechoslovakia the Germans made Slovaks fight on their side. We were left under this Slovakian regiment supervision. The Slovaks gave us food and asked us what our profession was. I began to work as a locksmith and mechanic. Soon our group consisting of about 30 people was sent to Byelorussia via Kiev. I was the only Jew left in this group. In Kiev another Jew that ran away from the crowd that was taken to the Babiy Yar[7] joined us and the guard didn’t notice it. He came to Byelorussia with us. There is a military town of Kodynki near Mozyr and we were taken there. I made a closer acquaintance with the Slovakians and found out that there were anti-fascists among them. We were accommodated in the barracks and were fed well. I worked as a locksmith fixing locks, etc. One Slovakian – Yan Bystran – became my friend. I decided to form a group to arrange an escape from the camp. The camp was guarded by Slovakians. Germans came every week to check whether all of us were there. We were lucky that the Slovakians were our guards. But I still decided that we had to escape.
Period
Interview
Alexandr Nepomniaschy