Tag #118132 - Interview #100315 (Geta Jakiene)

With time I found a job as an attendant in the orphanage. I had a lot of work to do. The children who were found in the region, were hungry, dirty and lice-ridden. We washed them, shaved their heads and disinfected their clothes. I had meals here. The food was scares, but it was enough for me. I did not need much. In a while, in 1942 I was employed at the military plant. When I was working with the tool, I felt that I was helping the front and making contribution in the victory. I settled in the hostel. There were 8 ladies in one room. There were different people- kind, nice, and blatant thieves. Someone stole my food cards for several time and I starved. The only warm thing I had- a jacket – was also stolen. We had meals in the plant canteen, where we gave our food cards. In the evening we had carrot drink, sang patriotic songs and waited for the news from the front. In general we lived the life during the war. I was here on the victory day, the 9th of May. After that I started thinking about heading home, though I understood that my relatives most likely had perished. In 1943 I sent a request in the search bureau in Buguruslan and they replied that none of my relatives –dad, grandma, Leya, Meishe- were in the lists of the evacuees. I sent couple of letters at old addresses in Lithuania and got the response to my surprise.