Tag #124165 - Interview #95191 (Berta Zelbert)

We had passed the exams already and had to go to Donetsk oblast of Ukraine [about 1000 km. to the South from Moscow] for practical training. During the first days of war Germans were moving rapidly towards the East of the country and rector cancelled practical training. We decided to work at the plant, which produced artificial limbs. It was not far away from our dorms. It was hard and hazardous work. In a month after the outbreak of war, Germans started bombing Moscow. Air raid alarms were announced by the radio and population had to go down to the air raid shelters, located in specially re-equipped basements of the houses. We had such a shelter in the basement of our dorm. Palpably, German planes bombed our district for the reason that there were a lot of large plants. Once bomb hit our dormitory. When we went up, we saw a mess. All glass partitions fell and smashed into smithereens. We walked on crushed glass to our cubicles. Then partitions were restored. They were made from plywood.