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Men that were fit for the army service were obliged to register at the gendarmerie once a week. Every week I walked six kilometers from Svaliava to register at the commandant's office. At times the gendarmes tortured and beat me. In August 1940 I decided to escape and cross the border. I didn't have much choice. Germany occupied Poland in September 1939. Polish refugees going via our village told us about fascism and the way the fascists treated the Jews. They were all heading for the USSR that seemed a rescue from fascism to them. Czechoslovakia was occupied by the fascists and there was only the USSR left. [Editor's note: Czechoslovakia was split, the Czech part was occupied by Germany and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was created, while Slovakia became a German satellite.]
We heard about life in the USSR after the Revolution of 1917. Unfortunately, we only had access to the official propaganda: radio and newspapers. I imagined the USSR to be a country of equal possibilities, freedom and justice. I also remembered how the communists had helped us when the bank chased us away from our house. If I had known the truth about the USSR or what they did to refugees who were trying to escape from the fascists - I wouldn't have gone there. Well, I went through this. I've lived through four disasters in my life: fire, flood, Stalin's camps and life in the USSR.
I couldn't tell my parents that I was crossing the border. My mother seemed to have an inkling that something was going to happen: she kept crying telling me, 'stay...'. I reached an agreement with a guide who took refugees across the border. We were to get together in a village, 30-40 kilometers from Pasika. I don't remember its name. On 20th August 1940 I left home without even saying goodbye to my parents. I still feel sorry about it, but at that time I was planning to take my parents to the USSR as soon as I settled down there. Three other people from my village joined me. There were three from Svaliava and others whom I don't remember. There were 54 of us in total. The majority were young people and there were older people, too, with their wives and children. Almost all of us were Jews, but there were a few Ukrainians as well.
On the night of 21st August we got to the border with the USSR. The guide took us to the border, showed us the way and returned home. We crossed the border, took a nap and decided that we had to look for a frontier guard. That was where the story started and it was a big story. The frontier guards found us before we found them. We were glad at first, but then our joy ebbed away when they ordered us, 'Stand up, line up, a step to the left, a step to the right shall be considered as an effort to escape and then we shall apply our weapons'. I will never forget these words. My other life began on 21st August 1940.
We were taken to a camp in Skole, Lvov region [120 km to Lvov]. There were 1,500-2,000 inmates in the camp. We weren't told what we were charged with and we sincerely didn't understand why we had been arrested. The camp was in horse stables. We slept on three-tier plank beds. We were provided one meal per day. We ate with wooden spoons from wooden plates. After three months we were taken to prison in the town of Striy, Lvov region [75 km from Lvov] by train. There were about 300 of us in the train and there were many guards. We stayed several months in prison in Striy. Groups of prisoners arrived every day. Most of the prisoners were people that had crossed the border. There were people from Subcarpathia, Polish and Ukrainian residents.
In winter 1941 we were taken by freight train to a big camp in Starobel'sk. The trip lasted seven days. We were given one meal per day. We were given salty herring, but no water. There were a few thousand inmates in the camp. The camp was in a former monastery where barracks had been constructed. There were people from Subcarpathia, Poles and Ukrainians. We stayed there for a few months. I don't remember how many. There were numerous guards in the camp. We didn't work in this camp. We were allowed to stay in a barrack or walk in the camp. We were given prisoner clothing.
On 11th June 1941 we boarded a freight train again to travel to Vladivostok [about 2,000 km in the Far East]. We arrived at Nakhodka bay near Vladivostok. When the train stopped in Irkutsk we overheard through our barred windows that Germany had attacked the USSR. [This was the beginning of the so-called Great Patriotic War.] [10] This was on 22nd or 23rd June. From Vladivostok we were taken to Nakhodka by trucks with tarpaulin tents. We stayed there several days and from there we were taken on a barge called 'Jurma' to Nogaev bay in Kolyma. Again, there were numerous guards. We sailed nine days. Many of us were seasick. It was such pain. It was cold and we only wore prisoner robes.
In Nogaev bay we were lined and marched to the distribution point in Magadan from where prisoners were distributed among Gulag camps. We stayed in the distribution camp for about two weeks. I was in a group of about 400 prisoners sent to Moliak camp. From there we were sent to Obiedinenniy camp on trucks. This was in winter 1941-42. Barracks in Obiedinenniy mine were in the process of construction and some of them didn't even have a roof. There were two and three-tier plank beds and gasoline stoves. In a barrack for a hundred inmates there were two gasoline stoves on the opposite ends of the barrack. We took turns to warm up near the stoves. Every prisoner could get close to the stove two to three times a night. Most of the prisoners died from hunger and cold in Obiedinenniy mine. We didn't go to work there.
In early 1942 the president of Czechoslovakia, Masaryk [11], the follower of Benes, signed an agreement for assistance and support with the USSR. Those residents of Subcarpathia that were born during the Czech rule were Czechoslovak citizens and Masaryk asked to review their cases. [Editor's note: Masaryk resigned from his office in 1935 and was succeeded by Eduard Benes. As the head of the Czechoslovak Provisional Government in London it could only have been Benes who signed such an agreement with the Soviets.] Then we were transported to Moliak camp. This camp had heating and we got food that wasn't too bad. We recovered within three months and then the camp management decided that we were fit to go to work. Moliak was a gold mine. There were open developments of gold and there were underground mines. There were rich gold veins and nuggets of gold. Once I found a nugget. There was a bonus given for it, but where could we spend the money if there were no stores in the camp? We weren't allowed to leave the camp and there was nothing we could do...
We heard about life in the USSR after the Revolution of 1917. Unfortunately, we only had access to the official propaganda: radio and newspapers. I imagined the USSR to be a country of equal possibilities, freedom and justice. I also remembered how the communists had helped us when the bank chased us away from our house. If I had known the truth about the USSR or what they did to refugees who were trying to escape from the fascists - I wouldn't have gone there. Well, I went through this. I've lived through four disasters in my life: fire, flood, Stalin's camps and life in the USSR.
I couldn't tell my parents that I was crossing the border. My mother seemed to have an inkling that something was going to happen: she kept crying telling me, 'stay...'. I reached an agreement with a guide who took refugees across the border. We were to get together in a village, 30-40 kilometers from Pasika. I don't remember its name. On 20th August 1940 I left home without even saying goodbye to my parents. I still feel sorry about it, but at that time I was planning to take my parents to the USSR as soon as I settled down there. Three other people from my village joined me. There were three from Svaliava and others whom I don't remember. There were 54 of us in total. The majority were young people and there were older people, too, with their wives and children. Almost all of us were Jews, but there were a few Ukrainians as well.
On the night of 21st August we got to the border with the USSR. The guide took us to the border, showed us the way and returned home. We crossed the border, took a nap and decided that we had to look for a frontier guard. That was where the story started and it was a big story. The frontier guards found us before we found them. We were glad at first, but then our joy ebbed away when they ordered us, 'Stand up, line up, a step to the left, a step to the right shall be considered as an effort to escape and then we shall apply our weapons'. I will never forget these words. My other life began on 21st August 1940.
We were taken to a camp in Skole, Lvov region [120 km to Lvov]. There were 1,500-2,000 inmates in the camp. We weren't told what we were charged with and we sincerely didn't understand why we had been arrested. The camp was in horse stables. We slept on three-tier plank beds. We were provided one meal per day. We ate with wooden spoons from wooden plates. After three months we were taken to prison in the town of Striy, Lvov region [75 km from Lvov] by train. There were about 300 of us in the train and there were many guards. We stayed several months in prison in Striy. Groups of prisoners arrived every day. Most of the prisoners were people that had crossed the border. There were people from Subcarpathia, Polish and Ukrainian residents.
In winter 1941 we were taken by freight train to a big camp in Starobel'sk. The trip lasted seven days. We were given one meal per day. We were given salty herring, but no water. There were a few thousand inmates in the camp. The camp was in a former monastery where barracks had been constructed. There were people from Subcarpathia, Poles and Ukrainians. We stayed there for a few months. I don't remember how many. There were numerous guards in the camp. We didn't work in this camp. We were allowed to stay in a barrack or walk in the camp. We were given prisoner clothing.
On 11th June 1941 we boarded a freight train again to travel to Vladivostok [about 2,000 km in the Far East]. We arrived at Nakhodka bay near Vladivostok. When the train stopped in Irkutsk we overheard through our barred windows that Germany had attacked the USSR. [This was the beginning of the so-called Great Patriotic War.] [10] This was on 22nd or 23rd June. From Vladivostok we were taken to Nakhodka by trucks with tarpaulin tents. We stayed there several days and from there we were taken on a barge called 'Jurma' to Nogaev bay in Kolyma. Again, there were numerous guards. We sailed nine days. Many of us were seasick. It was such pain. It was cold and we only wore prisoner robes.
In Nogaev bay we were lined and marched to the distribution point in Magadan from where prisoners were distributed among Gulag camps. We stayed in the distribution camp for about two weeks. I was in a group of about 400 prisoners sent to Moliak camp. From there we were sent to Obiedinenniy camp on trucks. This was in winter 1941-42. Barracks in Obiedinenniy mine were in the process of construction and some of them didn't even have a roof. There were two and three-tier plank beds and gasoline stoves. In a barrack for a hundred inmates there were two gasoline stoves on the opposite ends of the barrack. We took turns to warm up near the stoves. Every prisoner could get close to the stove two to three times a night. Most of the prisoners died from hunger and cold in Obiedinenniy mine. We didn't go to work there.
In early 1942 the president of Czechoslovakia, Masaryk [11], the follower of Benes, signed an agreement for assistance and support with the USSR. Those residents of Subcarpathia that were born during the Czech rule were Czechoslovak citizens and Masaryk asked to review their cases. [Editor's note: Masaryk resigned from his office in 1935 and was succeeded by Eduard Benes. As the head of the Czechoslovak Provisional Government in London it could only have been Benes who signed such an agreement with the Soviets.] Then we were transported to Moliak camp. This camp had heating and we got food that wasn't too bad. We recovered within three months and then the camp management decided that we were fit to go to work. Moliak was a gold mine. There were open developments of gold and there were underground mines. There were rich gold veins and nuggets of gold. Once I found a nugget. There was a bonus given for it, but where could we spend the money if there were no stores in the camp? We weren't allowed to leave the camp and there was nothing we could do...
Location
Ukraine
Interview
zoltan shtern