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Aunt Milya also thought that she was leaving just for a couple of days to hide from the bombings in the village. They left without any luggage. Milya only changed clothes from an everyday dress to a woolen one, just in case. Nobody believed that the Germans would occupy Novorzhev. Here her three children and her niece 9- year-old Zhenya, Uncle Bentse's daughter, who was visiting them that summer, were also with Milya.
Uncle Bentse asked for a few days leave at his work and went from Leningrad to Novorzhev to get his daughter. The railway track didn't go as far as Novorzhev then, and the nearest railway station was about 40 kilometers away. With much effort, sometimes on foot, sometimes getting on a passing horse-cart he reached Novorzhev and found only two men in the entire town, one of whom was my grandfather Yakov. But grandfather was already extremely frightened and agreed at once to leave with his son for Leningrad. Nobody knew where Milya and the children were at that time.
Uncle Bentse asked for a few days leave at his work and went from Leningrad to Novorzhev to get his daughter. The railway track didn't go as far as Novorzhev then, and the nearest railway station was about 40 kilometers away. With much effort, sometimes on foot, sometimes getting on a passing horse-cart he reached Novorzhev and found only two men in the entire town, one of whom was my grandfather Yakov. But grandfather was already extremely frightened and agreed at once to leave with his son for Leningrad. Nobody knew where Milya and the children were at that time.
Period
Year
1941
Location
Russia
Interview
Mira Dernovskaya
Tag(s)