Interviwers: Bianca Tone (Austria), Antonida Novoselova (Russia), Yulia Apanasenko (Ukraine)
We were liberated by the Americans. They bombed us heavily, but then they liberated us and let us go where we wanted. We went outside and people broke shop windows for us and said: „Take whatever you want.“ At that time we already started to live. And the sound of the airplanes... it was terrible. First the Americans took us, then the British, it was not clear to whom we belonged. We did not work anymore, we got much better food, life started to improve. Several people left for America, but I waited for being sent to Ukraine.
We travelled in cars and trains for a long time, but then we got home. We had already informed our parents, that we were going, so they were waiting for us at the railway station. All welcomed me very well, there was great joy. Our town had been completely destroyed, so when we arrived, the town was being rebuilt.
This was all after our return to Konstantinovka. At the beginning we were despised and insulted, but then got used to it anyway.
War is not necessary. Whatever may come, it's most important that there may be no war and no cold. Everyone should live in peace.
My name is Nadezhda Alezarenko (Shevchenko). I was born on the 21st of March 1929 in Konstantinovka, Donetsk region. I spent my childhood in Kondratevk with my family. Since 1922 my father had worked at the Red October plant.
I got to Germany in 1942. I ran to the railway station with some girls, and the Germans caught us there and put us into wagons. Even our parents did not know. It was something horrible. I do not even know how we got there, I know only it was in one train. We lived and worked at a camp in Remscheid. We lived in barracks with barbed wire. There were many of us in the barrack, young people, old people and families. Our camp was called „central“. At the plant near to which we worked, we made ammunition, it was a military plant. Wagons with bricks came to us and we had to bring them to the warehouse. In our group there were ten people: six girls and four old women. We were commanded by a German. The German was a good man, he hid us so we could have a rest and told us to sit quietly and not to sing. In our group there were ten people, and every day he gave one of us ration cards for bread. He helped us. We ate turnips and spinache in the canteen. There was rarely something disgusting. We ate everything, no matter if it was good or bad. We were not paid for our work. We had free days only when there were German holidays. We worked from the morning until 5 p.m. In the camp we used to sit and talk. We were all friends there. The Germans were not as bad as everyone is saying, the most was that they could shout at us like this.
I got to Germany in 1942. I ran to the railway station with some girls, and the Germans caught us there and put us into wagons. Even our parents did not know. It was something horrible. I do not even know how we got there, I know only it was in one train. We lived and worked at a camp in Remscheid. We lived in barracks with barbed wire. There were many of us in the barrack, young people, old people and families. Our camp was called „central“. At the plant near to which we worked, we made ammunition, it was a military plant. Wagons with bricks came to us and we had to bring them to the warehouse. In our group there were ten people: six girls and four old women. We were commanded by a German. The German was a good man, he hid us so we could have a rest and told us to sit quietly and not to sing. In our group there were ten people, and every day he gave one of us ration cards for bread. He helped us. We ate turnips and spinache in the canteen. There was rarely something disgusting. We ate everything, no matter if it was good or bad. We were not paid for our work. We had free days only when there were German holidays. We worked from the morning until 5 p.m. In the camp we used to sit and talk. We were all friends there. The Germans were not as bad as everyone is saying, the most was that they could shout at us like this.
We were liberated by the Americans. They bombed us heavily, but then they liberated us and let us go where we wanted. We went outside and people broke shop windows for us and said: „Take whatever you want.“ At that time we already started to live. And the sound of the airplanes... it was terrible. First the Americans took us, then the British, it was not clear to whom we belonged. We did not work anymore, we got much better food, life started to improve. Several people left for America, but I waited for being sent to Ukraine. We travelled in cars and trains for a long time, but then we got home. We had already informed our parents, that we were going, so they were waiting for us at the railway station. All welcomed me very well, there was great joy. Our town had been completely destroyed, so when we arrived, the town was being rebuilt.
This was all after our return to Konstantinovka. At the beginning we were despised and insulted, but then got used to it anyway.
War is not necessary. Whatever may come, it's most important that there may be no war and no cold. Everyone should live in peace.
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