The Story of the Last Prisoner

On August the 20^th the international youth exchange project “The Story of the Last Prisoner”, which took place between August 5 and 20 in Konstantinovka, Donetsk region, came to an end.  Within two weeks 19 participants of the program from Austria, Germany, Russia, Ukraine and Hungary did a profound job. They interviewed about 30 town dwellers, which had been forced to abandon their home and to work in Austria and Germany during the Second World War. The interviews were carefully written down and edited by the participants of the project. They can be easily accessed at the blog of the project in Russian and English languages.

We continue working actively on the blog and plan to include audio and video recordings as well as photos of the interviews. Efforts of the volunteers are of paramount social importance. Memories of witnesses of those horrible events, the number of which grows thinner each day, will be preserved for future generations and will help people to be more objective in their understanding of history and refrain from repeating mistakes of the past.   

Interviews allowed the participants not only to feel the history and people’s fates, but also to acquire a unique personal experience of communication with witnesses of those events. Interviews abound in moving moments, tears and joys, re-evaluated attitudes towards older generations, compassion and willingness to help and do one’s best to brighten up gloomy years of venerable age.

Participants worked hard, but the aim of the project was more than that. Participants received a wonderful opportunity to get acquainted with the history of Konstantinovka and the Donbas, visited interesting and memorable sights, strolled along the streets of Donetsk, went to the football match at one of the major European stadiums, enjoyed the magnificence of the Kleban Byk nature reserve, chalky hills of Belokuzminovka, and simply had a great time. After two weeks of joint efforts, battles with unbelievable heat of nearly 40 C^o and tap water according to schedule participants had truly become a big family. At a closing meeting with the local authorities the participants were thanked officially for their commitment to the preservation of history. Our common history.  

We want to believe that the results of the project will be of use and will not merely collect dust on shelves. We want this project to encourage the further search and recording of oral history. So many living ostarbeiters and concentration camp prisoners are still waiting for their, possibly last, interview. The project was co-organized by Service Civil International (Germany, Austria, Hungary, Russia), IVO “SVIT-Ukraine” and ECC “Bakhmat”, with the assistance of the “Youth in Action” project and the National Agency of Germany.