Stories

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Heinz Goetz

My grandfather was born in 1939 in Delmenhorst. Two years later, his father, a public servant, was transferred to Orlová...
childhoodCzechsdaily lifeescapefamily memoryGermanyOrlová/OrlauRussiansSilesia
Nadjeschda Stoffers
Nadjeschda Stoffers

Teresa Kozyra

Teresa was 10 years old when the war started. She lived with her family in a small village of Sikorzyce in the Tarnów po...
countryside lifePolskaSikorzyce
Klaudia Fizia
Klaudia Fizia

Anna H.

Extract from the interview with Anna H. in which she recounts her family history & her memories of the time of the Secon...
Austriafamily memoryKriegsgefangenerNachkriegszeitrural lifeRussenZweiter Weltkrieg
Franziska Lamp
Franziska Lamp

Czesława Poprawska

I interviewed my aunt, Czesława Poprawska, born in 1928, who used to live in Kościan (a town in the Greater Poland Voivo...
daily lifeemigrationfamily memoryKościanlittle homelandPolskaŚmigiel
wera-rataj@o2.pl
wera-rataj@o2.pl

Zofia Płaszewska

Oscar Wilde once said, "To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all." I interviewed my gran...
childhoodNazi occupationSecond World War
Katarzyna Żywko
Katarzyna Żywko

Gert Malerius

Gert Malerius grew up in East Prussia, the town of Pillau. Close to the end of World War II, he had to flee with his mot...
East PrussiaescapeGermanySecond World War
Jakov Malerius
Jakov Malerius

Grażyna Oczkowicz

Grażyna Oczkowicz was born in December 1937 in the village of Rzędowice in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. Grażyna was th...
Armia Krajowachild's memoirschildhooddaily lifepartisansPolandSecond World Warvolksdeutschпартизанська боротьба
Aleksandra Oczkowicz
Aleksandra Oczkowicz

Maria Brunnenkant

When Maria was only a few weeks old, the cruel and inhuman World War II was already raging. Her first years of childhood...
bombing attackschildhoodDeutschlandfamily memoryGermanyKindheitnever againnie wiederNiemcy
Laura Kuzaj
Laura Kuzaj

Hanna Marshalok

I interviewed my grandmother Hanna Marshalok (maiden name: Zemba). She was born on April 12, 1948, in the village of Sta...
banderitesfamily memoryfatherGerman soldiersJewish peoplePolesSecond World WarStaryi SkalatUkrainians
Mykhailo Marshalok
Mykhailo Marshalok

Zdzisław Cabaj

I interviewed my father who was born in 1959. In the conversation, dad recalls stories related to World War II that he h...
family memoryLesser Polandlife during the occupationmemory of the second generationPolandPowiśle DąbrowskieSecond World Warterror
Sylwia Cabaj
Sylwia Cabaj

Pylyp Slabyi

I've heard stories about World War II since my childhood. So during the project, I decided to learn more about my ancest...
escapeOdesaRomanian occupationSecond World WarUkraineсaptivity
Kateryna Uzhevska
Kateryna Uzhevska

Elli Treptow

I interviewed my grandmother on October 4, 2020. She was born in 1936 in Grünberg (Zielona Góra), close to Lodz (Poland)...
family memoryGermanyLodzPolandRed ArmySecond World WartraumaZweiter Weltkrieg
Marlene Rehbein
Marlene Rehbein

Genowefa Ruman

Genowefa Ruman was born in Jastrzębik in 1949. She had eight siblings. Their parents were working hard to provide for th...
daily lifefamily memoryJastrzębikKrynica ZdrojNikifor KrynickiNowy SączPolskaZagorzyn
Gabriela Kolodziej
Gabriela Kolodziej

Achim

In November 2020, I called my great-aunt Ursula and my great-uncle Achim to talk to them about their experiences during ...
Deutschlandfamily memoryFluchtSchlesienZweiter Weltkrieg
Pauline Reinhardt
Pauline Reinhardt

Oleksii Sydorov

Oleksii Sydorov was born in 1920. Until the beginning of World War II served in the Soviet Army in the Navy since 1938. ...
Azerbaijanfamily memoryKerchSecond World WarUkraine
Daria Nesterenko
Daria Nesterenko

Bernd Müller

Bernd grew up in Northern Germany. He speaks about his childhood memories during and after the war, the role that Nation...
childhoodDealing with the pastGermanyPost war periodSecond World War
Linh Müller
Linh Müller

Semen Hеrasymovych

A story of an ordinary man who served as a scout during the Second World War.
secret serviceUkrainaZweiter Weltkrieg
Sophia Pivtorack
Sophia Pivtorack

Kazys Romanas Valys

My grandfather Kazys Romanas Valys was born on May 25th in 1942 in the Raseniai district municipality, Lithuania. His mo...
deportationKolchoseLitauenNazi-BesetzungSibiriensowjetische Besatzung
Roberta Bartkutė
Roberta Bartkutė

Ivan Zakharov

Ivan Zakharov was born in 1918 in Zorka village, Orel province (Russia). In 1938, he was called up for military service ...
DonbasLeningradRed ArmyRosjaUkrainaWojna zimowa
Ivan Hryvko
Ivan Hryvko

Hałyna Serhijenko

Halyna Serhijenko was born in 1946 in Mariupol, Donetsk oblast. She tells about the events that took place in her family...
childhoodMariupolNazi occupationSecond World WarUkraine
Mark Borodai
Mark Borodai

Yakiv Trusov

This story is about our father, grandfather, and great-grandfather who took part in the most fierce battles of the Germa...
family memorySecond World WarUkraine
Valentyna Kasian
Valentyna Kasian

Raisa Tokarevych

This is the story of a Russian girl who remembers famine and Soviet collective farms and was able to survive by finding ...
DonbasfaminekolkhozSoviet regimeUkraine
Yuliia Gaman
Yuliia Gaman

Ivan Holiak

The history of my family reflects life in a totalitarian regime. All that my great grandfather and great-grandmother wen...
childhoodescapeexileLviv regionSiberiaUkraine
Mykhailo Didenko
Mykhailo Didenko

Zinaida Laskova

Zinaida Laskova was born on August 21, 1926 in the village of Hnylozubivka into a large family. She survived the Holodom...
childhoodfamineforced labourGermanySecond World WarUkraine
Alina Tanasova
Alina Tanasova

Semion Gelman

Semion Gelman was born on October 15, 1927 in Leningrad. He survived the siege of Leningrad. Worked as a teacher of Hist...
famineJewish peopleSecond World WarSiege of Leningrad
Iryna Simonenko
Iryna Simonenko

Zofia Mazur

Zofia Mazur was born on the 24th of November 1936 in Semenivka, 25 km from Lviv. During World War II, like many others, ...
PolandresettlementSecond World WarUkraine
Ola Makowiecka
Ola Makowiecka

Vira Paripsa

Vira Paripsa, my grandmother, was born February 1, 1935 in the Rososha village to a family of 11 children. She witnessed...
HolocaustNaziSecond World Warvictim of Nazism
Olga Solonenko
Olga Solonenko

Sigrid Henning

My grandmother was born on the 15th of February 1945 in Bielefeld. She grew up There and completed an apprenticeship a...
Germany
Melina Henning
Melina Henning

Rita Althausen

R. Althausen is vice chairwoman of the German-Israeli Society (DIG) and daughter of Oskar Altmann, who is a witness of t...
FrancoGermanyGurs internment campJewish peopleMannheimpogrome
Philipp Blaich
Philipp Blaich

Oliver Jagolski

I interviewed my father, who was born in 1972 and will talk about his father and grand father as well as his uncle. H...
GermanyHitlerjugendLuftwaffen-FelddivisionsecretsWehrmacht
Natalia Jagolski
Natalia Jagolski

Stefaniya Duts

Stefaniya Duts was born on May 22, 1935 in Volya Gorodecka, Lublin region, Poland. She was relocated to Donbas. Later es...
Armia KrajowaLvivmilitary servicePolandSecond World WarUkraine
Marko Basarab
Marko Basarab

Andrzej Iwan

Andrzej Iwan - wartime memories of a child. Andrzej Iwan was born in November 1939. As a child he had a different per...
Armia Krajowachild's memoirschildhoodconspirationPolandPolish People's Republic (PRL)SilesiaSosnowiec
Wanda Iwan
Wanda Iwan

Christa Maischak

Christa grew up in 1930's in a small village near Breslau, today Wrocław. She and her family was forced to leave their h...
childhoodCzech RepublicescapeJewish peoplePolandSilesia
Theresa Maischak
Theresa Maischak

Stanisław Baszowiecki

Stanisław Baszowiekci was born in 26.051940r. in Przemiwółki village, in Lviv voivodship. He had to move from his home t...
LvivrepatriationSecond World WarWrocław
Natalia Penar
Natalia Penar

Stanisław Iwach

Stanisław Iwach was born in 1935, in Tarnopol, within the Eastern Borderlands. He was one of the 7 siblings. In 1944, wh...
family memoryPolandSecond World War
Martyna Iwach
Martyna Iwach

Edward Szukiel

Edward Szukiel was born in 1930 in Wozgielance, Wilno region. He has 4 siblings. His father was a blacksmith. He was rai...
Armia Krajowainternmentmilitary servicepartyzantkaPolandRed ArmySecond World War
Aleksandra Peisert
Aleksandra Peisert

Oleksandr Salun

Oleksandr Salun (my grandfather) was born on January 20, 1942 in the village of Muravy, Novhorod-Siverskyi region, Chern...
local policepartisansUkraineWinter war
Oleksandra Vorotilova
Oleksandra Vorotilova

Anna Fokina (Sherdits)

Anna Fokina (Sherdits), my great grandmother, was born on August 8, 1923 in the village of Krestyshe, Sovetskiy district...
Second World WarUkraine
Victoria Oros
Victoria Oros

Kyrylo Vasylenko

My grandfather, Vasylenko Myhailo, tells us about his father, my great-grandfather, Kyrylo Vasylenko, born 1918. During ...
MongoliaPoltava regionSoviet ArmyUkraine
Vladyslav Kravtsev
Vladyslav Kravtsev

Nadiia Loboda

She was born in 1939 on the 16th of January in Novomykolayivka, Zaporizhzhia region,Ukraine. The beginning of the Second...
famineSecond World WarUkraine
Anton Samoylenko
Anton Samoylenko

Olena Borzenko

Olena Borzenko was born in the village of Vysokyi, Kharkiv region in 1953. She is the only child in her family. Her pare...
ghettoKharkivlabor campSecond World WarUkraine
Daryna Petrenko
Daryna Petrenko

Volodymyr Poznyar

Volodymyr Poznyar (my grandfather) was born on February 28, 1934 in Chimkent (Southern Kazakhstan). In 1938 (during the ...
concentration campghettoNaziSecond World WarStalinist repressionUkrainevictim of Nazism
Yuliia Bezzubko
Yuliia Bezzubko

Günter Knura

In the interview my grandfather Günter Knura tells about his experiences and about his childhood during the war.
Deutsches JungvolkGermanySecond World War
Oriana Rath
Oriana Rath

Meeting with Mrs. Yaroslava Melnychuk

Meeting of the participants of the History begins in the family project with Mrs.Yaroslava Melnychuk, former prisoner of...
GULAGLvivSoviet occupationUkrainian Insurgent Army (UPA)
Oleksa Stasevych
Oleksa Stasevych

Rozalia Graboń

My great-grandfather Józef Graboń was born on 17th July 1913. My great-grandmother Rozalia was born on 8th February 1916...
PolandSecond World War
Jakub Gomółka
Jakub Gomółka

Stefania Jasińska

Stefania Jasińska (née Kramarczyk) was born on 26th December 1926 in Osiek, Poland. In 1941, she was taken to Germany to...
deportationforced labourGermanyOświęcimPolandSecond World Wartransportation
Aleksandra Płonka
Aleksandra Płonka

Karl Juesten

Karl Juesten was born in West Germany. After he graduated school with 17 years, he was conscripted to the German army. F...
BelgiumFranceGermanySecond World Warsoldier
Philipp Jüsten
Philipp Jüsten

Józef Boba

The oldest member of my nearest family, my grandfather Józef Boba, was born on 26th December 1932 in Polanka Wielka. To...
military servicePolandresettlementSecond World WarSłużba Polsce (SP)
Barbara Boba
Barbara Boba

Meeting with Mrs. Zofia Posmysz

Meeting of the participants of the History begins in the family project with Mrs. Zofia Posmyzh, former prisoner of the ...
NaziOświęcim
Oleksa Stasevych
Oleksa Stasevych

Hans-Jürgen Symanski

Born on June 17, 1937, in Lyck (today’s Poland). Escaped January 1945 from East Prussia to West Germany together with hi...
East PrussiaescapeLyckSecond World War
Helena Pünjer
Helena Pünjer

Krystyna Środa

Krystyna Środa was born in 1940. She has been living in Mętków ever since her childhood. She survived the war as a child...
First World WarPoland
Grzegorz Rusek
Grzegorz Rusek

Zofia Listosz

Date of birth: 18th January 1951 Moved to Lublin: 1967 Finished school: 1969 Got married: 30th April 1972 Father's d...
family memoryNazi occupationPolandSecond World War
Dominika Pituła
Dominika Pituła

Pavlo Levytskyi

In 1933 Pavlo was born in the small village Stara Ushytsia, which was a big town back then. When he entered the second g...
famineJewish peopleNaziorphanageSecond World WarUkraine
Yulia Levytska
Yulia Levytska

Barbara Mudyna

Barbara Mudyna was born on 6th January 1937. Parents: Gabriela and Eugeniusz Raszek Children: Anna, Krzysztof and Wojc...
Armia KrajowaPodhale shootersPolandSecond World WarTatra shootersTrzebinia
Jakub Kamieniarz
Jakub Kamieniarz

Dariia Zavoiska

Mrs. Dariia Zavoiska was born on June 3, 1950, in the village Verbivka, Perehinske district, Stanislav (today: Ivano-Fra...
PerehinskeSecond World WarUkraineUkrainian Insurgent Army (UPA)
Roman Zvarych
Roman Zvarych

Emilia Kowalska

Emilia was the second youngest child in the family. She had three older sisters: Felicja, Stanisława and Krystyna, and o...
Lesser PolandOświęcimPogorzycePolandRussiansSecond World War
Łukasz Kowalski
Łukasz Kowalski

Oleh Pavlish

Oleh Pavlish was born on June 20, 1971, in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine. He went to school No. 61. After finishing the 8-th gr...
diariesKryvyi RihSecond World WarUkraine
Valeriia Pavlish
Valeriia Pavlish

Volodymyr Zalevskyi

My grandfather was born in Odesa oblast (region) on July 3, 1971. In 1986 he graduated from school. In 1991 he graduated...
BessarabiaEastern Frontmilitary serviceNovoselivkaOdesaPolandRomanian ArmySecond World WarUkraine
Serhii Zalevskyi
Serhii Zalevskyi

Barbara Wyciszkiewicz

Barbara Wyciszkiewicz was born on 30th November 1946 in Katowice. She lives in Łopuszno with her husband Jerzy. She has ...
forced labourGermanyKatowiceKielceNaziOświęcimSecond World WarSilesia
Paulina Bożyk
Paulina Bożyk

Volodymyr Voitiuk

This interview is about Ivan Nahorniuk, Volodymyr Voitiuk’s grandfather. He was born on the 7th of January 1922 and was ...
Second World WarUkraine
Ksenia Voitiuk
Ksenia Voitiuk

Elvira (Vira) Gutsalo

On March 8, 1945 – was born in Germany, 35 miles from Rhine. At the age of three months came back to Kyiv with her mom. ...
DonbasFederal Republic of Germany (FRG)German Democratic Republic (GDR)Second World WarStalinoSuniava
Lilia Trubka
Lilia Trubka

Zofia Raj

Mrs. Raj was born on 11th May 1950 in Kęty near Oświęcim. She is the daughter of Stanisława and Józef, but she was raise...
Armia Krajowabauersforced labourPolandRed ArmySecond World War
Aga Kawczak
Aga Kawczak

Lidiya Zubanenko

Lidiya was born on February 12, 1927, in the village Lukshyno, Smolensk region (Russia). In 1935 she went to school. ...
PishchankaSecond World WarUkraine
Olia Vasilets
Olia Vasilets

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