Forced Labor 1939 - 1945

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Sinaida Iwanowna B., "OST-Arbeiter" (Eastern worker) in Berlin and Hesse

Sinaida Iwanowna B. from Ukraine was taken to Germany as an “OST-Arbeiter” (Eastern worker) where she was forced to work in the household products and arms industry.

Segment from the video interview with Sinaida I.B., 2005: Sinaida Iwanowna B. speaks about her memories, about hunger and loneliness (4:45 minutes).

Biography

• Born in 1914 in Belgorod (Russia); father railway official, mother housewife, two siblings
• 1916: The family moves to Kharkiv
• 1922: School
• 1932: Studies at the Chemical Technical University in Kharkiv
• 1938: Works as an engineer at “Giprokoks”, Kharkiv 
• October 1941: Occupation of Kharkiv
• 1942: Deportation to Berlin, works at the cosmetic company “Schwarzkopf” and then as a maid for a Baltic-German family
• 1943: After the air raids, she goes to Hesse with the family, works in a bakery
• Summer of 1944: Works in WASAG munitions factory near Allendorf/Hesse; detained in a “Russian camp”
• April 1945: Escapes to the forest, liberated by US troops
• June 1945: Transport to the Soviet occupied zone; “Filtrierlager” near Magdeburg
• October 1945: Returns to the Soviet Union, reemployment at “Giprokoks”
• Retires 1978
• Marries 1984
• 2004: Death of her husband
• Member of the Kharkiv Association of Victims of National Socialism

A biographical short film (duration 25 minutes) from the interview with Sinaida B. has been produced for educational work.