USHMM Finding

http://collections.ushmm.org Contact [email protected] for further information about this collection RG‐50.653*0021 Taisiya Korbatova Taisiya Korbatova, born in 1932 in the town Dolgarevo (Sebezh raion, Pskov oblast), Russia, recalls the beginning of the war, all of the men had been called down the front, remembers when her father and uncle both left, recalls that her father returned an invalid, remembers when the Germans came, Germans took over a small village, Mogilno, nearby a train station, they robbed and set up temporary homes. The partisans began causing trouble for the Germans. When the partisans came to take back the village, the Germans were not there. The Ukrainians and Latvians had been forced to take care of the livestock. Partisans took the horses and burned the other stables were the cows and pigs were being held. Didn’t see it directly but heard about it from her mother. Remembers how everyone would go to Magilna and take from the pig carcasses for the meat. Recalls a story one of her coworkers told. Her coworker was the lone survivor after a large group of Ukrainians and Latvians were burnt alive by partisans. Taisiya recalls how Germans would arrest and deport her partisan neighbors to unknown locations. Also recalls a story of a woman being interrogated about the whereabouts of the partisans. The woman claimed not to know anything; Germans first shot her legs; eventually, they simply killed her. Everyone saw her after she had been shot. Mother would bake bread for the partisans, even through threats of violence, until she along with Taisiya were taken to the concentration camps. Recalls how Taisiya’s mother saved a Jewish grocer from persecution. Kept him in the basement for a little more than a year. Told all of the children that they weren’t hiding anybody. When the partisans came to collect the bread one night, they took the Jewish man with them. Recounts the events that led to her being placed into a concentration camp in Idritsa, Russia. Recalls the separation process. All of the young men were shipped off to Germany. Only the very young and very old were left. Remembers that war prisoners were there too. Typhus was also very prominent. Ten to fifteen people died a night. Remembers seeing a large amount of death. After the number went down in the first camp in Idritsy, then they were transferred to the camp in Seibizh. Had to walk. Those who could walk were given moments of rest, while those who could walk were shot. Recalls the wonderful moment when they were finally liberated. Two partisan boys offer their help to get the survivors out of Seibizh into a safe zone. When they left, Seibizh was bombed. Surrounding woods were the safe zone was ended up receiving artillery fire as well. Taisiya’s mother’s hand blown off by a piece of shrapnel. Mother was taken to hospital. Russian soldiers showed up fairly quickly and provided aid. Nothing remained of Seibizh, until after the war. The war took away their childhood. Nobody complained. The war was over, and everybody was glad to be alive. Recalls the hospitals that was in the camps; patients were given lethal injections if they were admitted; her uncle, of relatively good health, was put down because he got sick and looked much older than he actually was. Anybody who became sick did their best to hide the fact during morning inspection. The guards in the concentration camps treated the war prisoners much worse than the other captives. The captives would eat the grass on occasion. Taisiya had her arm broken in the camp. Her father took her to the hospital in St. Petersburg, but nothing could be done. Recalls more stories from her childhood. Germans and those working with them, would burn homes to the ground. Women and children would dig holes and bury the victims since men were gone. This is a verbatim transcript of spoken word. It is not the primary source, and it has not been checked for spelling or accuracy. .

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