MK: We had horses and cattle. They took it all from our barn. They left us a couple of chickens. My parents watched through the kitchen window and cried. They also took everything from our house. They took the grain and flour from our cupboard.

Interviewer – Who did this? Was it locals or people from outside the village?

MK: They were from a small town about 3 km away. But there were also local brigadiers later on who helped. They were called the militia.

When [my father] brought the wood back from the forest, they were waiting for him. He didn’t even have time to take the wood off the wagon. They took my father away before he had a chance to come into the house. They took the horses to the stable and took my father away. An hour later they brought my mother his leather belt and pocketknife. That was the last time [we saw our father]. We were little and started crying. We knew what was happening. People knew that it would get worse and worse. They talked amongst themselves. And that’s how it was.

Interviewer – So they took your father away?

MK: Yes.

Interviewer – Where?

MK: They took him to the prison in town. They didn’t let my mother see him. But on my way to school I stood under his window and talked with him. One night the man who drove the agents came and told my mother to cook something and take it to [my father], but it was too late. At night the chornyi voron ¹ took him away and we never saw him again.

Interviewer – You never saw your father again?

MK: No. He never came back. A lot of people died. A lot of people.

Interviewer – And you never knew what happened to him?

MK: We never heard from him, but later on a man who had escaped [from the labor camps] in the taiga told us that a tree had fallen on him [in the camps] and killed my father. It was very cold there; they had no clothes or food. Thousands died there.

¹Black raven – slang for the cars used to transport those who were arrested to prisons. Also called “Black Maria.”

Maria Kurec

Date of birth: 1926

Place of birth: Mykytyntsi village, Khmelnytsk oblast

Witnessed Famine in: Mykytyntsi village, Khmelnytsk oblast

Arrived in Canada:

Current residence: Winnipeg

Date and place of interview:  17 March 2009, Winnipeg

Excerpt From Full Interview