By maddy pelletier, quin

ramos, and liv cramer

our
family lived
on a farm in
pidhaitsi,
ukraine.

But in 1941 our lives took

a dramatic turn when the
nazis occupied ukraine...

under nazi rule, my family was able

to reclaim the 65 acres that the
soviets previously confiscated from
us.

but, we soon realized that rule under

the nazis was no better than the
soviets, for we had no freedom and
had to pay heavy taxes.

lab126

Friday, October 23, 2015 at 9:31:44 AM Mountain Daylight Time

In 1944, the soviets started

advancing again, and we
realized that we had to
escape the coming of the
second Soviet occupation.

we packed up our wagon

and traveled to our
uncle's for a temporary
stay while the situation in
pidhaitsi was improving.

this was one of our

first push factors.
after a month, we returned to our family
farm to discover that it had been
bombed, our livestock was gone, and our
farmhand had been killed. because our
livelihood was ruined, this was the final
push factor that convinced us to leave.

soviet planes were constantly flying over

pidhaitsi, and it was becoming increasingly
obvious that we had to leave, but we didn't
realize that it would be for the last time.
I am
terrified to
leave my
home and
father.

we packed up our wagons,

once again, and started
heading west. we left my
lab126 Friday, October 23, 2015 at 9:31:44 AM Mountain Daylight Time
father behind, so he could
continue farming.

the soviets
are going to
overrun ukraine. we
must flee to save
ourselves.

my father caught up
with us two weeks
later.

we joined a group of 30 wagons from pidhaitsi

to travel through the carpathian mountains and
towards germany. i never thought i would be a
victim of forced migration.

my uncle and some

other guides planned
our route

i hope
the soviets
don't bomb
us.

we are
trying to
get to
Hungary.

after five
weeks we
entered hungary
and became
german
subjects.

shaklakapati, hungary
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Friday, October 23, 2015 at 9:31:44 AM Mountain Daylight Time

we were under nazi

control.

we are
taking your
horses.

we were loaded into

cattle cars for our
trip to germany as
forced laborers. Our
trip through hungary
was very dangerous.

luckily, we
stayed in our
car, and we
arrived at a
processing center
near nuremberg,
germany a few
days later.

lab126

Friday, October 23, 2015 at 9:31:44 AM Mountain Daylight Time

suppe!

every day soldiers

delivered a meager
ration of soup, which
was our only meal, and
they would yell...
there were constant air alerts for
approaching bombers. many people left the
train, for they feared being bombed, but they
were left behind when the train started again.

we were
forced to
work with
hundreds of
other
refugees.

a huge fight broke out

because everyone
wanted to go to vienna.

let me
go!!

i want
to go to
vienna!

i need
to go!

one day, it was announced that there

was an assignment in vienna, austria,
where my family wanted to go.
well,
we'll just
send
everybody
.

once in vienna, we were housed in

huge barracks previously used for
pows that had no basic conveniences.
everybody
over the age
of 12, including
women, had to do
hard labor
alongside
pows.

everyday we would see

american bombers over vienna.
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Friday, October 23, 2015 at 9:31:44 AM Mountain Daylight Time

by april 1945, we knew Germany's

situation was hopeless because
the soviets were getting closer
to vienna, so we decided to make
a run for freedom.

our ultimate goal

was to get to
vilsbiburg, bavaria.

we went
to a railroad
station where
we encountered
utter
pandemonium.
everybody was
in a panic.

we got to
czechoslovakia on a
beautiful spring day. i
had never been to a big
city before, so i decided
to go exploring.

i found a bakery, and inside, i told a boy

that i wanted some bread, but i didn't have
my ration card.

he gave
me two
loaves of bread
and din't ask for
any money. that
night, my entire
hungry family
feasted on
bread.

when we finally arrived in

bavaria we were housed
in a school building with
other refugees.
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Friday, October 23, 2015 at 9:31:44 AM Mountain Daylight Time

eventually, the mayor of

vilsbiburg found families that let
us stay in their farmhouses.

a few days before we were liberated

by the us troops, the entire village
was on edge. everybody knew
something big was about to happen.
the german military and local police
had disappeared.

one day, a guy came

running toward us yelling.
then, we saw the american
tanks behind him.

amerikaner!
amerikaner!

this was
the happiest
day of our
lives.

i worked
for american
g.i.s in the kitchen,
and they paid me in
candy bars and
cigarettes.

lab126

Friday, October 23, 2015 at 9:31:44 AM Mountain Daylight Time

after the war ended, our situation

was very uncertain. we risked being
forced back to ukraine by the soviet
security in germany that were
forcibly repatriating people.
luckily, the american authorities
ended this, and that gave us hope
for immigrating to another country.

in 1945, the united states became a

member of the international
refugee organization. the iro took
charge of our refugee camp.

we set up
our own little
government, laws,
schooling system,
churches, and
more.

compared
to the last 6
years, life at the
refugee camp was
quite pleasant. we
even celebrated
Christmas!

lab126

Friday, October 23, 2015 at 9:31:44 AM Mountain Daylight Time

we were assigned to
a displaced person
camp in landshut,
germany with 3,500
fellow Ukrainians.
I was on the
volleyball team. other people
joined musical groups, drama
clubs, or got jobs.

the us
passed the
displaced persons
act of 1948, and we
were able to make
contact with my aunt,
who lived in america.
our aunt was both our
kinship link and a
pull factor.

my family got medical exams, went to

interviews, and filled out paperwork
until we were accepted for
immigration into the us. our
happiness returned, for we were
destined for a better future in the us.

we took the ss marine

jumper to america. when
the ship pulled away from
the harbor everyone was
singing with joy.
we are
really on
our way to
america!

we were
greeted in arena by
our american
relatives. this was the
beginning of our new
life in america. it was
all thanks to chain
migration,

we arrived at the port of

boston on may 5, 1949. we
the took the train to NYC.
from nyc we traveled by
bus to arena, NY.

lab126

I worked on a farm in new

york with my brother,
while the rest of our
family worked on a
sugarcane farm in
before
moving
Friday, October 23, 2015 at 9:31:44 AMLouisiana
Mountain Daylight
Time
to minneapolis, minnesota.

my brother and i decided

to follow our relatives
to minneapolis, mn, so we
took a train and met them
there. another pull factor
was that there were many
jobs in minneapolis.

i got a job at the

minneapolis club, and
my brother repaired
cars.

we eventually
made enough
money to bring our
parents and younger
brother to
minneapolis.

after
many years, i
decided to
settle down and
start a
family.

lab126

Friday, October 23, 2015 at 9:31:44 AM Mountain Daylight Time