One of the most popular measures of the occupation authorities that affected almost every family was deportation to do forced labor in Nazi Germany and countries occupied by it. Deportation of Shostka region locals began in early April 1942 and lasted until the end of the summer of 1943, the very retreat of the German army. According to post-war calculations, 1,815 locals were taken out of the villages of Shostka district and 6,000 young men and women were taken out of the Shostka city.
Deportation exposition shows samples of labor exchange reports received from families of young people. An inconspicuous document – a letter from the recruitment commission to the chief of police of the city of Shostka, asking him to hand over the summons to an addressee – explains how thousands of people were gathered to be sent out.
While in 1942, it was mostly young people who were sent to Germany, but in 1943, entire families were deported: neither young children nor sick parents presented any barriers to the Nazis. A memo from the First Lieutenant of the Kupper Security Police on escorting a train with forced workers to Germany, tells us a lot about the methods of exporting labor force to the Reich and the circumstances of their transportation. The history of the Bunny family and the Sedachev sisters who were deported to do forced labor with their young children, is a prime example of this occupational policy.
- A letter from the Recruitment Commission to the Chief of Shostka Police. 08/17/1942 To the Shostka City Police Chief. You are hereby requested to urgently issue an order to distribute summons to villages and to hand them over to [specific] addresses. For the transport is already leaving for Germany at 4 am on August 19, 1942. Summary: “Send out according to summons’ addresses” (State Archive of Sumy Region)
- Vera Artamonov (born 1923, village of Ivot). Photo from an Ostarbeiter’s work card.1944 Deported in May 1942 to Germany. Worked at the Eibia GmbH powder factory near the villages of Liebenau and Steyerberg.
- A notification from the department of labor of the Shostka city council to Vira Artamonova from the village of Ivot to come to the Labor Exchange on May 26, 1942.
- ЗAn example of a summons from the Shostka City Labor Department received by residents of villages in the district with an order to appear at the Labor Exchange to register and be deported for forced labor to Germany. 1942
- An example of a summons from the Shostka City Labor Department received by residents of villages in the district with an order to appear at the Labor Exchange to register and be deported for forced labor to Germany. 1942
- An example of a summons from the Shostka City Labor Department received by residents of villages in the district with an order to appear at the Labor Exchange to register and be deported for forced labor to Germany. 1942
- A list of men of the village of Lokotky (modern city of Shostka) recruited for Germany. [1942]
- A list of men of the village of Lokotky (modern city of Shostka) recruited for Germany. [1942]
- A note of Senior Lieutenant of Security Police Kupper on accompanying the train with forced laborers to Germany. July 13, 1943
- Vira Pischik (Rudchenko) with her sister Maria. Photo, Ivot, 1942 In the summer of 1942, she was deported to Germany with her fellow villagers
- Signature on the back: “For good and long memory to my sister Maria as a gift during her departure to Germany. Let my life last long, I will not forget you, everything in life can happen, do not forget me, too. Vera Rudchenko. 06/13/1942”
- Galina and Ninel Sedachevas. Photo by Fering, [1945].
- Vira Sedacheva (Hotsenko), the mother of Lydia and Galina, the sister of Maria. Photo 1936
- Maria Hotsenko with nieces Lydia and Galina Sedachev. Shostka, 1946
- Antonina Banna with children Valery (left), Anatoly (right), Leonid (center). Photo, Shostka, [1946].
- A message from the Red Army Department for Privates and Sergeants that Antonina’s husband Ivan Banny was reported missing in 1945.
- A message from the Red Army Department for Privates and Sergeants that Antonina’s husband Ivan Banny was reported missing in 1945.
- Ivan Banny, born in 1910, Voronezh. Photo, 1941
Organization of the deportation of residents of Shostka city and villages to do forced labor in Germany is described in interviews of its witnesses – Pelagia Chubun, Ivan Dudar, Anna Tkach, Maria Dotsenko, and Marfa Gedz.