Our Composition class, which we had last week, was absolutely different than every other before. Mrs. Gray had invited four old ladies who were giving an interview for all of us with a big pleasure. Our class was divided in four groups and each of them had their own widow to talk with. I was in the first group and we got a talk with Margarita.
Margarita told us a terrible story about her childhood. She was only 15 years old when the WWΙΙ had started. Her mother worked as a conductor on train and she had an opportunity to take three of her children to secure place before the German soldiers would come. But Margaritas’ mother couldn’t find her children in the city that day and she had another choice than to leave all of them in Kyiv and to go by herself. Of course, she came back later but her own children had to live alone more than three months. Then she told us lots of information about WWΙΙ in Kyiv.
But the most difficult situation in her life was on the beginning of the War, when all Jews were invited to one place, now it is Babij Yar, to be killed. They didn’t know why were they going there but they had to. There were thousands of Jewish people on the streets and all of them were going to that ‘’bloody‘’ place. There were a big gates before Babij Yar, where were standing two Russian officers. And when Margarita came to those gates one of the officers told her to go away from that place because she didn’t looks like a Jew. So, she was saved from the death.
Now Margarita is 81 years old, but she still couldn’t remember that day. And that horrible day makes her believe in fete and God.
Personal interview: Margarita, 3/20/07