Categories: Beginning of the war, Ira Motolyga

We were getting on well. We lived in plenty. We had a very big house. We lived well. Well, once father came and said, «Basya, don’t say anybody a word, there will be a war».

Did he come after the Finnish war?

Yes, and he said: «The war will begin, it will be a cruel war, but don’t tell about that anywhere». The war hadn’t begun yet. And later my mother said, that day they went to the theater with our father. And she said: «I went out to the balcony in Belostok, and father lied down but didn’t take the uniform off. So he just took a nap. And I went out to the balcony and saw that the people were wearing the same clothes as our father, and they had guns, they were talking and running nestled down», and I said, «David, get up, there’s something going on». He jumped to feet and a car came up, it was an adjunct. And he put on one shoe, and held the other one in his hand. He was very tall, handsome man, he said: «Basya, pack the bags and take the children, and children. We need to go away; I will come to pick you up». And he left. He left. And then in two hours he came back. Mother said: «I packed these bags, both children’s and my clothes». Six bags. She said he came and looked at these bags, but said nothing. They put the bags into the car and went to the station. There was coming up a train, they started to bomb Belostok. At that time already. Father saw our mother into the train and said to go away...

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Researcher: Наталья Иващенко, кандидат исторических наук, ГрГУ им. Я. Купалы, Светлана Силова, кандидат исторических наук, доцент, ГрГУ им. Я. Купалы