Yes, Anastasia whom you will meet soon, was born in 1919.
Her interview is part of the Stories Our Grandparents Haven’t Told Project. It’s a true story of real life in a Ukrainian village before WWII. There are very few living witnesses who can tell us about those times. It’s a trip back in time to the 19th and possibly 18th centuries because the lifestyle in Anastasia’s village was not very much different when she lived there.
It’s also a true story of life told by the person who went through many meat mincers of the 20th century in Western Ukraine and survived.
Anastasia has seen things that we can read about or watch in films only and she’s ready to share the firsthand account.
Anastasia comes from the village of Nismychi (here’s the link to the map), it’s just a few miles from where my grandmother was born. Now, I can understand better what things were like for them. Thank you, Anastasia! However, it’s a story that embodies the fates of so many people and some parts of it can be applied to your family if they come from Western Ukraine.
Anastasia’s memory is still quite clear but she has started to forget things recently. The relatives say that just a year ago she made a huge barrel of sauerkraut by herself. I can see she’s getting tired very quickly now. I am very happy that I’ve met her and I can share this story. I am also happy that I can save it for Anastasia’s family and her great-granddaughter. I just wish I could meet her a bit earlier when she was still very active and record more than an interview.
Anastasia can teach us many interesting things. Her story also helps me to remember how important it is to cherish what we have now.
Below is the short extract from Anastasia’s story. This part has to do with WWII. The full version of her interview can be found on the Patreon page of Stories Our Grandparents Haven’t Told Project (follow the link: https://www.patreon.com/stories_our_grandparents_havent_told). You’re welcome to join the project, and get access to all videos we collect. Your participation will make it possible to keep the project going, record and save more stories that are about to be gone, pay respect to people like Anastasia.
P.S.: I invite you to contact me if you need help with your genealogy research (we do not charge for preliminary research to explain what exactly can be done) and your heritage tour of Ukraine. We do our work with love. Also, we can go to make a film about your ancestral village and conduct interviews to tell you about the local history. It would be great to help you uncover your family stories and record them.
Sincerely,
