Ukrainians Discover Jews' Hiding Place during Holocaust
2021-10-11
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1Diggers in Lviv, Ukraine, have uncovered new underground hiding places where Jews fled from Nazi German forces during World War II.
2Under Lviv's stone streets are the sewers where some Jews hid.
3Historians say the Nazis killed 100,000 Jews in Lviv at that time.
4That was about one-third of the city's population.
5A few were able to survive, including father and daughter Ignacy and Krystyna Chiger.
6They escaped from the Jewish ghetto by digging an underground passageway to the city's sewers.
7They later wrote books about their experiences.
8Historian Hanna Tychka and local diggers said they recently found the exact area where Chiger's family lived in 1943 to 1944, using the books as a guide.
9Chiger dug a seven-meter-long tunnel to the sewer from his ghetto bedroom.
10He had to break a solid wall, which was 90 centimeters thick, Tychka said.
11"They had to work quietly so that Nazis would not find out that digging activity was happening in the barrack(s) basement. The Jews used a hammer wrapped in a duster," Tychka told Reuters.
12In September and October Ukraine is marking the 80th anniversary of the shooting of nearly 34,000 Jews.
13The shooting happened at Babyn Yar in the capital of Kyiv.
14It is one of the biggest killings of Jews during the Holocaust, the genocide against the Jews during World War II.
15In Lyiv, Tychka and her team discovered in July a small underground area.
16They believe it is where Jews fleeing the ghetto would stay their first night before moving to a larger shelter in the sewers.
17In the larger shelter, the team found objects they believe the hiding families used.
18They found an old plate, a toy sheep and pieces of light.
19They also discovered pieces of glass placed in between bricks in the wall, which were used to prevent rats from stealing food.
20During a visit to the site, Tychka also pointed out a pipe from where she believed the families could take drinking water.
21Chiger's family was part of a larger group that also included Halina Wind Preston, then in her early twenties.
22Of the group of 21, only 10 including the Chigers and Halina survived, said her son David Lee Preston.
23A baby was born to one of the women in the group.
24The baby was suffocated for fear that its crying would give away the group's hiding place, Preston said.
25Preston worked as a reporter for many years in Philadelphia.
26He has written several reports about his mother and his father's experience as a prisoner in the Auschwitz and Buchenwald death camps.
27He said many could not accept the conditions inside the sewer and left.
28They were always in danger of being discovered.
29Preston has written that two sewer workers helped his mother and her group during the time they lived in the hiding place.
30They left their hiding place when the Soviet army took Lviv back from the Nazis in July 1944.
31Preston was thankful to Tychka and the team who made the discovery.
32He said that, as the number of Holocaust survivors decrease, it is important for younger generations to tell their stories.
33The work to find the group's hiding place showed "a great desire by many young Ukrainians to set straight the history and prevent it from being corrupted," Preston said.
34I'm Dan Novak.
1Diggers in Lviv, Ukraine, have uncovered new underground hiding places where Jews fled from Nazi German forces during World War II. 2Under Lviv's stone streets are the sewers where some Jews hid. Historians say the Nazis killed 100,000 Jews in Lviv at that time. That was about one-third of the city's population. 3A few were able to survive, including father and daughter Ignacy and Krystyna Chiger. They escaped from the Jewish ghetto by digging an underground passageway to the city's sewers. They later wrote books about their experiences. 4Historian Hanna Tychka and local diggers said they recently found the exact area where Chiger's family lived in 1943 to 1944, using the books as a guide. 5Chiger dug a seven-meter-long tunnel to the sewer from his ghetto bedroom. He had to break a solid wall, which was 90 centimeters thick, Tychka said. 6"They had to work quietly so that Nazis would not find out that digging activity was happening in the barrack(s) basement. The Jews used a hammer wrapped in a duster," Tychka told Reuters. 7In September and October Ukraine is marking the 80th anniversary of the shooting of nearly 34,000 Jews. The shooting happened at Babyn Yar in the capital of Kyiv. It is one of the biggest killings of Jews during the Holocaust, the genocide against the Jews during World War II. 8In Lyiv, Tychka and her team discovered in July a small underground area. They believe it is where Jews fleeing the ghetto would stay their first night before moving to a larger shelter in the sewers. 9In the larger shelter, the team found objects they believe the hiding families used. They found an old plate, a toy sheep and pieces of light. They also discovered pieces of glass placed in between bricks in the wall, which were used to prevent rats from stealing food. 10During a visit to the site, Tychka also pointed out a pipe from where she believed the families could take drinking water. 11Chiger's family was part of a larger group that also included Halina Wind Preston, then in her early twenties. 12Of the group of 21, only 10 including the Chigers and Halina survived, said her son David Lee Preston. 13A baby was born to one of the women in the group. The baby was suffocated for fear that its crying would give away the group's hiding place, Preston said. 14Preston worked as a reporter for many years in Philadelphia. He has written several reports about his mother and his father's experience as a prisoner in the Auschwitz and Buchenwald death camps. 15He said many could not accept the conditions inside the sewer and left. They were always in danger of being discovered. Preston has written that two sewer workers helped his mother and her group during the time they lived in the hiding place. 16They left their hiding place when the Soviet army took Lviv back from the Nazis in July 1944. 17Preston was thankful to Tychka and the team who made the discovery. He said that, as the number of Holocaust survivors decrease, it is important for younger generations to tell their stories. 18The work to find the group's hiding place showed "a great desire by many young Ukrainians to set straight the history and prevent it from being corrupted," Preston said. 19I'm Dan Novak. 20Sergiy Karazy and Lewis Macdonald reported this story for Reuters. Dan Novak adapted it for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 21_________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23sewer - n. an underground pipe that carries away water and waste 24ghetto - n. a part of a city where the poor of a particular race or ethnic group live 25barracks - n. a building or buildings in which soldiers live 26suffocate - v. to kill someone by not letting them breathe