Zdena Furmanová

"So the Germans started loosing their positions on the west. They began to return back. What are your memories of this period of time? When did the front start to approach again?" "I remember, we had this big kitchen, the Germans came one day and brought a lot of hay to the kitchen floor. I think there about, I don’t really recall how many of them were there. Anyway, they took all their clothes off, they all had lice. Now they were killing the lice there, right. It was an awful sight." "And they were Germans?" "Yes, Germans." "Were they runaway or just backing off..." "Yes. They had their feet covered in cloths, because it was freezing. In fact that was the reason why they were loosing, right? Maybe if it wasn’t so freezing outside, everything would have been different." "I imagine they must have smelled bad too...?" "Oh, yeah you’re right. So many unwashed men in one kitchen. They wore a scarf wrapped around their heads, full of lice. So many lice. Terrible. They ordered us to cook the chicken for them. So mom made them chickens. And then they were eating it with their hands, the same hand that were killing the lice just a moment ago." "That’s just unbelievable." "Yes, but when they came in 1939 that was completely different story. They got out of the car, took out a table and some chairs. They all were washed well and smelled so well. They ate all kinds of fancy food, specialties. And how did they end up now." "In 1941 they were all cleaned up, shaved and in three years..." "It was awful." "And how long did they stay with you?" "I’m not sure, maybe not even a week or so." "And were they treating you good?" "Commonly, yes. These were behaving all right because they were already miserable themselves, you know."

"You have mentioned that Mirohost village is located near Dubno town, on which I suppose bombs were dropping during the year of 1941. Have you seen any planes, or..." "Yes I have. Mirohost was under bombing attack too, just where the train track was and the train station." "So what was it like from your point of view?" "Well you know, being a child I was scared of course, but I didn’t really pay much attention to it. I remember that we spent a day or two in the woods, but then we returned and there was no bombing anymore. Concerning the Germans, when they started, it was really something. I remember, we used to have this big backyard at home and one day they came to this backyard. They came by car. They took out the table and some chairs. They put out lots of food, they ate and drank and when they were done they got back in the car and off they went. But then, later on... Some German officer came on a motorbike with a side-car. He let escape our pigs, he shot one, put the dead pig into the side-car and left. Or sometimes they came and were chasing our chickens in the backyard. The chickens were running and the officers were after them. And that’s how it was with the Germans...But I don’t think they killed anyone there in Mirohost. We all were afraid of them of course, but they didn’t kill anyone, I think. But there was this work thing. I’m not sure how old I was, but even I have been called to their employment office in Dubno town. So I went there. There was a doctor who performed a complete examination, and then they gave me the card with the transport number on it. I have put it somewhere, I don’t know. But there was the name, number of transport, the departure date, everything. But then the Germans had to back up, so the transport was cancelled." "All this could happen in 1943, when you were fifteen years." Yes, I guess so."

"Now, we already spoke about the Jews in general, but how were they doing during the German occupation? Did the Germans build some ghetto for them?" "Yes, the ghetto was in Dubno village. And all the Jews were in there. They were not allowed to come out. One day when I went to the employment office I saw the big truck loaded with Jews taking them out of the ghetto. It was open truck, you could see them what were they doing, and you just can’t forget that in a lifetime. They were pulling their hair. Some of them were crying. It was awful. The Germans were driving them on this field between Mirohost and Dubno villages, there was this train track. And near this track there was a huge mass grave. That’s where they...The Ukrainians were shooting them and they were falling down to this grave. I was just passing by on the road nearby and although it was a little far I could smell the blood. It was just, I still see it. I still see the Jews what they were doing on the trucks. That was just terrible." "And did you hear the shooting while you were passing by? Were they just shooting them?" "Yes."

And what about your place, Mirohost? Do you know about any other Jews that were hiding there during the war except for the local ones? Do you know anything about it?" "Once, when me and my mom were home alone, some Jewish woman came. She carried this bag on her, because it was a long way to go from the woods. And she came to us asking if we could provide her a hiding place. But the Germans were here In the village. And she just came to us. My mom was afraid, of course, so she gave her some bread and I don’t know what else and told her that she can’t help her now, because the Germans are there. And so she left, where to I don’t know." "How did you recognize it was a Jewish woman? Did she tell you that?" "Yeah, she said so. She told us she comes originally from Dubno (a village in Ukraine), but now they were hiding themselves in the woods and she said they have had a lot of gold and that we can have it all if we could only hide them. But we couldn’t. No way!" "You’re saying the Germans were there, but were they there constantly? Or how was it?" "Well they always stayed there for a while and then left, on the front maybe or... I have no idea." "There was this German work-shop, right?" "Yes that’s right, but still some other Germans were there anyway."