Timeline
A chronological overview of Raisa's journey and key events, pieced together from her letters and diary.
April 14, 1942
Departs Kyiv. «В мгновенье когда тронулся поезд мое сердце остановилось.» She is 18 years old.
~April 22, 1942
Arrives in Kraków. 1.5-day stop. Fed and given access to a bathhouse.
~April 24, 1942
Arrives in Ansbach. Placed in a city horse stable. Promised one night.
April 24 – May 14
21 nights in horse stable. Three delousing baths. Straw bedding. No information about where they'll go.
~May 15, 1942
Train to Würzburg. Registration and processing. "Куда — абсолютно неизвестно."
~May 8, 1942
Assigned to farm in Schönaich. Separated from companion Raya. Meets Serbian worker Kurban. Begins diary.
May 9–10, 1942
First days of farm work. Cowshed at 4:55 AM. Cries all second night.
June 15, 1942
Earliest dated letter. Full daily schedule. Horses Pani and Ladi. "Hope to be home by winter."
February 1943
Post-Stalingrad shift. "Masters suddenly fussing, soon we'll show them!" Wounded soldiers returning without arms and legs.
July 10, 1943
Eduard deploys to front via Frankfurt. Only 4 days home leave.
August 10, 1943
Air raid. 500+ bombers, 13 shot down. Visible 100 km away.
September 1, 1943
Transferred to Hannover. Factory work at Podbielskistraße 100.
May 9, 1944
Diary entry — one year before VE Day. Senses the Russians approaching.
Note: Some dates are approximate, reconstructed from letter contents, postmarks, and cross-references.