Project's texts

Photo archive of forced laborer Hanna Kovalenko, Poltava Oblast

written by "After silence" team

In April 2022, we managed to buy at an online auction an archive of 20 photographs dated 1943-1945. Most of them have inscriptions on the back, addressed to Halia Kovalenko. In this particular case, “Halia” is a nickname for Hanna. This archive belonged to Hanna Stepanivna Konko (née Kovalenko.)

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Photo of forced laborers Mykola Ripenetskyi, Feodosiy Bezvushko, and Areon Fliorko, Khmelnytskyi Oblast

written by "After silence" team

These photos are among the first in the collection. The inscriptions on the backs confirm that forced laborer Mykola Ripenetskyi sent them to his family – wife and son.

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Photo of forced laborers Mykhailo Temchenko and Ivan Liubka, Sumy Oblast

written by "After silence" team

This photo was bought at an online auction in August 2020. The only clue to identifying the forced laborers in it was the signature on the back. We traced their fates and learned more about their experiences during World War II thanks to documents found in the State Archives of Sumy Region and the Arolsen Archives – The International Center on Nazi Persecution.

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If you have photos of forced laborers in Nazi Germany and stories related to them – let us know.